New Guy

[jokerpa]

Hi Everyone,

My name is Todd and my wife Andrea and I just recently setup a new 30 gallon reef tank. We have 2 little boys (and 1 on the way!) who love watching fish so we decided to try our hand at this difficult hobby. We are in the midst of cycling the tank, ammonia is down to 0 but nitrites and nitrates are still pretty high. I would like to thank you all for your helpful posts and when we have questions you can bet we'll be coming here first.

Tank you (that was for my wife- she hates puns )

Todd

 

[goma]

LOL! Welcome to RS!!! Feel free to browse and ask as many questions as you like, we're here to help!

 

[theplantman]

:welcomera

Welcome to RS and congrats on the tank. Just out of curiosity, how long have you been cycling and how high did the ammonia get to?

Also tell us about the setup. Once you hit 5 posts, you can import pics as well. we love those.

Again, welcome to RS glad to have you aboard and happy reefing.

 

[jokerpa]

Thanks Michael,

I'm at work right now so I'll have to post our specs when I get home. Our ammonia level was very high initially but now has come back down to zero.
A couple quick questions,
1. I just added Dr Tims One and only denitrfying bacteria (after the ammonia level had dropped) and read in another thread that the bacteria needed the ammonia to feed and multiply. Is this true?
2. We have a bunch of tiny bubbles all over the live rock on one side of the tank only. It is the side that has our skimmer and powerhead....any correlation or ideas what could be causing?
3. When is it safe to add the CUC? Do we have to wait for all levels of ammonia/nitrate/nitrite to drop to zero?

Thanks
Todd

 

[theplantman]

Thanks Michael,

I'm at work right now so I'll have to post our specs when I get home. Our ammonia level was very high initially but now has come back down to zero.
A couple quick questions,
1. I just added Dr Tims One and only denitrfying bacteria (after the ammonia level had dropped) and read in another thread that the bacteria needed the ammonia to feed and multiply. Is this true?
2. We have a bunch of tiny bubbles all over the live rock on one side of the tank only. It is the side that has our skimmer and powerhead....any correlation or ideas what could be causing?
3. When is it safe to add the CUC? Do we have to wait for all levels of ammonia/nitrate/nitrite to drop to zero?

Thanks
Todd

1. I would not dose anything more. Yes, the nitrogen cycle starts with ammonia, then a bacteria that break it down into nitrite develops, then nitrifying bacteria break nitrites into nitrates. The only way you will develop a good colony of bacteria to remove nitrates is if you have a deep sand bed (5-6") otherwise nitrates should be removed via water changes and either skimming, an algae scrubber or planted refugium. or any combination of the three. (Water changes are a must though) 20% per month is the rule but I prefer to do 10-15% per week on a smaller tank as it becomes established and stocked.
2. It could be a build up of micro-bubbles on the live rock or the start of an algae bloom which is normal.
3. Sounds like your cycle is complete, (as long as nitrites have hit zero as well) you can add a CUC now after a large water change, 30-50% to reduce nitrates.

Hope this helps. (when you post your stats, let us know sand bed depth, lbs of live rock, filtration, etc.) This will help us give you educated recommendations.

 

[whippetguy]

Hi Todd, welcome to Reef Sanctuary! You can add your CUC after nitrites and ammonia are at 0 and your trates are lower. Usually after trites hit 0, most people do a water change to help drop trates then add the CUC.

 

[mcentire1123]

Welcome to RS!

 

[goma]

Good advice above, here is what happens during a typical cycle:

 

[jokerpa]

Thanks GOMA,

Timewise, we are only at about 14 days but it looks like we are at about day 25 ( by looking at our ammonia/nitrate/nitrite level) according to your chart. By the way, we are using store-bought pre-mixed real ocean water....is this OK?
Todd

 

[goma]

The time on the chart can vary greatly depending on the how much live rock was used, the type of live rock and other factors. It is more to give a general indication of how a cycle progresses and allows you to watch for an ammonia spike, followed by the Nitrite spike and drop and finally the rise in Nitrates. This lets you know when you need to start doing water changes to lower Nitrates.

I am not sure what pre-mixed real ocean water is????

 

[jokerpa]

Real Ocean Water is natural sea water that's already filtered, sanitized, and pH balanced for you. No mixing. No measuring. No adjusting. Just pour Real Ocean Water directly into your aquarium. It's the easy way to maintain salt water fish. Helps you maintain a healthier marine environment with cleaner, clearer water. Now, you can have natural sea water delivered right to your door. It arrives ready-to-use in a sealed bag inside a protective box.
Low phosphate, low nitrate and PH balanced. It is 100% ocean water

That's from the website.

Here is a link http://www.petco.com/product/11884/Petco-Real-Ocean-Water.aspx?CoreCat=OnSiteSearch

 

[goma]

I would imagine it's just fine, though I've never used it. I'm sure others will chime in.

I can say this, the smartest purchase I ever made in this hobby was a RO/DI system to make my own SW at home!

 

[DianaKay]

Hello & :welcomera Welcome to Reef Sanctuary!
Glad you joined us....Look forward to seeing pictures & following along with your progress.
Start a tank thread in Reef Chronicles & start asking ???'s as needed....This is the best place ever to get help and support for every step in your reef tank journey.
BEST WISHES :biker

 

[theplantman]

Todd,
Investing in an RO unit is the way to go. At a minimum over a 1 year period you will spend $300.00 in real ocean water just for water changes. If you do 5 gal per week which is what I do in my 34, you are looking at $600.00. Then you will also be spending money for RO/DI water for replacing evaporation. Assuming you get it for a buck a gallon that's another $250 to $300 for the year.

an R/O unit will cost $200 tops, premium salt mix that makes 200 gallons will run $100.00, mixing pump/heater $50.00. Then you can make all your own water throughout the year and it should be phosphate and nitrate free, not low phosphate and nitrate.

Just food for thought, its the most cost effective way to handle water for your tank.

 

[jokerpa]

Thanks for the input Michael. We were mainly using this so we could get started right away with minimal initial expenses (I can't believe how much we've spent already... Why isn't this known as the hobby of Kings?). So here's my question , we live in a rural area and have well water so I already have a Kinetico RO system that we use for drinking water. I don't think it has a DI though... Do I need one? Also, I know my water has a high iron content and I'm not sure how to rectify that. Any help? Thanks again

 

[theplantman]

LOL, it definitely is not cheap, but it is very rewarding and will hopefully be a great learning experience for not only you, but your little ones as well. Get a tds meter and test the water coming out of the ro anything above 2ppm and I would get a DI cartridge and plumb it into your system, that should remove the remaining contents, including the iron. We are on rural well water and it has a high sulfur content. Our RO/DI system is invaluable. Look at Bulk Reef Supplies website and check out the microns on the filters for their RO units and see if they come close to what you currently have.

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

to ReefSanctuary, a real Sanctuary of reef forums, with lots of very nice members

 

Start a new tank thread & share your tank with us so we can follow along - we love pics

 

[blackbeltmom]

Is that RO unit what you get your drinking water from? If so, you might want to do some research. I don't think it is supposed to be safe to drink once it goes through the DI filter. Some I units have valves so you can get the drinking water before it goes through the DI.

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2

 

[jerry26]

Is that RO unit what you get your drinking water from? If so, you might want to do some research. I don't think it is supposed to be safe to drink once it goes through the DI filter. Some I units have valves so you can get the drinking water before it goes through the DI.

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2

if youre able to get to it, you just put a T inbetween the ro and the di then run the hose to your storage tank/faucet. when draining water for your tank im guessing youd probably have to run it slowly because the storage tank(if present) is going to push water pretty fast through the di. but that can be countered by putting a valve after the T that allows you to close that line. it was my understanding that the di just throws the ph off and makes it taste bad.