Newbie from New Mexico
- Thread starter jaws789832
- Start date
Mr.Reeefer
Member
Hi mate,
Goma and Ziggy have covered everything, when my tank was cycling I was checking the water Params every two days, I think you should check Params about the same or every three days and post them on here and the guys can tell you where you are at with you cycle.
Also the graph Goma has posted on the previous page will give you an indicator on how your tank will cycle, the first 16 days is your ammonia will spike which should come to 0 before your see your nitrite spike then after another couple of weeks this should come down to 0 then your nitrate will spike and you should be ready for a water change then you should be ready to introduce your clean up crew. It's a slow process but a necessary one.
Also I'd let your hydrometer sit on a bench and only use the refractometer. Hydrometers aren't good compared to the refractometer.
Regarding Ph, there is a PH RAISE on the market for SW, I have never had to use it, the sand bottom and salt you use generally keep this good, what salt are you using? It's not critically low at the moment but monitor it and if it doesn't raise in time you will need to raise it yourself before putting live stock in.
Good luck Mate
Goma and Ziggy have covered everything, when my tank was cycling I was checking the water Params every two days, I think you should check Params about the same or every three days and post them on here and the guys can tell you where you are at with you cycle.
Also the graph Goma has posted on the previous page will give you an indicator on how your tank will cycle, the first 16 days is your ammonia will spike which should come to 0 before your see your nitrite spike then after another couple of weeks this should come down to 0 then your nitrate will spike and you should be ready for a water change then you should be ready to introduce your clean up crew. It's a slow process but a necessary one.
Also I'd let your hydrometer sit on a bench and only use the refractometer. Hydrometers aren't good compared to the refractometer.
Regarding Ph, there is a PH RAISE on the market for SW, I have never had to use it, the sand bottom and salt you use generally keep this good, what salt are you using? It's not critically low at the moment but monitor it and if it doesn't raise in time you will need to raise it yourself before putting live stock in.
Good luck Mate
jaws789832
Member
ok
salinity 30
ph 7.9
ammonia 1.2
nitrite 1
nitrate 100
should I do a water change to get the nitrate down?
salinity 30
ph 7.9
ammonia 1.2
nitrite 1
nitrate 100
should I do a water change to get the nitrate down?
Don't worry about Nitrates right now. Here is your typical cycle. Don't worry about they days across the bottom as many factors can affect the timing (condition of live rock). The important thing to look for is the rise and fall to zero of ammonia and then the rise and fall to zero of Nitrites. Once that is done, the cycle is complete and you can do a large water change or a series of water changes to reduce Nitrates and add a CUC.
Since you still have ammonia, your cycle is not complete.
Your Salinity at 30...Is that 30 ppt? If so, that is pretty low and you need to raise that up to 35 ppt.
Since you still have ammonia, your cycle is not complete.
Your Salinity at 30...Is that 30 ppt? If so, that is pretty low and you need to raise that up to 35 ppt.
jaws789832
Member
yeah, been trying just doing it slowly. don't want to overdose it. about 25 gallons of water total, been adding like 3 tablesppons of reef crystals a day (mixing it up in a small bucket with tank water). doesn't really raise it much it seems but just going slow so I don't end up with way too much salinity. Also my pre mixed salt water for water changes is right at 35ppt and been adding that as top off water for now.
jaws789832
Member
jaws789832
Member
jaws789832
Member
my little iphone takes pretty crappy pictures. It is crystal clear and looks way better than that LOL
jaws789832
Member
OK so I woke up yesterday and tested my water.
ammonia 0
nitrites 0
nitrates 100
magnesium 1600
everything else good.
I was so excited that I immediately ordered my CUC.
Then did a 40% water change.
Woke up this morning and my nitrates were still at 100. Question is should I just keep doing water changes till my nitrates are low?
Also the only thing that appears to be growing is this grey fluffy stuff. not sure what it is. I try to suck it out during water changes but it keeps coming back. I this something I should be concerned with?
; http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c268/jaws789832/006_zpsce8d1a0c.jpg
ammonia 0
nitrites 0
nitrates 100
magnesium 1600
everything else good.
I was so excited that I immediately ordered my CUC.
Then did a 40% water change.
Woke up this morning and my nitrates were still at 100. Question is should I just keep doing water changes till my nitrates are low?
Also the only thing that appears to be growing is this grey fluffy stuff. not sure what it is. I try to suck it out during water changes but it keeps coming back. I this something I should be concerned with?
jaws789832
Member
Was using water from a water store (RO only) until my ro/di unit arrived which it did yesterday. 0 TDS coming out of mine now but not sure about the store bought water.
jaws789832
Member
this might sound like a stupid question but how do I turn live rock into dead rock that I can use in the future. Basically my order of live rock was to much and I have like 4 pretty nice pieces left over that if I ever upgrade I want to save. What can I do with them?
Hi Jaws 
Tuning in to your thread, as I just now found it
I'd suggest to have one of the mods re-name it & move it to the Reef Chronicle forum where more members can find it to follow your tank progress. Just pick a name & let them know with a PM or post.
Love your rockscape, the depth of your shelves should provide lots of coral space.
I don't see much for your CUC to clean up from your photos....have you since gotten some algae growth for them to eat? If not, depending on how large you CUC order was, you may need to supplement them with maybe some partial sheets of seaweed. So what have you added since you last post?
Tuning in to your thread, as I just now found it
I'd suggest to have one of the mods re-name it & move it to the Reef Chronicle forum where more members can find it to follow your tank progress. Just pick a name & let them know with a PM or post.
Love your rockscape, the depth of your shelves should provide lots of coral space.
I don't see much for your CUC to clean up from your photos....have you since gotten some algae growth for them to eat? If not, depending on how large you CUC order was, you may need to supplement them with maybe some partial sheets of seaweed. So what have you added since you last post?