Been a few years but I’m back

[mraysberg]

But being a little colorblind im trying my best with reading this chart and putting a color to it

 

[kevgib67]

Welcome back, glad you are here!

 

[LandLockedJones]

But being a little colorblind im trying my best with reading this chart and putting a color to it

I have trouble with these sometimes as well. I’d say:

Ammonia-.5
Nitrite- .5
Nitrate-10

Looking good! Also, glad the shims worked out. I use those things all the time haha

 

[mraysberg]

I have trouble with these sometimes as well. I’d say:

Ammonia-.5
Nitrite- .5
Nitrate-10

Looking good! Also, glad the shims worked out. I use those things all the time haha

I have trouble with these sometimes as well. I’d say:

Ammonia-.5
Nitrite- .5
Nitrate-10

Looking good! Also, glad the shims worked out. I use those things all the time hah

I have trouble with these sometimes as well. I’d say:

Ammonia-.5
Nitrite- .5
Nitrate-10

Looking good! Also, glad the shims worked out. I use those things all the time haha

Shims def a game changer to leveling it out. I’m so ready to put stuff into the tank.

New levels from today
Ammonia .5
Nitrite 5
Nitrate 40

Should’ve taken a photo as I probably wasn’t ready that right

 

[LandLockedJones]

I bet you are haha it’s so close!

Nitrates are spiking, you’re so close it doesn’t even matter what the nitrites are now. Few more days and it should be ready for some fishes and inverts!

 

[mraysberg]

Process is going. Nitrite and nitrate have for sure become more prominent in the tank compared from the last test I posted on here(few posts before for comparison). I just feel like ammonia is still the same I believe.

 

[mraysberg]

Haven’t been running my lights at all. When do you think lights should start to come on? For how long a day? Intensity? Etc

 

[fishface NJ]

Haven’t been running my lights at all. When do you think lights should start to come on? For how long a day? Intensity? Etc

No reason to run lights if there are no corals. Fish don’t need light. Light will cause algae. You still have the ugly phase…and other changes

 

[mraysberg]

No reason to run lights if there are no corals. Fish don’t need light. Light will cause algae. You still have the ugly phase…and other changes

And what about water changes should I be doing any at all? My guess is probably not

 

[mraysberg]

Everything’s been good so far. Wondering when perfect time to install the protein skimmer since I already had it from last time I had this tank setup

 

[LandLockedJones]

Dang, thought I replied to your last message. You probably don’t need to do water changes yet. If you do, just don’t disturb sand or rocks too much, so you don’t kill off any bacteria. But you can do it if you think the tank needs it.

As for the skimmer, I would wait until after you add a few fish. It will help oxygenate the water which is beneficial. But there probably isn’t much to remove just yet.

If you do turn it on, at least don’t run it all the time, as you don’t want to get your nitrates or phosphates into the zero range. If you zero out either one you can potentially cause a cyano or Dino outbreak.

 

[LandLockedJones]

Oh, and you can turn on the light, but I would do it gradually. There isn’t much need for it without corals and if you ramp it to full intensity right off the bat, you will probably see a massive algae outbreak.

But if the light is adjustable, 10% or so should be fine. Will cause algae growth, but it shouldn’t be unmanageable.

Personally, when fish are in the tank, I like to turn the lights on low and keep them that way for a while. If for nothing else than to keep an eye out for potential fish diseases. And it just makes everything look better, which makes me feel better when I look at the tank.

 

[mraysberg]

So it’s been a few weeks since tank setup. Ammonia is at 0 nitrite at 0 nitrate at 5ppm phosphate at .03. Looks like everything is going good for the time being. Just going through the ugly phase currently. Got a little bit of algae on my rock work and sandbed. Livestock at the moment 2 clowns and 6 nassarius snails. Bought a few corals as well from rhodactis mushroom, ricordea, zoa, and a Duncan. I’m interested in getting a few other things for cuc not sure what would be good in this size tank

 

[mraysberg]

One month in and these are the new numbers:

Salinity 1.025
Ph 8.0-8.2
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 2
Alk 8.9-9.3
Cal 420-430
Mag 1260
Phosphate .04

Have a few new corals in the tank now with some other livestock and a cuc roaming the sands

 

[mraysberg]

Thanks been running good so far. Corals are all healthy and some started growing new heads/polyps. Get a nice clean up crew going which I should’ve started a bit earlier as they are taking care of my hair algae currently. I did notice something on the rock like it’s whitish

Is this rocking maturing? Is it coraline algae? Idk what it is but I’m sure you guys can advise me on what it is