First time reef keeping need help

[chiro]

It's been 29 days since the last time I applied live bacteria to my reef tank. Tomorrow will be 1 month of cycling process so heres my water parameters and let me know if its fish safe and what else i need to do before adding my first ever fish.
Here are the images of my water results including the past results so you guys can tell.

(Current result 1 month tomorrow)

(2nd week result)

(1st week result)

 

[Gumbies R Us]

You are cycled! Nitrites don't matter in a reef tank. I would also recommend getting better test kits now that you are cycled (Salifert Red Sea or Hanna)!

I would also follow this guide; this should help you out!

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium Introduction The marine environment is one of the most complex systems on the planet. The aquarium you are about to set up is only a tiny sliver of the vast ocean, but it is nowhere near simple. This task is going to take patience, a...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Fish Fan]

It looks like you're cycled to me too

I do have a couple of questions though, mostly out of curiosity. I see nitrite and I see nitrate, so there *must* have been ammonia at sometime, but your first week test result shows no ammonia. Did you add ammonia on day one, and what bacteria product did you use to start the cycle? The only bacteria-in-a-bottle that I know of that could drop the ammonia inside a week is Fritz TurboStart 900. Thanks for your help!

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Personally I would do a huge water change to bring the nitrates down below 10 then I would go get my first fish.

 

[chiro]

It looks like you're cycled to me too

I do have a couple of questions though, mostly out of curiosity. I see nitrite and I see nitrate, so there *must* have been ammonia at sometime, but your first week test result shows no ammonia. Did you add ammonia on day one, and what bacteria product did you use to start the cycle? The only bacteria-in-a-bottle that I know of that could drop the ammonia inside a week is Fritz TurboStart 900. Thanks for your help!

I added a small shrimp for 48 hours before adding nitrifying bacteria and let the shrimp melt.

 

[Fish Fan]

I added a small shrimp for 48 hours before adding nitrifying bacteria and let the shrimp melt.

Did you test for and see how high the ammonia was after the shrimp melted? And what brand of bacteria did you use? I'm just curious

 

[chiro]

I added a small shrimp for 48 hours before adding nitrifying bacteria and let the shrimp melt.

Did you test for and see how high the ammonia was after the shrimp melted? And what brand of bacteria did you use? I'm just curious

I used api quickstart for bacteria.
I havent gotten the test kit when i added shrimp. So basically after leaving shrimp for 48 hrs i added the bacteria and then I let the shrimp melt in the filter to leave ammonia for bacteria. Then after 1 week i did got my test kit and checked for results (Image provided from the post) where ammonia is already 0 but with high nitrite so i assume it fed the bacterias and still high on nitrite on 2nd week result.

 

[Fish Fan]

I used api quickstart for bacteria.
I havent gotten the test kit when i added shrimp. So basically after leaving shrimp for 48 hrs i added the bacteria and then I let the shrimp melt in the filter to leave ammonia for bacteria. Then after 1 week i did got my test kit and checked for results. (Image provided from the post)

Gotcha! Thank you for your help and good luck with your tank!

 

[chiro]

I used api quickstart for bacteria.
I havent gotten the test kit when i added shrimp. So basically after leaving shrimp for 48 hrs i added the bacteria and then I let the shrimp melt in the filter to leave ammonia for bacteria. Then after 1 week i did got my test kit and checked for results. (Image provided from the post)

Gotcha! Thank you for your help and good luck with your tank!

So is it actually cycled and is it safe to add fish? Its been 4 weeks

 

[Fish Fan]

So is it actually cycled and is it safe to add fish? Its been 4 weeks

Yes

 

[KrisReef]

So is it actually cycled and is it safe to add fish? Its been 4 weeks

Yes. Cycled nicely.

Add fish slowly and feed the tank lightly for best results going forward. A fish can survive on very tiny meals.

 

[chiro]

So is it actually cycled and is it safe to add fish? Its been 4 weeks

Yes. Cycled nicely.

Add fish slowly and feed the tank lightly for best results going forward. A fish can survive on very tiny meals.

Okay thx! Also is the nitrate good? Or do i need a certain number? Was planing on adding corals in the future.

 

[KrisReef]

Okay thx! Also is the nitrate good? Or do i need a certain number? Was planing on adding corals in the future.

Nitrate levels may begin to drop if the tank has areas of habitat where denitrifying bacteria can operate. In established systems low nitrate levels can occur naturally. Many people use nitrate levels as indicators of when to perform water changes, especially in fish heavy systems where they tend to accumulate faster than they are used.
What track you take, either way can work fine.