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just looked at my notes...was aiming for 4 PPM and put in1.65 Oz total. Originally was told to use 4 drops per gallonThat looks about topped out.
Only one ounce in 200+ gallons did that???
Such as???First .....
I’ll recommend investing in better test kits .
you will appreciate something more accurate later in this hobby
Thanks Scott,You are doing great. Looks like 4 PPM to me. Keep dosing ammonia and Dr Tims per instructions and stay patient. How much live rock did you begin with? More of that accelerates things. Otherwise just let it cook. Test every couple of days for fun, see if ammonia falls, and nitrite begins, then nitrate.
The API kits are famous for showing a slight false positive (.25) at the end, but once your nitrite is clear and nitrates are up you should be good. Your LFS can do a backup test at the end.
Nice kit Jim! Thanks!
Solid test kits are your friend; but for ammonia/nitrite I don't lose sleep over precision. Once your cycle is complete, you won't really use them again unless something real bad happens.
For the first few months, just stay focussed on the super basic but critical elements of Temperature and Salinity. A good refractometer is a must/ And you must learn how to properly calibrate it. There is SO MUCH microbiome changes taking place, that other tests will just be giving a lot of noise months 1 through... 3 or so.
The other stuff comes a little later on. Here are the kits I would be adding to my shopping cart over the next couple months. These are just my personal favorites for ease of use and decent resolution:
ALK, Ca, Mg - salifert
Nitrate - NYOS
Phosphate - Hanna ULR phosphate or phosphorus. (If you think you want to run lower nutrient some day, choose the phosphorus kit and do the conversion math to phosphate). While there are decent substitutes for other elements, Hanna is the only PO4 tester I trust. Even though they are far from the easiest to use.
Expect ALL the uglies to happen. Enjoy them; all part of the maturation process and they will pass. Diatoms first, a little green film algae, then some brown furry stuff, maybe some purple stuff and then some GHA. Maybe a sprinkle of cyano if you are lucky. Finally some little pink circles of coralline algae (yay!). And here is what you do about it: Nothing. Let it do its thing. Interventions early on only serve to set back the process IMO.
Sure, share some pics of each ugly and remind us of what month you are into the process. If we see something that will be a real problem (aiptasia, bryopsis, out of control GHA) then do some research about the risks of intervention. But for the normal uglies, nada.
Thanks alot for the info. Good stuff.Solid test kits are your friend; but for ammonia/nitrite I don't lose sleep over precision. Once your cycle is complete, you won't really use them again unless something real bad happens.
For the first few months, just stay focussed on the super basic but critical elements of Temperature and Salinity. A good refractometer is a must/ And you must learn how to properly calibrate it. There is SO MUCH microbiome changes taking place, that other tests will just be giving a lot of noise months 1 through... 3 or so.
The other stuff comes a little later on. Here are the kits I would be adding to my shopping cart over the next couple months. These are just my personal favorites for ease of use and decent resolution:
ALK, Ca, Mg - salifert
Nitrate - NYOS
Phosphate - Hanna ULR phosphate or phosphorus. (If you think you want to run lower nutrient some day, choose the phosphorus kit and do the conversion math to phosphate). While there are decent substitutes for other elements, Hanna is the only PO4 tester I trust. Even though they are far from the easiest to use.
Expect ALL the uglies to happen. Enjoy them; all part of the maturation process and they will pass. Diatoms first, a little green film algae, then some brown furry stuff, maybe some purple stuff and then some GHA. Maybe a sprinkle of cyano if you are lucky. Finally some little pink circles of coralline algae (yay!). And here is what you do about it: Nothing. Let it do its thing. Interventions early on only serve to set back the process IMO.
Sure, share some pics of each ugly and remind us of what month you are into the process. If we see something that will be a real problem (aiptasia, bryopsis, out of control GHA) then do some research about the risks of intervention. But for the normal uglies, nada.