Newb looking for advice, opinions or whatever you care to contribute :-)

[Mile High Reefer]

Hello all, new member here and also new to salt water tanks. We were looking for a new hobby and went all in with 2 Red Sea setups and most likely purchased setups above my skill level.. 1st setup (my tank) is Red Sea Max S 650, 170 gal. with the intention of being an awesome reef tank. 2nd setup is a Red Sea Max E-170 45 gal. with the intention of being a lower maintenance setup with faux coral and cool fish. Both tanks have Marco Rock for aquascape foundation.

Looking for any and all advice anyone cares to share

I started a fishless cycle using a Brightwell Aquatic kit intended for Marco Rock. I have been testing water daily and just not sure if the numbers are what I should expect. Getting very anxious to add a fish or 2. below is a breakdown of the water tests over the last 8 days on the Max 650. I would greatly appreciate any input.

Day 1
Ph = 8.2
Ammonia = .5
Nitrite = .25

Day 2
Ph = 8.0
Ammonia = 1.0
Nitrite = .25

Day 3
Ph = 8.3
Ammonia = 1.0
Nitrite = .25

Day 4
Ph = 8.6
Ammonia = 1.0
Nitrite = .5

Day 5
Ph = 8.4
Ammonia = .5
Nitrite = .5

Day 6
Ph= 8.4
Ammonia = 1.0
Nitrite = 1.0

Day 7
Ph = 8.4
Ammonia = .5
Nitrite = 2.0

Day 8
Ph= 8.5
Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 5.0

Day 9
Ph = 8.4
Ammonia = .25
Nitrite = 2.0
Nitrate = 10. (first time choking Nitrate)

Thanks in advance for any and all input!

 

[ZoWhat]

My biggest piece of advice is not to impulse-buy

Every single purchase with fish, coral, equipment, everything....needs to be thoroughly researched.

You will save thousands of dollars in potential losses if you have excellent knowledge of what you are buying

Second off, know the timing of what you buy. Can your purchase be sustained given the current state of your tank? Is the timing right?

Knowledge and timing are big things ppl miss and they get too impatient... and then they screw everything up.
.

 

[Rmckoy]

Hello all, new member here and also new to salt water tanks. We were looking for a new hobby and went all in with 2 Red Sea setups and most likely purchased setups above my skill level.. 1st setup (my tank) is Red Sea Max S 650, 170 gal. with the intention of being an awesome reef tank. 2nd setup is a Red Sea Max E-170 45 gal. with the intention of being a lower maintenance setup with faux coral and cool fish. Both tanks have Marco Rock for aquascape foundation.

Looking for any and all advice anyone cares to share

I started a fishless cycle using a Brightwell Aquatic kit intended for Marco Rock. I have been testing water daily and just not sure if the numbers are what I should expect. Getting very anxious to add a fish or 2. below is a breakdown of the water tests over the last 8 days on the Max 650. I would greatly appreciate any input.

Day 1
Ph = 8.2
Ammonia = .5
Nitrite = .25

Day 2
Ph = 8.0
Ammonia = 1.0
Nitrite = .25

Day 3
Ph = 8.3
Ammonia = 1.0
Nitrite = .25

Day 4
Ph = 8.6
Ammonia = 1.0
Nitrite = .5

Day 5
Ph = 8.4
Ammonia = .5
Nitrite = .5

Day 6
Ph= 8.4
Ammonia = 1.0
Nitrite = 1.0

Day 7
Ph = 8.4
Ammonia = .5
Nitrite = 2.0

Day 8
Ph= 8.5
Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 5.0

Day 9
Ph = 8.4
Ammonia = .25
Nitrite = 2.0
Nitrate = 10. (first time choking Nitrate)

Thanks in advance for any and all input!

i think we all should ask for advice ..
affording to stock one system is enough .

joking aside. .

Congratulations on your purchase and welcome to the salty side of town
Looks great so far .
A few points of advice .
1) take your time !! It’s not a race and nothing good happens over night .
2) NEVER dose anything you can’t test the need for !
3) take your time !

any questions feel free to ask .
we were all new at one time

 

[pseudorand]

Get a seachem Ammoalert. Trust it. If it ain't clearly yellow, don't add living things you can see without a microscope. (No, I don't work for Seachem. Or at least I'm not on the payroll. I just learned the hard way and now swear by them.)

Also, "anxious to add a fish or 2" is normal...and dangerous. For the fish. You'll be fine. But possibly sad and down on yourself. I usually think of myself as unemotional, but when I killed some fish from improper cycling and such I was pretty upset about it. And surprise that I was upset, since I knew it was a possibility getting into this hobby. The hobby can be an emotional roller coaster. Patience and persistence is the key.

 

[mdb_talon]

Welcome to R2R. I got to say that a great way to start with a new sweet setup!

As to the question on if your numbers look right and when to add fish i would have one in there already personally.

As for opinions i think got a great start, but my personal opinion is to separate some of that rock and make some of it higher. Assuming all goes well and coral grows out that is going to look like a solid wall of coral in a couple years. If that is ehat you want though go ahead, just my opinion i think looks better when you have varying heights and broken islands rather than a flat wall across.

 

[Rmckoy]

Get a seachem Ammoalert. Trust it. If it ain't clearly yellow, don't add living things you can see without a microscope. (No, I don't work for Seachem. Or at least I'm not on the payroll. I just learned the hard way and now swear by them.)

Also, "anxious to add a fish or 2" is normal...and dangerous. For the fish. You'll be fine. But possibly sad and down on yourself. I usually think of myself as unemotional, but when I killed some fish from improper cycling and such I was pretty upset about it. And surprise that I was upset, since I knew it was a possibility getting into this hobby. The hobby can be an emotional roller coaster. Patience and persistence is the key.

My wife asked why I don’t get upset if a fish dies .
I said “Emotionally conditioned “ ....
Some fish just don’t make it .....

 

[Azedenkae]

I started a fishless cycle using a Brightwell Aquatic kit intended for Marco Rock. I have been testing water daily and just not sure if the numbers are what I should expect. Getting very anxious to add a fish or 2. below is a breakdown of the water tests over the last 8 days on the Max 650. I would greatly appreciate any input.

Which days did you dose ammonia? Did you measure ammonia after dosing?

 

[Mile High Reefer]

Thanks for all the replies!

Regarding what days I added ammonia, I haven't added anything except the Brightwell Aquatic kit. Below is the instructions I am following.

Based on what I have been reading is it accurate that my ammonia will fall as the nitrite spikes and then the nitrite will fall after the ammonia is at zero?

 

[bobnicaragua]

Seeding with some live rock will make starting things up much easier

 

[Azedenkae]

Thanks for all the replies!

Regarding what days I added ammonia, I haven't added anything except the Brightwell Aquatic kit. Below is the instructions I am following.

Based on what I have been reading is it accurate that my ammonia will fall as the nitrite spikes and then the nitrite will fall after the ammonia is at zero?

How many drops of QuikCycl did you end up dosing on day 1?

 

[Mile High Reefer]

How many drops of QuikCycl did you end up dosing on day 1?

I did 15ml. for 150 gallons

 

[Mile High Reefer]

How many drops of QuikCycl did you end up dosing on day 1?

then added the 2nd dose of 15 ml

 

[terraincognita]

What test kits are you using?

Unless you're adding continually adding an ammonia source it's very unlikely that you went from 0 to .25 ammonia.

You should be fine to WC and get 1-2 fish. .

Get ready for the ugly stages though. Especially with Dry/Marco rock!

The fact that you have any nitrates (as long as your testing properly) means you have officially established the "Nitrifying bacteria" required for fish to survive.

This doesn't mean your tank is "mature" and will handle large amounts of ammonia input daily.

But definitely IMO enough for 1-2 fish for sure.

Keep studying and researching continually for infinity. You'll do just fine in the hobby. This is a great forum to be on!

 

[Azedenkae]

I did 15ml. for 150 gallons

Ah. I guess the instructions were not too clear on this, but you wanted 2ppm. That's why it says you can do up to twice the recommended dosage. So 60ml in total. Seemed like for whatever reason 15ml for you only increased ammonia to 0.5. Or maybe 1ppm, because that was what you measured the next day and could be just due to it being hard to read the colors. Regardless, seems like your cycle is chugging along somewhat.

My personal suggestion, which will differ from the instructions you have, but is how I cycle my tanks: Add 30ml of ammonia once nitrite also hits 0. Measure just after and see where ammonia is at. Then add more drops as necessary to get to 2ppm ammonia, and wait until ammonia and nitrite both reaches 0. Then add 2ppm ammonia again and rinse and repeat, until both ammonia and nitrite can reach 0 in a day.

Nitrite is not toxic to marine fish until it reaches super high levels, but personally I still want to be 100% sure the nitrifiers can handle all ammonia and nitrite produced by a fully stocked tank, before adding any live stock.

 

[Mile High Reefer]

I am using the API test kit and also have the Hanna Colorimeters for Nitrite, PH, Nitrate. The Nitrate Colormeter seems very complicated process so havnt used it yet.

Should I add more QuikCycl now? or if do the suggestion of adding 30ml of ammonia once nitrite hits zero do i add the QuikCyle then? I am assuming QuikCycl is ammonia? if not what should i purchase?

 

[Azedenkae]

I am using the API test kit and also have the Hanna Colorimeters for Nitrite, PH, Nitrate. The Nitrate Colormeter seems very complicated process so havnt used it yet.

Should I add more QuikCycl now? or if do the suggestion of adding 30ml of ammonia once nitrite hits zero do i add the QuikCyle then? I am assuming QuikCycl is ammonia? if not what should i purchase?

Yes, QuikCycl is ammonia. I'd suggest adding ammonia/QuikCycl when nitrite hits zero.

Others will say your tank is ready for fish, and it can be. But I just like to have nitrite be zero and can stay at zero. Personal preference.

 

[Mile High Reefer]

So todays test if I am reading correct is
PH= 8.4
Ammonia = .25
Nitrite = 5.0
Nitrate = 20

I also use the Hanna Nitrite colorimeter and interesting result. it showed 200 PPB, which is .2 PPM so doesn't make sense to me. so how long should the nitrite spike last?

Doesn't anyone make a more simple water test system, like just add water and tell me the results? I would pay good money for that..

 

[Azedenkae]

So todays test if I am reading correct is
PH= 8.4
Ammonia = .25
Nitrite = 5.0
Nitrate = 20

I also use the Hanna Nitrite colorimeter and interesting result. it showed 200 PPB, which is .2 PPM so doesn't make sense to me. so how long should the nitrite spike last?

Doesn't anyone make a more simple water test system, like just add water and tell me the results? I would pay good money for that..

Nitrite should not be at 5 today. Any chance Day 9's 2ppm reading was wrong?

 

[Royal Gramma Man]

Hello all, new member here and also new to salt water tanks. We were looking for a new hobby and went all in with 2 Red Sea setups and most likely purchased setups above my skill level.. 1st setup (my tank) is Red Sea Max S 650, 170 gal. with the intention of being an awesome reef tank. 2nd setup is a Red Sea Max E-170 45 gal. with the intention of being a lower maintenance setup with faux coral and cool fish. Both tanks have Marco Rock for aquascape foundation.

Looking for any and all advice anyone cares to share

I started a fishless cycle using a Brightwell Aquatic kit intended for Marco Rock. I have been testing water daily and just not sure if the numbers are what I should expect. Getting very anxious to add a fish or 2. below is a breakdown of the water tests over the last 8 days on the Max 650. I would greatly appreciate any input.

Day 1
Ph = 8.2
Ammonia = .5
Nitrite = .25

Day 2
Ph = 8.0
Ammonia = 1.0
Nitrite = .25

Day 3
Ph = 8.3
Ammonia = 1.0
Nitrite = .25

Day 4
Ph = 8.6
Ammonia = 1.0
Nitrite = .5

Day 5
Ph = 8.4
Ammonia = .5
Nitrite = .5

Day 6
Ph= 8.4
Ammonia = 1.0
Nitrite = 1.0

Day 7
Ph = 8.4
Ammonia = .5
Nitrite = 2.0

Day 8
Ph= 8.5
Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 5.0

Day 9
Ph = 8.4
Ammonia = .25
Nitrite = 2.0
Nitrate = 10. (first time choking Nitrate)

Thanks in advance for any and all input!

First off, your tank is cool. I can advise you to not buy anything without research and that goes for everything both in terms of gear, decor, and livestock. Welcome to R2R!!!

 

[Mile High Reefer]

Nitrite should not be at 5 today. Any chance Day 9's 2ppm reading was wrong?

Day 9 was actually Saturday. Yesterday was also 5.0