Tank Cycle w/ Dr. Tim's

[cccharliecc]

haha....true!!

 

[cccharliecc]

Ok, so i brought the ammonia up to close to 2 last night.
Today's test results are below:
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 5 or less
Nitrate - 5 or less

Should I wait a couple days to see if the nitrites drop and nitrates rise, then do the water changes?

 

[cccharliecc]

I am going to do a water change tomorrow most likely.
After that, at what point do I work on bringing my pH up? It has been hovering around 7.8 - 7.9 during the cycle.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I am going to do a water change tomorrow most likely.
After that, at what point do I work on bringing my pH up? It has been hovering around 7.8 - 7.9 during the cycle.

pH is a secondary concern. Many tanks have pH in that range and it typically likely fine.

Some corals may grow faster at higher pH, and in the future you might explore options, but it is down the list of things for you to focus on at this point.

 

[cccharliecc]

ok, thanks!

 

[cccharliecc]

ok, quick question....again
So the tank is cycled, I did a huge water change, numbers all look good. I added 2 clowns yesterday, they are doing great.

When can I add some corals like torches, hammers, frogspawns, etc...?
I have BRS 2 part (not mixed up yet) but I could start that dosing ASAP.

 

[lapin]

There is no need to start dosing yet. Normal water changes should keep your numbers in line for a while. I would monitor your tank numbers for at least a week before spending money on the corals. You want it to be some what stable. I would first think about adding a small clean up crew. Snails are good. You will most likely experience some algae growth within a month. Be prepared to deal with scrubbing and vacuuming that off the rocks and any corals it might be bothering. Less coral on the rocks the easier it is to the scrub rocks.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I'd wait a week or two after adding the fish to be sure things are going well, then slowly begin to add corals.

 

[cccharliecc]

Do these numbers seem off a bit?....referring to the Hanna tests....Just changed the last bit of my water for the cycle.

API
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 0
Hanna
Calcium - 527
Alkalinity - 8.29

 

[lapin]

Looks ok to me. Really depends on your brand of salt as to what the Calcium / Alk/ Mag will be.

 

[cccharliecc]

Just regular Instant Ocean.

 

[cccharliecc]

Also....my pH is kinda low.....7.9 most of the time.
Should I be looking at raising that soon and what would be the recommended method?

 

[lapin]

Also....my pH is kinda low.....7.9 most of the time.
Should I be looking at raising that soon and what would be the recommended method?

Seawater pH is typically limited to a range between 7.5 and 8.4. At 7.9 you are fine. I would not mess with it for a few months. Let your tank get stable before making changes.

 

[cccharliecc]

ok, sounds good.

 

[cccharliecc]

Starting to see some algae on a couple rocks and a tiny bit on the sandbed.
Clowns are doing good.
Going to test all parameters tomorrow and post.

Running the skimmer now to break/dial it in and also the UV Sterilizer at 680 gph for algae control.

 

[lapin]

Starting to see some algae on a couple rocks and a tiny bit on the sandbed.
Clowns are doing good.
Going to test all parameters tomorrow and post.

Running the skimmer now to break/dial it in and also the UV Sterilizer at 680 gph for algae control.

Lookin good as it should....Keep us posted

 

[cccharliecc]

I tested the following:
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - o
Nitrate - 0

I also just got an order from Algae Barn....added 2 balls of chaeto, copepods and I got some live photoplankton.
I dont really have any inverts or corals yet....I am wondering how much of this live photoplankton I really need/should add.

 

[cccharliecc]

Calcium - 470
Alkalinity - 8.06
pH - 7.92
Temp - 78.5
Salinity 1.025

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

The numbers look good. I doubt there's any benefit to adding phytoplankton.

 

[cccharliecc]

Yeah… Maybe I jumped the gun and bought that stuff too early.
Can I keep those bottles in the refrigerator?
They came from algae barn