9 days new tank

[bald57]

Hi all. Just wanted to put my test results out there and ask if I am doing the right thing so far.
I have a 24 gallon tank with 30 lbs of live sand and 33 lbs of live rock. I have two power heads running and two back filters. Below are my test results. If there is anything I should be doing, please let me know.

salt level is 1.024
Phos. is 0.5
calc. is 200
Nitrate is .20
Nitrite is .01
Ammonia is 0
Ph hi is 7.9
Ph low is 7.6
carb hardness is 20
Gen Hardness is 10
Iron is 0
Thanks Bill

 

[Swimfaster]

Ok your salt levels are PERFECT, which I applaud, mine is 1.022. Your phosphate is off just a touch. You should get a protein skimmer to help filtration.also your ph is off, it should be around 8.3 for saltwater

 

[Dimdim]

Hi all. Just wanted to put my test results out there and ask if I am doing the right thing so far.
I have a 24 gallon tank with 30 lbs of live sand and 33 lbs of live rock. I have two power heads running and two back filters. Below are my test results. If there is anything I should be doing, please let me know.

salt level is 1.024
Phos. is 0.5
calc. is 200
Nitrate is .20
Nitrite is .01
Ammonia is 0
Ph hi is 7.9
Ph low is 7.6
carb hardness is 20
Gen Hardness is 10
Iron is 0
Thanks Bill

Phosphates are really high... Are u using tap water? Dkh shouldnt be 20? The test doesnt read that far accuratley...? Did u just get the from calculations? Ph is way to low, get it to 8.3 , nitrite is still present wo your cycle isnt quite over, calc levels are low, if ur planning a reef id buy some supplements, kents marine a and b are good

 

[bald57]

When I mixed my salt water I used RO water. Everything is slowly coming to where they should be but I know the tank hasn't fully cycled yet. Will continue to monitor and do more tests. Will do another full test tommorrow afternoon if I get a chance and repost.

 

[Beengirl]

What ammonia source are you using? At 9 days out, I would expect higher ammonia and nitrite results. Using only LR and LS to cycle won't give you a high enough ammonia spike to produce enough BB to support fish when you add them. That means that when you add fish, you'll have a mini cycle and the fish might not make it.
I would put a raw shrimp in a pantyhose, tie it off and toss it in the tank. Let it rot. Yes, it will smell bad after a few days, but leave it. You want ammonia to get at least up to 4 ppm. So test once a day and make sure it gets up to that. Test ammonia, nitrite and nitrate once a day. Leave the light off, it'll only encourage algae growth. Testing the other stuff is great practice, but isn't really necessary until you have fish or coral in there. When you have ammonia spike to 4 and back to 0, nitrite spike and back to 0, and by then your nitrates will probably be very high, then you're fully cycled. That's when you do a big water change and add a fish. Sorry if this is redundant info for you, just wanted to be thorough. Lol lots of luck with your tank!!

 

[Crystal A]

Great advice from beengirl. Don't worry so much about ph and all that jazz yet. Worry more about getting that cycle going good and strong. I wouldn't suggest doseing anything at this point. To early in the game for that. A little low on the ph side is okay it's more about stability. On a side note when it comes to ph you will get different results at different times of the day. It has to do with your light cycle. The longer they are on the higher the ph. This is why most people have their refugium lights on opposite the dt tank, keeps it stable. Glad to see the tank is coming along. Post some pics we always love seeing pics.

 

[bald57]

when I first started my system my ammonia was 6.1, my nitrite was .03 and nitrate was 5. I have added cycle to start the system and now I have a small 3 days ago I added a small fish. I have been following a fellows advice in lethbridge and he said this is what he did with his tank.

 

[bald57]

I have tried to add pics but cant figure out how to do it. everytime I try it wants a link. any ideas.

 

[Crystal A]

Okay what kind of fish did you add. Might be a little bit premature. That's okay as long as you keep an eye on your ammonia. If you have a spike do a water change to lower it. I let my tank cycle for close to 50 days before I added a fish, but some people also do fish-cycles.

As far as adding pictures I am usually on my phone so I can just download them write from there but if you are on a desk top you can upload you pics to a photo album then link them from there. If you see fort343 online ask him. He is a moderator and knows all about loading pics and has helped me out with the potm contests. Hope that helps.

 

[Beengirl]

Okay. I guess that worked for you then!! I agree with Crystal, just keep an eye on ammonia for a while and do PWC as necessary. Congrats on the new tank!! Post pics when you can.

 

[bald57]

hi all. The little fish I added was a small guppie. Believe it or not it is thriving. I acclamed it very slowly over 4 days and it is just being a normal little fish. Just did ammonia test and it is sitting betweem 0.0 and 0.1
so far it looks fine. I will keep an eye on it very closely.

 

[Crystal A]

Are guppies saltwater???? I thought they only lived in fresh water.

 

[emerald76]

Are guppies saltwater???? I thought they only lived in fresh water.

They can go either way

 

[bald57]

they are fresh water as well as the mollie family. You can switch them but you have to switch them over very slowly over a couple of days. The only issue is that because of there body size and the boincy of the salt water they have a tendancy to stay at the top of the tank.

 

[Crystal A]

Oh I had heard about the mollies but not guppies. Fascinating. Keep us posted on how it goes with the new tank.