cycling

[steve r]

i set my tank up on 10/11 with live sand ( 40lbs carib-sea )
this was the readings on 10/13
[acronym:963ad7893f="Specific gravity"]SG[/acronym:963ad7893f] 1.24
temp 78
[acronym:963ad7893f="power head or Measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions, depending on context"]ph[/acronym:963ad7893f] 8.0
[acronym:963ad7893f="Alkinity"]alk[/acronym:963ad7893f] normal ( on the high side of nromal)
ammonia. .25 measured. .0145 when using the calculations on the instr.
nitrite .2
nitrate 2.5

on 10/14 i added 40lbs of [acronym:963ad7893f="Live rock"]LR[/acronym:963ad7893f] from [acronym:963ad7893f="Live rock"]LR[/acronym:963ad7893f].com. seems like there was not a lot of die off. lots of lving things

this is the reading from this morning
[acronym:963ad7893f="Specific gravity"]SG[/acronym:963ad7893f] 1.022
temp 80
[acronym:963ad7893f="power head or Measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions, depending on context"]ph[/acronym:963ad7893f] 8.1
[acronym:963ad7893f="Alkinity"]alk[/acronym:963ad7893f]. normal ( on the high side of normal)
ammonia. .25 measured. .022 when using the calculations on the instr.
nitrite 0
nitrate 0

does this sound "normal" for a new tank about to cycle or that has just started. there has not been a lot of die off that i have seen. two crabs for sure and a very small star fish.

do i need to add a piece of shrimp to give the ammonia a jump? i am being patient. i am just wondering if things are working correctly. i used [acronym:963ad7893f="Reverse osmosis"]RO[/acronym:963ad7893f] water to set up the tank. i have not changed any water, or added any chemicals. i have just topped of the tank with [acronym:963ad7893f="Reverse osmosis"]RO[/acronym:963ad7893f] water

thanks as usual for the help
steve

[seaham358]

If you dont have a lot of die off a small shrimp can help get it going. Was the [acronym:71a0cb62b7="Live rock"]LR[/acronym:71a0cb62b7] cured already? And your just getting a small amount of die off from shipping?
toss the shrimp in a give a some more time. Every cycle is different so it could be just taking a little longer in your tank.....

[steve r]

it came from [acronym:ca9141667f="Live rock"]LR[/acronym:ca9141667f].com. they dont specify cured or not. it comes from their "farm" to their warhouse and they say minimal holding time. so i would guess not cured. but the die off seems very minimal. and that die off seems just from shipping. if anything things are starting to pop out much more and get a little bigger. the feather dusters are really growing and more clams and snails appear each day. i will give it another day or two and then throw in the shrimp

thanks
steve r

[fishfreek]

ammonia. .25 measured. .022 when using the calculations on the instr.

what do you mean by "using the calculations on the instr."?

What kind of test kit and how to dhey tell you to calculate the ammonia?

If you have no other life in the tank other than the [acronym:6b1f4bf48e="Live rock"]LR[/acronym:6b1f4bf48e] then you could if you want put 1 medium sized shrimp in the tank. By looking at your sig you have a 29 [acronym:6b1f4bf48e="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:6b1f4bf48e] tank and more than one shrimp is going to be to much to kickstart your ammonia cycle. Historicly the [acronym:6b1f4bf48e="Live rock"]LR[/acronym:6b1f4bf48e].com rock has little dieoff.

[steve r]

i would have to check for sure but i think it is the red sea brand test kit. the one that comes with the basic tests.

the instructions gave a calculation that uses water temp and [acronym:39a43aae84="power head or Measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions, depending on context"]ph[/acronym:39a43aae84] to determine another ammonia reading. i think it was some sort of percentage of toxic ammonia. i have to look when i get home and make sure. can i just use the info off of the card with out the extra calculations. i have only the live rock. there are a good number of hitchhikers. but no life i have added so maybe one medium shrimp is order

thanks
steve r