First time cycling tank questions, water test results (pics)

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1brent1

Aquarium Advice Activist
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Oct 27, 2005
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Location
Amherst, NY
After adding live rock/sand/water Tank is now clear!

Live Rock has no significant life on it and is still real white in color. There are a couple smaller pieces that have a little purple but just a little bit.

I had the liverock in trash cans in my basement for about 3 months while setting up the tank. When I first put the live rock in my basement it had lots of purple/bacteria but now it looks dead and turned white, guesing from no light?

Here are my water test results-
Ammonia .25, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, PH 8.2, Phosphate 2, Calcium 460

Suggestions please, what should I do, wait..., buy some live rock -errh, add shrimp, run lights a little bit?

Here's a pic, below- (still setting things up) Here's a earlier photo- http://partydamage.com/fishtank/09.jpg
10.jpg
 
The coralline will re-establish over time. I would add a shrimp as a fail safe measure, just in case the rock isn't enough to start a good cycle. The 'scaping looks awesome by the say. :D
 
If you got the $$ adding more LR will only help the tank.. Toss in a shrimp also and let the games begin.

Question: why all the heaters in the tank?

with a sump you can have them there so you don't have to see them.. What size tank.. looks like a big one.. 180?

Phosphate -2 what type of water are you using? Hopefully it will go away as the tank matures..
 
seaham358 said:
Question: why all the heaters in the tank?

with a sump you can have them there so you don't have to see them.. What size tank.. looks like a big one.. 180?

Phosphate -2 what type of water are you using? Hopefully it will go away as the tank matures..
Yes, heaters are already moved to the sump. Didn't have water in it at the time.

Its a 180 and 40L gal sump. I rinsed the sand with tap water thats probably where the 2 Phosphate came from? I have a direct line (80 feet long) from my RO/DI unit (in basement) with a float value in my sump. Works perfectly! No extra pump needed either. Thanks for the complements!
 
Please help me understand my water parameters.

First water test was taken 2 days after setup.
Results Again: Ammonia .25, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, PH 8.2, Phosphate 2, Calcium 460

Second water test was taken 5 days after setup. (I did clean the bottom of the tank a little about 4 hours before I tested the water if that makes any difference.)
Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 10, PH 8.2

..Not making sense to me. From the readings it looks like the tank cycled already, right? In 5 days? Please help, anyone! I never added any shrimp either.

Greatly Appreciated,
Brent
 
anyone please help. did my tank cycle in 5 days? can I add some fish now? what would you do? thank you!
 
No , your tank should take 4-6 weeks to cycle. Did you put the shrimp in to start the cycle.
 
i tank took 8 days to cycle, not saying thats what your experiencing but thats just what happend, i now i have 2 clowns and a cleanup crew been setup for 3 weeks and everything is still 0 except nitrate which is 5. i did use ls and cured lr which probly sped up my cycle
 
did my tank cycle in 5 days?
More likely is that there is nothing in there currently to feed the cycle. It sort of burned out. Add the cocktail shrimp to get a strong cycle started. It should take a few weeks.
 
so its possible my tank didnt completely cycle if it takes 3-4 weeks? if it didnt then why would my readings read all 0s even with 2 clowns and a cleanup crew for 3 weeks now i test 2 times daily
 
so its possible my tank didnt completely cycle if it takes 3-4 weeks? if it didnt then why would my readings read all 0s even with 2 clowns and a cleanup crew for 3 weeks now i test 2 times daily
As you mentioned...you used LS and cured LR to start the tank. This likely did speed up your cycle. Keep testing water parameters as you have been and add livestock slowly and you should be fine.
 
ok thanks whats your advice on adding corals, you should wait about 6 months right?
 
The addition of corals will really depend on the lighting you have over the tank. If the lighting permits, there is no reason to wait 6 months. A couple months of stable water parameters and you can certainly start with some esier corals.
 
i got an orbit hqi 542 watt mh (55g tank) i just purchased pretty nice unit, it was to big to go over my aquarium so i hung it from the ceiling. i understand with this much lighting i can even get clams later on down the road
 
melosu58 said:
I`m not up to date on your cycle. How did you do yours?
From my understanding its complete. Day 6 and my water test are the same as day 5 (Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 10, PH 8.2)

I just added my Homedepot sand (calcium based) and about 220 lbs of live rock thats been soaking in my basement for 3 months and then my water. As you can see from the photo in my previous post the live rock over the 3 months turned yellowish/white, so I thought it was dead. I guess its not the case if it helped my tank cycle in just 5 days.
 
So I should get a clean up crew now, right. can some one help me on this and give me a list of what to buy at the LFS. 180 gal and 40 gal sump/refuge

Here's a pic of my tank again-
11.jpg
 
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