My first SW Tank

[Homedog98]

i uploaded the pictures as an attachment so it works, they're in post #12. Don't want to repost too many times

Ok cool... I'll have a look.

 

[Homedog98]

That worked!

 

[BallinCrew10]

Wait until you do a PWC to get the sand off your LR.

 

[melosu58]

How about some water test results. We can see where you are on your cycle.

 

[Henry405]

I am currently using a turkey blaster to blast bits of sand off until the water gets a bit cloudy, then wait for it to clear and start again.

Here is the water parameters from yesterday:

pH: 7.8~8.0
Ammonia: 1.0
Nitrate: .25
Nitrate: 20~40

Added 2 more shrimps after this test totaling 4 shrimps in tank

and today:

pH: 8.1
Ammonia: 5.0?
Nitrite: I can't tell, its pretty high
Nitrate: 80

Pictures of each test below

Should I take out the shrimps?

 

[Greenmaster]

Generally you don't want to take out the shrimps until the cycle is complete and you no longer have ammonia/nitrite showing on your tests... also I would wait to take them out until the night before or the morning before you buy your fish. I personally prefer to use the ammonia method because you can more acuratelly adjust the ammonia, like when your nitrites are off the scale you can cut back on your ammonia for a day or two till the nitrites get down and then add ammonia again.

 

[Henry405]

How high of a nitrite level before I should take the shrimps out for a day or two? Also is there any high danger levels I should be watching out for that might kill the bacteria on the LR like the nitrate?

 

[Greenmaster]

I would probably take the shrimp out and freeze them in a bag... wait for my numbers to come down and then put the shrimp back in... I would say you have way more ammonia production in there then you need.

 

[kurtyboh]

+1 to greenmaster unless you want a seriously strong cycle which will take longer but also allow you to add more fish in the end but its still not recommended to do so. Also nitrate is the last stage of the nitrogen cycle and will not affect ammonia or nitrite.

 

[Greenmaster]

You can still get a "strong cycle" but you would be best to get the nitrites in line first and then introduce more ammonia... or else you run the risk of having the nitrites too high so all the ammonia is gone out of the system long before the nitrites and you end up with an improper balance of bacteria. This is the reason I have switched to aqua ammonia dosing.

 

[kurtyboh]

Which is one of the reasons its not recommended, with sw its best to just take it slow.

 

[Henry405]

Just tested my water again so that low light wouldn't be a factor resulting in darker results:

pH: 8.0
Ammonia: 4.0
Nitrite: 5.0
Nitrate: 40

 

[RICH305]

Just wait a few days FOr the levels to even out they are way high I think 4 shrimp was was too much but that's just my opinion

 

[Henry405]

Four shrimps is a lot for my tank. I think its recommended 1 shrimp for a 30g and 2 for a 55g but due to this being my first SW tank and I plan on housing a dwarf lion fish in the future, I wanted to have a strong bacteria colony since lion fishes produces so much waste. From the different advices I got, I think I'm beginning to understand cycling a tank better

This is what I think:

LFS told me to remove the shrimps because my ammonia was pretty high. This will result in my tank having enough bacteria to remove 4.0 ppm of ammonia.

Greenmaster's method of leaving the shrimps in will result in my tank being able to maintain 0 ammonia even when there is a large source releasing 4.0 ppm of ammonia in the tank.

Therefore, it would be more wise for me (a novice) in this hobby to keep maybe just 1 shrimp in now so that I can have a bigger colony of bacteria to deal with the high levels of waste from a lion fish. This will also allow me a little bit more flexibility to account for noobie mistakes in bio-load control

Does this sound good? any inputs are welcomed.

 

[kurtyboh]

What you have is confusing greenmaster said remove the shrimp the thing is that the shrimp may deteriorate before your cycle finishes, if that is the case you will have higher nitrite bacteria, but nit enough ammonia bacteria. You want to make sure your cycle doesnt stall at any stage.

 

[Henry405]

yea I'm planning to remove the 3 shrimps and only have 1 at a time. the rest will be frozen and then ill add another one when my numbers get a bit lower

also considering to switch over to pure ammonia over shrimp,but I dont quite understand the process. Do I keep adding the ammonia until the tank can zero out ammonia in 24 hours?

 

[Greenmaster]

The ammonia way is you add enough ammonia to bring your tank to 1-4 ppm you then wait till it Nitrites get to zero, you then repeat the process. You continue to repeat the process until you go from 2+ ppm to 0 in less then 24 hours.

 

[Henry405]

ah, I see now, I think ill switch over to that method. The shrimps are beginning to really disgust me. Looks and smells horrible. Where would pure ammonia be in a walmart? I'm pretty sure if I go into walmart and just ask a person, they would have no idea.

 

[Greenmaster]

You are best to go to a janitorial outlet store... where there is someone who knows something about the products they sell. Make sure that when you shake the ammonia there are no bubbles that form... they should all pop almost instantly. No surfactants or perfumes. Just pure water and ammonia.

 

[hackteck]

Go to ace hardware they sell it