Newbie to forum wanting to intro and ask some advice

[JW20VT]

Hello all , First off I have been a lurker to this great forum for a little while. Its a great forum and I really wanted to give thanks for all the info i have found during my research on starting in this hobby.
I have had a tank in cycle for a couple of months now , Have been getting some great advice posting on another forum and reading alot of great info on here so I decided to join.

I am at the end of my cycle I believe , I have been over my nitrite spike for a few weeks and showing a nice orange color on my api test for Nitrates. Been stable at this level for over a week and if I understand this right , i am now cycled.

Read alot on conflicting info on whether or not i should do one big water change to help the nitrate levels to come down from the 20(orange color) it is now to a safe level for adding a CUC and/or a couple fish.

my other problem/question is that i was told not to keep filter media in filter during the end cycle because of the nitrite spike and high nitrate during the end of cycle process. Do i add my filter media before i do my big water change so i collect some the bacteria filtration on the media or should I do the water change and add the media after and let it circulate to collect some bacteria filtration with the new water levels

I really appreciate your time in reading this and I really look forward to being a part of this forum.

 

[TheTodd]

If your ammonia and nitrites are staying zero, you sound good to go with adding fish/CUC. I would do a water change and add filter media at the same time. Most of your bacteria is going to be in sand/rock and filter pads/media will grow BB over time.

Welcome aboard!

 

[Rmckoy]

Hello all , First off I have been a lurker to this great forum for a little while. Its a great forum and I really wanted to give thanks for all the info i have found during my research on starting in this hobby. I have had a tank in cycle for a couple of months now , Have been getting some great advice posting on another forum and reading alot of great info on here so I decided to join. I am at the end of my cycle I believe , I have been over my nitrite spike for a few weeks and showing a nice orange color on my api test for Nitrates. Been stable at this level for over a week and if I understand this right , i am now cycled. Read alot on conflicting info on whether or not i should do one big water change to help the nitrate levels to come down from the 20(orange color) it is now to a safe level for adding a CUC and/or a couple fish. my other problem/question is that i was told not to keep filter media in filter during the end cycle because of the nitrite spike and high nitrate during the end of cycle process. Do i add my filter media before i do my big water change so i collect some the bacteria filtration on the media or should I do the water change and add the media after and let it circulate to collect some bacteria filtration with the new water levels I really appreciate your time in reading this and I really look forward to being a part of this forum.

After you do your water change . If you are unsure
You can try adding a raw shrimp and if your ammonia doesn't spike you are cycled .
But I think you are read to go and start slowly stocking .
What size is your tank ?
What's your setup ? Filtration , skimmer , lights ?
Do you have a sand bed and how much rock ?

 

[carey]

if you have 0 trites and ammonia after them peaking and spiking and now are left withjust nitrates then yep, youre done and ready for your first big water change and then on to livestock. just add slowly and you'll do great.

 

[Rmckoy]

If a tank sits empty after a cycle it will start a cycle again as soon as you introduce a ammonia source again ?

 

[carey]

depends on how long it sits empty. If you have plenty of sand and rock it could be weeks before the beneficial bacteria goes away.

 

[JW20VT]

Thank you ALL for replies everyone here is so nice and very helpful I appreciate it.Sorry for being rude and forgetting to add my setup. I have posted on another similar forum and forgotten I havent listed any of my setup.

My setup is currently a 29g glass , have 20lb live sand and about 18-20 of live rock....I know i'm a little shy on the rock side and wanting to add more....I'm currently running a HOB Whisper70 , I'm the tinkering type of guy so with this HOB I was running carbon in a mediabag at first but was told to remove it for the remain time of cycle so it has been running just circulating water for few weeks, I had a plan to mod this HOB into something decent because of its size I figured I could work something out but honestly I'v been looking into a big HOB refuge and just DIY myself something out of it OR doing a HOB AC110 mod'd with a nice media basket for running different media and cheato.
I'm running one of the new Fluval titanium heaters and has been holing around 80-82 during cycle since purchased,living in a old house I get draft a lot so I know i'm going to have to keep an eye on it. For lighting I also have one of the new Fluval Full Spec. LED setups which I got for dirt dirt cheap and to try out from a friend who helps manage my closest LFS .

I am planning on my big water change tonight and see how that goes, picked up a ton of distilled last night during my weekly shopping . If all goes well with the water change I was told to start with my pair of clowns I mentioned to a local guy when he asked what my list o wants for livestock.

When I'm adding the first of my livestock should I be adding any additive to help with the stress of new tank and being the first fish in ?

 

[JW20VT]

Wow Carey I just realized when I was looking at your albums/tanks that your 29g has almost the exact fishlist I want....kinda creepy , How is it working out ?

 

[carey]

The 29 biocube is doing well, some algae issues and aipastia but the fish seem happy and are a bit too well fed. lol What fish are you looking to add? I loved my straight 29g glass tank, that was my first saltwater tank and I found the size to be perfect for a beginner.

 

[JW20VT]

Doing a big water change today , ill post tests later and maybe get some pics to add and show off.

Was going to try and pickup a few snails at LFS to start on the brown alg. That has shown up this week. Its really not bad but its all over the front glass .... Anyone tell me what is good to add into my filter when i put it together after the waterchange? I saw fluval had some cermic stuff to help in collecting bacteria in filters .... Carbon ok ?

 

[carey]

I run carbon on occassion, but not constantly, its expensive and only works for a few weeks at most anyways. Since you have live rock I would stay away from the ceramic rings, the extra surface bacteria isnt really needed in my opinion.
Do you have a mag flaot? That is the easiest way to get rid of the algae on the glass.

 

[JW20VT]

I do not have a magnet, I see some people using one but never looked into it. Am i too early to have a mini CUC ( few snails) to keep the algae i do have down.

Wanted to ask how your blennys act towards other tank mates?

Finished up with a big WC yesterday and curious how the test will look today when im out of work. I did a nitrate test last night before bed and had lighter orange color i believe its between 10 and 20 ppm.... Nitrite and ammonia were bother zero still so looking good. Cant believe long wait is just about over for my cycle ha never thought the day would come

 

[Rmckoy]

I do not have a magnet, I see some people using one but never looked into it. Am i too early to have a mini CUC ( few snails) to keep the algae i do have down. Wanted to ask how your blennys act towards other tank mates? Finished up with a big WC yesterday and curious how the test will look today when im out of work. I did a nitrate test last night before bed and had lighter orange color i believe its between 10 and 20 ppm.... Nitrite and ammonia were bother zero still so looking good. Cant believe long wait is just about over for my cycle ha never thought the day would come

Even though you are now cycled and ready for livestock ,
Remember to take it slow ,
Don't add too much too fast .

 

[carey]

The only blenny I have had that gave anyone any trouble is my barnacle blenny and a red lipped blenny. The barnacle is the king of the tank he is in and the red lipped lasted about 2 days before him picking on super big fish finally got him eaten.