new tank update and q's

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ramz28

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Aug 6, 2009
Messages
18
My 125g tank is running good. i swapped out my emp 400s for 2 305s so i have 2 305s and a 405. waters is clear rock has some hair algae.i only have 50lbs atm. so far 2 weeks and everything looks good. i put some cleaner packages in on sunday and it looks better aot of alage has been removed. This sat will be 3 weeks i will test my water quality and hopefully put some fish in. what are my numbers supposed to look like? and if anything is high how do i bring it down? like ammonia or nitrates? or alk? my salinity right now is 1.023-1.024. thanks!
 
Is it my understanding that you only cycled your tank for 2-3 weeks? If so, how did you cycle it, were you checking params during the cycle (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates), and I would really wait for putting fish in. You should cycle your tank with no livestock (no inverts/fish) for a good 5-6 weeks at the least IMO.

Ammonia should be 0
Nitrites should be 0
Nitrates should be very close to 0 but 0-20ppm is ok
pH should be ~8.2
Alkalinity should be between 180-240

Dont impulse buy fish and put them in such a young tank. Patience!
 
my LFS told me to put the rock and sand in 2 weeks ago with my salt mix let my filters run and then this past weekend i told him i had algae so he said put the cleaner kit and next weekend well do a water test and see about fish.
 
Thats fine regarding the water, sand and rock. But did you put in cured LR or uncured - or did you put in DR?

Depending on what you put in, your tank still needs to cycle for at least 5-6 weeks.
 
i put cured LR and marine sand as he said marine sand will become live sand. im pretty much goin with these guys on what they say. every other LFS i went to was like no dont do any of that bring your tank and let me drill it for bulk heads and get u this sump for 450 and a skimmer for 260 and i was like um thats kinda a lot lol. and they didnt even have nice SW tanks in their store. these guys i use have about 40 sw tanks and 50-60 FW and they a have a 2-3k gallon pond for koi. when i use to have FW their fish never died. so i trust them with what they say but then i always like second opinions. thanks
 
HEY!!! A 125??? I'm jealous.. I'm like 1-2 years away from getting a big tank. My 45G Reef will have to do for a while... :)

We are only asking these questions because it usually takes much longer for the cycle to finish. You should be testing your water parameters to confirm that the cycle is complete before adding livestock.

However, if you started with Cured Live Rock from the LFS tanks, then there is a good chance your cycle was much quicker.

Regardless, it's a good idea to learn about how the Biological fintration process works if you are going to keep a SW tank.

Anyway... Sharkbaits answered your actual Q about water parameters. Just make sure they are in check before adding fish or your stress or kill them :(
 
lol i dont want dead fish lol yea imma def check them on sat and see what the tests read. my guys already told they wont let me buy fish until my tests are were they want them. but i was just wondering about bringen them down to spec but it might just mean i havent finished cycling then? my lfs has my shark egg waiting for me. and a baby lionfish. thanks.
 
I understand that you put a lot of trust into your LFS but why don't you do as Melosu said and read up on the site's article on cycling. Cured LR will definitely speed up the process as it did for me but I would still wait a little bit. Dont rush into it because params can change quickly in a newly established tank. We are just trying to help so you can avoid making mistakes and have problems with your aquarium.
 
Well, how long a tank cycles is really all dependent on how your cycling it. Some could take a week.. others could take 6 weeks. Its not set in stone anywhere how long it takes a tank to cycle. As long as your nitrites, ammonia, and nitrates are all 0, after you DID put in an ammonia source at the beginning, then you should be good to go. I know people that have cycled in as little as one week. They have fish, and are running strong. So it really all depends on how you cycle the tank.
 
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