Fishman007
Aquarium Advice Addict
Do you know why the skimmer need to "break in" ?
What skimmer did you get?
Do you know why the skimmer need to "break in" ?
If your rock and sand are truly live then you might not see a cycle. The beneficial bacteria is taking care of the ammonia source.
Hey brotha, did you get that nitrate spike? If you didn't, your not cycled. Also your gonna wanna wait at least 6 months to add any coral or a nem. There's a lot going on and it may be rushed a bit. I wanted almost a year before I added my first anemone and almost another 6 months before coral. Things move very slowly in this hobby and things can change very fast. Test test and then test again before doing anything. 16 hours for the shrimp in your tank may have been too little time. I had the shrimp in all three tanks for over a week. It sounds as if you are going to be adding a high stock to your tank, so the higher your bb is, it will only be beneficial.
Is it ok to have a 50-90 gallon skimmer on a 20 gallon ? That's what I'm running... I bought it yesterday
SWC HOT mini skimmer. It's a "clippable" one.
I just bought Red Sea tests, (3 tests for 60$). They very accurate. Are thoses good parameters?
KH: 10°
Ca: 350 ppm
Mg: 1400 ppm
Are thoses values in the good range for corals?
Is it ok for fish only ? I'll add some before I put some corals in 1 monthCalcium is low.
Is it ok for fish only ? I'll add some before I put some corals in 1 month
Have you had any nitrates yet? That's going to be key to knowing your tank is cycled. You have to have a spike even if your tank is cycled you will still have one, how your tank responds is how you will know.
That's fine you can disagree. I have never not had a spike in any tank no matter how much live rock/sand you use. Even in a well established tank, if you loose an animal especially in a 20 gallon tank, you will have a spike and even more, you should be able to watch it go through all three stages.I'm sorry but I totally disagree with what you're saying about the spike. The spike happens only when there is not enough beneficial bacteria to consume it to reproduce more bactreria. If the tank has already more than enough bb you will never see a spike.
I'm sorry but I totally disagree with what you're saying about the spike. The spike happens only when there is not enough beneficial bacteria to consume it to reproduce more bactreria. If the tank has already more than enough bb you will never see a spike.
That's fine you can disagree. I have never not had a spike in any tank no matter how much live rock/sand you use. Even in a well established tank, if you loose an animal especially in a 20 gallon tank, you will have a spike and even more, you should be able to watch it go through all three stages.
The reason a spike accrues is because of something out of normality in a tank, ex a death of a fish or such. I'm saying he should see a spike in his no3 as in after his bb has processed the nh3. The op is worried about ca levels when his tank has yet to actually cycle. My point is, I would hate for the op to add anything to his tank and it fail and fail fast.Also there is no reason to have a spike in a established tank, and if your fish dies than it may not be the fish, but the water chemistry itself
The reason a spike accrues is because of something out of normality in a tank, ex a death of a fish or such. I'm saying he should see a spike in his no3 as in after his bb has processed the nh3. The op is worried about ca levels when his tank has yet to actually cycle. My point is, I would hate for the op to add anything to his tank and it fail and fail fast.