3rd week cycling... Readings???

[neeker4]

Readings in pics below... Nitrates low, nitrites lowish, ph 8.4-8.5, ammonia looks around 0... Agree or am i reading wrong? Also, what is my next step? I have 7 blue leg hermit crabs my lfs gave me when i bought a piece of LR...

 

[Tkey3425]

That nitrite is too high for live fish right now IMO. Let everything zero out for a while before you add any fish. The crabs may be ok but idk. Wait a week or two after the levels zero out because they will spike right back when you add a fish so do it slow. add one maybe two and wait two weeks and then make sure your levels return back to zero again. If you rush it you will either lose you fish or stress them and shorten their life and make them prone to disease from stress.

 

[neeker4]

Thats what i was thinking but i wanted to be sure..x its hard not to add things after looking at an empty tank for 3 whole weeks... As far as the readings go, are they about where they should be for week 3? I had an uncooked shrimp in there for the first 2 weeks, but it fell out and splattered when i was re-doing my rock work... Nothing has been in there for the last week but i am starting to see some diatom blooms now... Thanks for the reply btw!!!

 

[Tkey3425]

Thats what i was thinking but i wanted to be sure..x its hard not to add things after looking at an empty tank for 3 whole weeks... As far as the readings go, are they about where they should be for week 3? I had an uncooked shrimp in there for the first 2 weeks, but it fell out and splattered when i was re-doing my rock work... Nothing has been in there for the last week but i am starting to see some diatom blooms now... Thanks for the reply btw!!!

Diatoms are a good sign. Let the diatoms die off. Your cycle may go a little longer than most if the shrimp fell to pieces. What all is on/in your tank for equipment and are you running the filter system?

 

[neeker4]

Its a biocube 14g... Live rubble instead of bioballs, filter pad, uv sterilizer, no heater as temp stays at 80-81 w feeding hood open all the time, and about 15lbs of LR... Should i run the light full time or leave them off?

 

[Tkey3425]

Its a biocube 14g... Live rubble instead of bioballs, filter pad, uv sterilizer, no heater as temp stays at 80-81 w feeding hood open all the time, and about 15lbs of LR... Should i run the light full time or leave them off?

I left mine off for the cycle. 80-81 seems a little on the high side. I'd play with uv sterilizer on a timer at night when temps are cooler. Really doesn't have to run 24/7. I run mine for 4 hours at night just to let all the water cycle through a couple times. The pump and light will add extra heat and if your lights have been off they will add even more when you do finish you cycle and put it on a lighting schedule

 

[neeker4]

My lights are on for about 9-10hrs a day... I will have to look at the uv sterilizer and see if i can turn it on and off(was included with the tank) i am in florida so it can get warm quickly but i keep my condo around 74-75 so hopefully that will help keep the temp as low as possible... What set up do you have? Biocube?

 

[Tkey3425]

My lights are on for about 9-10hrs a day... I will have to look at the uv sterilizer and see if i can turn it on and off(was included with the tank) i am in florida so it can get warm quickly but i keep my condo around 74-75 so hopefully that will help keep the temp as low as possible... What set up do you have? Biocube?

I have a 180 gallon with a 30 gallon sump. So my uv sterilizer and the pump for it produces significant heat. I keep my house at 68. Do you have any powerheads in the tank? I'd add one if you don't. Just something small like a koralia nano or something.

 

[neeker4]

Yeah i have a generic 320gph PH in there under the outlet to add mid to low level flow... Here is a pic of the tank...



Look ok?

 

[Tkey3425]

Yeah i have a generic 320gph PH in there under the outlet to add mid to low level flow... Here is a pic of the tank...

Look ok?

Yeah looks good. Are you doing a bare bottom?

 

[neeker4]

Yeah i like the look better and think its easier to get all the uneaten crap off the bottom... Mistake?

 

[Tkey3425]

Yeah i like the look better and think its easier to get all the uneaten crap off the bottom... Mistake?

Honestly I've never researched it but I have a bare bottom in my Quarantine tank. I was just curious.

 

[neeker4]

I dont plan on have any diggers in my tank so i figured id try it... Worse comes to worse i can add it in at a later date i believe...

 

[Tkey3425]

I dont plan on have any diggers in my tank so i figured id try it... Worse comes to worse i can add it in at a later date i believe...

Yeah you could but id remove everything living in the tank first. It will cloud for at the minimum a day

 

[kurtyboh]

many things like a sandy bottom even if they dont actually dig in it.
def wait for zeros as others have said, youve waied this long whats another week? (hopefully less)
also, while cycling you dot need your lights on. you can but nothing in there is either going to benefit from it or require it.
lastly, add another raw shrimp. shouldnt see a spike, but whats happening now is your slowly dwindling down on ammonia in tank, some of your beneficial bacteria is dying and becoming ammonia,but as you can imagine its going to be a losing cycle with that route.

 

[neeker4]

Ok ill add a shrimp tonight... How long should i leave it in? A week? Thanks for the advice btw!

 

[kurtyboh]

Well you want to keep adding ammonia until you have something in the tank creating it.
Only a bit of the shrimp is going to break down during a day. Let's say it would release 6ppm throughout a 24 hr period (doesn't matter much how much as long as it's enough to build your bb). The bacteria will multiply until it can't get any more food, bringing your ammonia to zero. Although the shrimp is constantly adding (just like your livestock will), the bacteria will break it down just as fast.
So when you're cycled, you have 0amm, 0trites, and a bunch of trates. Continue to leave the shrimp in until the day before you get fish. Remove the shrimp do your large pwc and start stocking slowly.
Did this all make sense?

 

[neeker4]

It makes sense to me... I have 7 blue leg hermits in now creating a little bioload but i assume that is not sufficient, so the shrimp in tank until all 0s is the best way?

 

[Tkey3425]

It makes sense to me... I have 7 blue leg hermits in now creating a little bioload but i assume that is not sufficient, so the shrimp in tank until all 0s is the best way?

When ammonia and nitrite level out add you one or two fish off your list that are docile by nature. And keep doing that every couple weeks till you get stocked to your liking. Adding slowly will build your bio load and bacteria. Just monitor to see if your ammonia spikes when you add if it does, I recommend using some kordon AmQuel Plus. It's a detoxifier for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, chlorine and chloramines. Will help keep you fish from stressing while the bacteria catches up

 

[neeker4]

Awesome tip... Thank you... Just did a quick water test and here are my findings w a picture... Still cycling it appears... Ph-8.4, No3-5.0, No2-1.0, and ammonia-0... Its hard to tell because some colors are very close, and i noticed that my test kit expired a year ago... Ordered a new one online for like $27+free shipping(score!!!)... Hope to have it by tuesday or wednesday next week to do a new test w non expired(even though the readings don't appear to be off from where they should be in my stage of cycling) chemicals...