how early will nitrates be detected

[hackteck]

how early in your cycle will you be able to detect nitrates?, i did my first test today with my seachem marine test kit and here are my findings ; ammonia 0.07, nitrite 1.0 , nitrate 10.0 , ph 8.1 . i'm 5 days or so into starting the sw tank out , i have about 60 lbs of lr in there different 3 different types in a 40 gallon tank. does the detection of nitrites mean my cycle is almost ending, because in my fw i didnt detect nitrates untill my cycle was nearing completion, but 5 days that cant be true right?. also is a ph of 8.1 to low?

 

[TXclownin']

PH looks good. I would expect a rise in nitrites before they taper off over the next week or 2. With the live rock you will cycle pretty quickly from what I hear. At day 7 for me (no LR) My amm is 1ppm with trite at 2 ppm and trate at 20ppm, and this is w/ no live rock. Looks to me like you are a little furtther along than me at this point. Good luck.

 

[hackteck]

how many watts per gallon (i beleive its called) would i get with a 36"coralife lunar aqualight pc light fixture, it has 2x 34" bulbs both running @ 96 watts, 1x 96 watt true actinic 03 blue and 1x 96 watt 10k daylight bulb is this an ok light for corals? or do i need to go with something a little stronger to open myself to more corals and such later

 

[TXclownin']

watts/gallon is a basic ratio. Take the number of watts (in your case 192 for the coralife strip you are considering) and put it over the number of gallons in your tank(40 gallons). 192/40= 4.8 watts/gallon. Ill let somone more experienced chime in on wether or not that is enough light for the desired corals.

 

[seaham358]

With your lr if any of it was cured your cycle will be faster then normal.... Uncured LR and the cycle takes longer.......
What types of corals are you thinking about..... your lights will be fine for soft and most LPS corals...
Remember to take things slow..... Nothing fast happens in this hobby...... Except for bad things... Take the time to read up on what you plan on putting in the tank

 

[TXclownin']

Thanks for chiming.....

 

[hackteck]

i need an expert to chime in here, do my readings mean i dont have a strong enough ammonia source to start my cycle? . i tested again today and my readings are down from yesterday. i'm thinkin i probly dont have enough shrimp in there because i know it takes longer to cycle a tank. ammonia 0.02 , nitrite 0.1 nitrate 10.0

 

[hackteck]

any exports around? today i tested , and im reading ammonia 0 nitrite bairly detectable, i'm using the seachem marine test kit, my nitrites are the closest to 0 on the test card. almost clear white with the slighest pink, on the test card it says that means 0. my nitrates are 12 or so kinda hard to tell on the color chart , and my ph is 8.3, does anyone think i just did a weak cycle and if i add any livestock i will start a bigger cycle ,or do you think you think my tank is completely cycled, i cycled with 60 lbs of lr 36 lbs of ls about 45 lbs of the rock was cured the rest wasnt cured. tia

 

[hackteck]

any anyone with any advice, now theres a slight green haze on my front glass and 1 or 2 of my rocks has what looks like brown algae

 

[steve-s]

Your tank has basically cycled, once ammonia and nitrite are undectectable it's done. With over 50% of the rock being pre-cured, a decent amount of nitrifying bacteria would have been added. It would as seaham358 pointed out, greatly speed up the cycle time. It by no means indicates the tank is stable though. On the whole, the level in which the nitrogens spike up to is not really that important as long as they have been detected. It does depend on seeding source, amount and overall surface area's though.

If you still have a decomposing shrimp in there and your getting these kinds of readings, I'd say it's all good. If your ammonia source is gone, keep feeding the tank as if there where fish in it to maintain the food for the bacteria. This will keep the bacteria in higher number for when waste producing animals are added. Bacteria grow/multiply to meet the demands of the tank through the wastes produced. If nothing is decaying and creating ammonia or through fish respiration, then the bacteria will decrease.

As far as your lights are concerned, 2x96w on a 40 gal should do quite well. How deep is the tank?

Cheers
Steve

 

[hackteck]

my tank depth from top to bottom is 19", what do i do about the brown algae?, its growing on 1 of my powerheads also. at first i thought it was collaline but i took a closer look, and its even growing on 1 of my clams shells and my front glass is growing green algae. i guess it willl go away in time huh?

 

[steve-s]

It will indeed go away in time. Nutrient is fueling the algaes and is part and parcel of a new tank. As long as a pure water source is used and foods fed are not high in PO4, you shouldn't have a long term issue.

Cheers
Steve

 

[hackteck]

you mean pure as in r/o/ d/i water?, i do have 1 of these units but i did however top off with dechlorated tap water friday and saturday i wont be doing that again do you think i should do any water changes?

 

[steve-s]

you mean pure as in r/o/ d/i water?

Yes

i do have 1 of these units but i did however top off with dechlorated tap water friday and saturday i wont be doing that again do you think i should do any water changes?

Water changes will definately reduce nutrients/impurities that cause algae and other issues. The dechlor tap water will not cause any real harm though, just possibley some aggravation.

Cheers
Steve