i need a little help please with tank upgrade

[bigford84]

yeah that sux... i like the hitch hikers.. here is todays test

sal=1.024
ph= 8.0
ammo=.50
nitrite=.50
nitrate=80

so i thought i would be ok with just waiting around for this tank to cycle,cause i already have a 30 gal sw tank running...but... i wish it would go faster!! i wanna scape it so bad.. plus..joke.. i know the fish in my 30 gal are staring at it just waiting to explore..lol

should i be testing every day when cycling??

and when i do the first water change... does enyone do it out of the sump?? waite that wont work will it? nevermind

 

[mr_X]

i wouldn't test every day. every 3 or 4 days is fine.

you can do a water change from the sump if the sump is large enough. you have a 30 gallon sump. if you are only doing a 10 gallon water change, i would take it from the sump, unless you are vacuuming up something in the DT during the change...

 

[abdhalim2]

i would test the water every other day...i do my PWC by vacuum from the DT coz i have small tank...then i top up the water through the sump...as Mr X has said, u have 30 sump which is big enough to do PWC there....except if u want to vacuum out the waste or detritus from the sand....JMO.....

 

[bigford84]

so whats with all the bubbles?? in the sand and on the rock?? bubbles coming from all over.. it looks like willy wonkas in there.. i know its not from the return.. its coming out of the sand and rocks.. and when i first put the sand in i stured it up to get most of the bubbles out.. stuff on in front of the rock is salt on the glass..sory but all the black looking spots in the sand are bubbles

also when do i turn on the skimmer?? and put the filter sock back on? no hurry just wondering

 

[abdhalim2]

u have same problem with someone here....some said its was nitrogen and its normal...but idk....can wait the expert answer it for u....

...also when do i turn on the skimmer?? and put the filter sock back on? no hurry just wondering

what did u meant..??? did u switch off your skimmer right now..??

 

[bigford84]

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[bigford84]

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[bigford84]

u have same problem with someone here....some said its was nitrogen and its normal...but idk....can wait the expert answer it for u....

what did u meant..??? did u switch off your skimmer right now..??

yeah i was informed to not run skimmer or sock when cycling, its been off since i started cycle

sory about the extra posts...ooopppss

 

[abdhalim2]

owh..im not sure about that....anyway, when was the last time u read your water parameter...???

 

[mr_X]

those are diatoms on the sand bed, and yes, that's gases leaving the sand bed. i have read (and typed on this forum as a result) that it's nitrogen. i don't think it's a problem, for it's been a happening in most, if not all of the tanks i have cycled, and goes away as fast as it came.

 

[bigford84]

owh..im not sure about that....anyway, when was the last time u read your water parameter...???

last nite. and ill do it tonite too just cause im board

 

[abdhalim2]

lets see your reading tonight...u cant do anything if ur tank stil have ammonia reading....juz wait and see the miracle...

 

[bigford84]

ok here is todays test

sal=1.023
ph=8.0
ammo=0
nitrite=0.25
nitrate=40

so when the nitrites are zero i can do pwt???

any suggestions for this part of cycle??

also when i was cycling my 30 gal, someone told me when i do my first pwt to do a 90% and be done with it... what did he mean?

and, in the forums i see people saying once the ammo,and nitrites go to zero, put some more shrimp or food in the tank to check the cycle. what do they mead?? and how do you do it? step by step

im almost there rite??

 

[abdhalim2]

yup..u are on the track and alomost there....some said u can do PWC when the ammonia is 0...dunno when the nitrite is 0 can do or not...u may now prepare some water for u to do pwc...prepare mix water to do 30%-50% water change.....

 

[bigford84]

ok here is todays test

ph=8.2
ammo= 0
nitrite= 0
nitrate=40

so hows that?? no what do i do? oh and i added a few more questions to my last post.. thanks guys!!!

 

[bigford84]

ok last night i put a pinch of food in the tank around 9pm and got these results tonight..

sal=1.024
ph=8.2
ammo=.25
nitrite=.25
nitrate=40

last night test was 0 for ammo and nitrite and 40 for nitrate.
so tomorrow when i test again and get 0 for ammo and nitrite. im gonna vacume the poo out, and clean the glass.and do a 20 to 40 % pwt??

also should i turn the skimmer back on??

and how long after the first pwt till i can add the fish,nems,and live rock from my 30 gal fowlr tank??

does this sound ok?? or what should i do at this point??

 

[mr_X]

it's been 12 days since you added the shrimp. i know some folks say this is possible, but i've never seen a tank cycle that fast. i would give it 3 weeks before you start thinking about water changes.
you can turn the skimmer on if you like.

after ammonia and nitrite are gone and you've done a water change, and tested again just to be sure, you could add the livestock and rock from the other tank immediately.

 

[abdhalim2]

since u already put pinch of fish food, let wait until your ammo reading reach 0...after that u might do 30-50% pwc and u can add the livestock...

 

[bigford84]

sory to ask so much, its just that i read allot about doing the cycle and keep hearing allot of different things i should do...

so here is todays test

sal=1.028.. b4 topoff
ph= 8.2
ammo=0
nitrite=0
nitrate=40

with that being said.

1 people say to add a fish or 2 to keep the cycle up???
2 add food or dead shrimp to check the cycle??
3 do water changes to keep the cycle up??


now im not trying to be a pain in the butt or in a big hurry, just double checking that im just going to let it sit for some time and do nothing,and it wont mess up the cycle?

sounds stupid iv cycled and am running a 30 gal nicely but **** im confused now.knock some sence into me... thanks guys

 

[abdhalim2]

hey bigford84...talking FME, i do water change when my water parameter reads
ammo = 0
nitrite = 0
nitrate = 20
after i do 30% of pwc, then i add fish to my tank....
IMO, u can do PWC and add livestocks slowly into the tank to balance the water parameter...