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03-02-2012, 11:35 PM
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#21
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Aquarium Advice FINatic
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Rhode Island, USA
Posts: 550
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Quote:
Originally Posted by joseramentol
no not yet i just built my tank on weds and i put more salt water in it today before asking the quest dummy me lol is that going to affect my cycle or not and if so how can i fix it 
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Do you have a test kit? If not it HAS to be your next purchase, you can't run a tank without one.
At this point you basically want to add some ammonia, this will get the cycle started. You could just throw a raw shrimp in there (from the supermarket), as it decays it will produce ammonia. Then you test the water weekly until your ammonia, nitrates, nitrites are all at zero, this will take a month or so. When it is at zero your tank has the needed bacteria to breakdown fish waste (ammonia) and your tank is ready for its first fish. When you a half way through your cycle you can start to get a clean up crew (hermit crabs, snails etc), then when it's cycled and you are getting fish be sure to add one at a time so the bacteria can grow to combat the added ammonia.
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03-03-2012, 12:18 AM
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#22
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Aquarium Advice Activist
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: miami,florida
Posts: 108
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TomStav
Do you have a test kit? If not it HAS to be your next purchase, you can't run a tank without one.
At this point you basically want to add some ammonia, this will get the cycle started. You could just throw a raw shrimp in there (from the supermarket), as it decays it will produce ammonia. Then you test the water weekly until your ammonia, nitrates, nitrites are all at zero, this will take a month or so. When it is at zero your tank has the needed bacteria to breakdown fish waste (ammonia) and your tank is ready for its first fish. When you a half way through your cycle you can start to get a clean up crew (hermit crabs, snails etc), then when it's cycled and you are getting fish be sure to add one at a time so the bacteria can grow to combat the added ammonia.
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thats great help man i owe you big time lol also can i buy the bacteria or just do it with the shrimp its the first time i hear about this,also my nitrates,nitrites how do i get them to 0 is that a special liquid and what happens if lets say 1 of them is at 0 and the other 1 is not how do i fix that and whats the amonia level supposed to be 0 ?
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03-03-2012, 12:41 AM
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#23
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Aquarium Advice FINatic
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Rhode Island, USA
Posts: 550
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Quote:
Originally Posted by joseramentol
thats great help man i owe you big time lol also can i buy the bacteria or just do it with the shrimp its the first time i hear about this,also my nitrates,nitrites how do i get them to 0 is that a special liquid and what happens if lets say 1 of them is at 0 and the other 1 is not how do i fix that and whats the amonia level supposed to be 0 ?
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You have all the bacteria in your live rock, that's why its "live". You just need to give that bacteria some food in the way of ammonia, do this by throwing in a raw shrimp. Your nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia will all spike, you want them to go down to 0 before adding fish, your ph should be around 8.2. It will take time but that's what you have to do. I always think that the less chemicals you put in to the tank the better it is for your fish. Just take your time with it all otherwise you will have loads of problems, I'm currently setting up a 55g with a 10g sump, it's taken me months to plan it, I haven't even got the tank yet! You can check it out if you like here http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums...ts-184556.html
Before you buy that 75g have a think about what you want, trust me it will save you a lot of time, I went through 3 tanks in my first two years with SW before I got a setup I was happy with.
As far as fixing the levels, that is a HUGE question with many answers, your best bet is to worry about that once your cycle is finished. Simply put, the easiest way to fix your levels is to do a water change, but that doesn't get to the source of the problem, cross that bridge when you come to it.
There's sooo much to learn in this hobby, that's what makes it so addicting.
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03-03-2012, 12:45 AM
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#24
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Giant Clam Addict
Community Admin



Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Summerville, Pennsylvania
Posts: 20,640
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Quote:
Originally Posted by joseramentol
thats great help man i owe you big time lol also can i buy the bacteria or just do it with the shrimp its the first time i hear about this,also my nitrates,nitrites how do i get them to 0 is that a special liquid and what happens if lets say 1 of them is at 0 and the other 1 is not how do i fix that and whats the amonia level supposed to be 0 ?
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For your cycle just toss in a shrimp or pure ammonia. It'll go from there. Bacteria will grow to eat the ammonia and produce nitrite. Bacteria will grow to eat the nitrite and produce nitrate. You remove nitrates via your water changes. If you have a fuge, the algae in there will consume them. If you have algae in your tank, it can throw your nitrate readings off as it will be consuming them, but when you clean the algae out of the tank the nitrates will rise.
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03-03-2012, 12:47 AM
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#25
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Aquarium Advice Addict
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Northern CA
Posts: 2,638
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03-03-2012, 01:18 AM
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#26
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Aquarium Advice Activist
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: miami,florida
Posts: 108
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AquaRick
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that is perfect it answers all my questions
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03-03-2012, 01:23 AM
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#27
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Aquarium Advice Activist
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: miami,florida
Posts: 108
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that setup looks amazing hopefully one day i will get to that level lol  i will go buy my dead shrimp tomorrow lol
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03-03-2012, 03:46 PM
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#28
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Aquarium Advice Addict
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Northern CA
Posts: 2,638
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Quote:
Originally Posted by joseramentol
that setup looks amazing hopefully one day i will get to that level lol  i will go buy my dead shrimp tomorrow lol
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If you have a local Ace hardware, I'd suggest getting the pure ammonia. Much easier to dose with and goes a lot more quickly.
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03-03-2012, 06:30 PM
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#29
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Aquarium Advice Activist
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: miami,florida
Posts: 108
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AquaRick
If you have a local Ace hardware, I'd suggest getting the pure ammonia. Much easier to dose with and goes a lot more quickly.
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yea but how do i know how much to put in does it come with a measuring thing and i believe its 4ppm or something like that right?
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03-03-2012, 06:47 PM
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#30
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Aquarium Advice Addict
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Northern CA
Posts: 2,638
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Quote:
Originally Posted by joseramentol
yea but how do i know how much to put in does it come with a measuring thing and i believe its 4ppm or something like that right?
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A little goes a long way. Start out with a teaspoon and test. Add as needed and remember how much you need to dose to 4ppm.
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03-03-2012, 09:37 PM
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#31
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Aquarium Advice Activist
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: miami,florida
Posts: 108
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sniperhank
For your cycle just toss in a shrimp or pure ammonia. It'll go from there. Bacteria will grow to eat the ammonia and produce nitrite. Bacteria will grow to eat the nitrite and produce nitrate. You remove nitrates via your water changes. If you have a fuge, the algae in there will consume them. If you have algae in your tank, it can throw your nitrate readings off as it will be consuming them, but when you clean the algae out of the tank the nitrates will rise.
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do i throw the shrimp in the tank or do i put it in a little bag with wholes and how many just 1, and is this a 1 time process or am i ganna have to do it more than once
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03-03-2012, 11:01 PM
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#32
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Aquarium Advice FINatic
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Rhode Island, USA
Posts: 550
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Quote:
Originally Posted by joseramentol
do i throw the shrimp in the tank or do i put it in a little bag with wholes and how many just 1, and is this a 1 time process or am i ganna have to do it more than once 
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You can put it in a bag or a net to make less mess, just 1 will be fine, keep checking the water until the ammonia spikes then remove it.
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03-04-2012, 08:36 PM
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#33
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Aquarium Advice Activist
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: miami,florida
Posts: 108
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finally did my first water change n it was succesful i had to do it because my salt was off the charts its supposed to b between 1.020 & 1.025 correct?
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03-04-2012, 08:40 PM
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#34
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Giant Clam Addict
Community Admin



Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Summerville, Pennsylvania
Posts: 20,640
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1.025 - 1.028
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03-04-2012, 09:12 PM
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#35
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Aquarium Advice FINatic
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Rhode Island, USA
Posts: 550
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Quote:
Originally Posted by joseramentol
finally did my first water change n it was succesful i had to do it because my salt was off the charts its supposed to b between 1.020 & 1.025 correct?
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I always keep my tanks between 1.022 & 1.026, if your using a hydrometer and not a refractometer I suggest 1.023 - 1.024 as they are not very accurate.
Have you added an ammonia source yet? Got a test kit?
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03-04-2012, 10:02 PM
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#36
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Aquarium Advice Activist
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: miami,florida
Posts: 108
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TomStav
I always keep my tanks between 1.022 & 1.026, if your using a hydrometer and not a refractometer I suggest 1.023 - 1.024 as they are not very accurate.
Have you added an ammonia source yet? Got a test kit?
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yea im using a hydrometer and i measured around 1.023,i havent gotten my test kit but i took my water to my local shop and they test it for free and my ammonia was super high so they gave me bio-spira and told me the bacteria should start lowering everything and about 3 days my tank should be done
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03-04-2012, 10:49 PM
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#37
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Aquarium Advice Addict
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Northern CA
Posts: 2,638
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Quote:
Originally Posted by joseramentol
finally did my first water change n it was succesful i had to do it because my salt was off the charts its supposed to b between 1.020 & 1.025 correct?
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Aim for 1.026. It's the salinity of natural sea water.
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03-05-2012, 11:50 PM
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#38
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Aquarium Advice Activist
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: miami,florida
Posts: 108
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03-05-2012, 11:57 PM
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#39
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Giant Clam Addict
Community Admin



Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Summerville, Pennsylvania
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I want to say that is an aquaticlife 2 bulb unit. They can snap together for larger units, up to 6 bulb I think.
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03-06-2012, 12:14 AM
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#40
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Aquarium Advice Activist
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: miami,florida
Posts: 108
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