Hi guys and gals. I just started saltwater for the first time. I've never had any aquarist experience before. My biocube has been up and running for exactly 2 weeks with 30lbs of dry rock, 2lbs of
LR rubble and 40lbs of live sand. I used the raw shrimp method to cycle but I made mistake of not putting inside a pantyhose (all the articles I read before I started failed to mention and emphasize the importance of doing this). It was a mess (did I mention smelled really bad?) and I cleaned up the tank. My ammonia peaked within a week then nitrite spiked and went down. Yesterday I took out the shrimp and here are my parameters:
pH: 8.2
Ammonia: 0.25
ppm
Nitrite: 1.0
ppm
Nitrate: 40
ppm
My question is since I took out the shrimp, should I provide the bacteria with an alternative source of ammonia i.e. fish food? Or should I wait it out until it's 0 for ammonia and nitrite.
Another question is should I turn on my
UV sterilizer?
Lastly, I did my best cleaning the tank and removing the debris from rotten shrimp, there are still small particles left, would a good CUC will be able to take care of this? or I'm stuck with those for good? Thanks for your help in advance!
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