New Tank Properties

[Spootz]

Hello All,

I am new to Saltwater aquariums, much like anyone else in this section I guess :P After looking around the forums I have decided to make a thread. I just want some confirmation that my tank is heading in the right direction in regards to water quality.

The tank is roughly 200L in volume and has 15kg of live rock in it. I understand now, that as a new tank it should not have had the live rock added yet. As this has already happened, I am told that it should be okay once the chemicals in the water even out.

The hardware in the tank is as follows:

- There are two circulation pumped (one at either end) <-- Oddly strong (Issue?)
- Heater (Reasonable size)
- Skimmer (Pretty Big)
- Light



Can someone let me know if this is on the right track? Each of the tests were performed roughly two days apart and the water is roughly 2 weeks old with a single 30% water cycle.

Thanks in advanced.

[Supra]

Are you doing fish less, or do you have fish in?
Supra

[Spootz]

Thanks for the reply, it is currently fish less.

[Supra]

I don't know how to link a thread but go to freshwater getting started and there are good advice on fish less cycles, the cycle works the same for salt water. What are you using for an ammonia source?
Supra

[Spootz]

I think the ammonia is from the original fresh water? I'm not really sure if it is that, or some decay caused by the breaking down from some of the worms that were in the living rock.

Will the bacteria be able to convert that much ammonia or?

[Supra]

Yes you want ammonia for the beginning of fish less cycle, if you can find that article it will tell you how to go about it. Or do a search online for fish less cycle. Mine went very smooth and my tank has been up with fish for a wk and a half. Took about 3-4 weeks to cycle. Also you should not be using tap water if you are use prime with it. you want rodi water. I would bare minimum use distiller water
Supra

[Spootz]

Yeah it is tap water, what do you refer to when you say prime?

[Supra]

Prime is a water conditioner that neutralizes ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. Not sure how that would effect your cycle. I'm not an expert, I just answer the easy questions. Lol

[rdnelson99]

Stay away from tap water even if you are using prime or some other water conditioner. It will only cause you major problems down the road. Promise. Get a RO/DI unit. It should remove all contaminants in the water including chlorine.

Here is the link to the saltwater articles section. Excellent information. If you read all of these articles you will be well on your way to a successful tank.

Articles

[Spootz]

Ahhh right thanks that awesome info. So if I were to empty the tank out again, would one option be to go to the beach and collect actual seawater? Or what would you recommend? The RO/DI is any interesting idea, however I do not have the space around the tank other than the cupboard underneath.

[cmor1701d]

Here is the article to Cycle your salt tank

You definitely want to use RODI water for the tank and all PWC's (partial water changes) and for evaporation replenishment.

Don't bother testing pH during the cycle. You want to see Ammonia go up and then down to ZERO, followed by the same for Nitrite. Then nitrite should drop to 0 and nitrate should rise. PWC's remove nitrate.

You have LR in there which is great. If it was uncured LR or out of water for more than a few hours it will be your source of ammonia for the cycle.

You don't want to use Prime or similar during the cycle.

[rdnelson99]

When I first got my RO/DI I would store it in a closet and take it out on the deck when I needed to use it. I would fill a food grade plastic container with the water it produces. Now I have it set up permanently in my laundry room with the same container for fresh water and another for the mixed salt water. Works great for me.

Others will disagree with me but.....I used tap for my initial fill up. The phosphate in my tap water was not very high. I did have some hair algae outbreak as a result but not terrible. I did however get the RO/DI unit very soon after and use it for mixing my saltwater and for the fresh water used for top off. No algae problems since.

[EriksFish315]

Rdnelson I did the same thing as in filling with tap had hair algae then switched to rodi and that solved everything in a couple weeks and no problems in a cople weeks tak is only over a month old. Learn from our mistakes lol

[rdnelson99]

Yup. I can't disagree with starting with RO/DI but, it isn't the end of the world if you didn't. That is as long as your tap water is at least decent quality. Continued use of tap water will build up nasty stuff but if it were me, I wouldn't waste all that salt.

[Spootz]

Hey guys,

Thanks for the awesome feedback. This has given me a few things to think about.

After reading the articles linked, I have now got a bit better of an understanding. However, when I was at the aquarium shop here in Perth, Western Australia, everywhere I have gone they seem to have thought that tap water and salts would be fine? I know that the water is bound to have the same trace elements such as ammonia in it where ever you are, but is it possible to think that maybe the water over here might be more okay with it?

The water over here is quiet good quality tap water from what I have heard.

[EriksFish315]

Only way to tell how good it's would be to get a TDs meter

[cerulean_blue]

Originally Posted by Spootz

Hello All,

I am new to Saltwater aquariums, much like anyone else in this section I guess :P After looking around the forums I have decided to make a thread. I just want some confirmation that my tank is heading in the right direction in regards to water quality.

The tank is roughly 200L in volume and has 15kg of live rock in it. I understand now, that as a new tank it should not have had the live rock added yet. As this has already happened, I am told that it should be okay once the chemicals in the water even out.

The hardware in the tank is as follows:

- There are two circulation pumped (one at either end) <-- Oddly strong (Issue?)
- Heater (Reasonable size)
- Skimmer (Pretty Big)
- Light



Can someone let me know if this is on the right track? Each of the tests were performed roughly two days apart and the water is roughly 2 weeks old with a single 30% water cycle.

Thanks in advanced.

Hey I just wanted to commend you for your chart! Shows you had dedication this hobby requires.

[Spootz]

Hey all,

Just another update for anyone interested still. Figured this might be useful for newcomers as well to reference.

Looks like the ammonia levels have gone down. The Nitrate and Nitrite levels are still going up.



From my understanding this is actually a good sign right? Ammonia down --> Nitrites and Nitrates up?

[Sniperhank]

Yep that is good. Throw some more ammonia in. When you are closer to the end of your cycle, you can test it by throwing ammonia in and if it is gone in like, 10 hours (along with no nitrites), you are cycled.

[rdnelson99]

+1 to what Sniperhank said.