Water numbers help

[bogeymc6]

I have a 29g reef tank! I just put it up Saturday, I have 40lbs of live coral live sand mix! Over 30lbs of really good live rock that a buddy of mine gave me! It has a kinds of good stuff on it! Also has some hitchhikers on it looks like little starfish! Here's my water sample I just did
Salinity 1.023
PH 8.3
Ammonia .25
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 160
Water temp 80
How is she doing?




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[coralbandit]

160 nitrates since Saturday???...
The ammonia could be from some die off in live sand or rock after transfer and really should be gone quickly with nitrates indicating good bacteria are present ...
If you are looking for reef tank parameters nitrates are usually 10 or less...

If the ammonia is not gone quickly I would wonder.
As far as nitrates to lower them you need to do water changes.
The % you change is how much the nutrient will be reduced...
50% water change with 160ppm will leave you with 80ppm still...

[bogeymc6]

It's still cycling! I wasn't going to do a water change till next Saturday maybe I did my test wrong that's why it was so high


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[coralbandit]

Most people who screw up nitrate test get zero not a high number...
Wait it out like you plan but make sure you lower the nitrates before any stock.

[bogeymc6]

K I wasn't going to put any fish in it till about 4 weeks of so


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[coralbandit]

Are you adding any source of ammonia to encourage the cycling?
Kind of wondering how the nitrates got so high so fast?
Many use a cocktail shrimp in a net to produce ammonia to help grow bacteria needed.

[carey]

Did you use fresh saltwater when you set up or get it from the guy with the rock? I can totally see having some ammonia due to die off as was listed above but the nitrates are abnormally high......

[bogeymc6]

Both on the water! And no not putting anything in it! Just filled the tank and put sand and rock in it


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[54seaweed]

I have a 29g reef tank! I just put it up Saturday, I have 40lbs of live coral live sand mix! Over 30lbs of really good live rock that a buddy of mine gave me! It has a kinds of good stuff on it! Also has some hitchhikers on it looks like little starfish!

So both the rock and sand are from another tank correct , nitrates can be from the sand being disturbed , I would never reuse sand from another tank as a lot of times it causes more problems than it's worth as your finding out , high nitrates can also be exorbed into the rock , ammonia can be from die off on the rocks and sand as Cary said .

coral bandit has a good point also

Most people who screw up nitrate test get zero not a high number...
Wait it out like you plan but make sure you lower the nitrates before any stock.

give the tank a chance to cycle out than do a big water change and retest the next day, this should drop the nitrates , put a slanted plate on a flat plat so when adding water you don't disturb the sand again .
your looking for 0 ammonia , 0 nitrite 0 to 20 for a reef closer to 0 is best
hopefully this will level things out so you can add stock

[PB_Smith]

I agree that it is most likely from the sand if it is previously used.


I also noticed that the grain size of the substrate looks rather large, more like coarse crushed coral rather than sand. That traps lots of detritus and muck in the sand bed and is the source of lots of problems. Large grained crushed coral is really only suitable for big tanks housing very large fish.


I would strongly recommend replacing it with a fine grain sand as that is much more suited to a reef tank.
You don't have to spend a fortune on bagged "live" sand, just hit the hardware store and get a bag of white play sand. You should be able to get 50lbs for under $5 or so.


That is what a large number of members here use with great success and if you keep that large gravel like substrate, it will only give you heartache down the road.

[bogeymc6]

The sand is new it's I think it's called Florida coral not live but dead lol


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[PB_Smith]

did it come in a white burlap bag?
Florida crushed coral and as I said really only good for use in fish only setups with big fish. For a reef tank you really want something more like fine sand.
trust me, the crushed coral will trap a lot of junk and give you ongoing water quality issues.
I know from experience.

[54seaweed]

crushed coral also isn't good if you have fish like wrasses as they like to dive into the sub-strait and bury themselves and it can cut up your fish
,

[PB_Smith]

Originally Posted by 54seaweed

crushed coral also isn't good if you have fish like wrasses as they like to dive into the sub-strait and bury themselves and it can cut up your fish
,

[bogeymc6]

New sump up and running! Running great and very quiet! Haven't put my protein skimmer in yet! Thinking about putting a light over the sump so I can get some growth! Also check the water last night now I'm at

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 90 or so

I'm going to change some water out today how much should I pull out? I put 7 gallons in the sump! So now I'm up to 36 gallons now



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[bogeymc6]

Originally Posted by 54seaweed

crushed coral also isn't good if you have fish like wrasses as they like to dive into the sub-strait and bury themselves and it can cut up your fish
,

Thanks man but I wasn't planning on getting any fish like that! I would change it out, but I have the Live rock exactly were I want it! So it will just have to do! Thanks


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[PB_Smith]

Originally Posted by bogeymc6

Thanks man but I wasn't planning on getting any fish like that! I would change it out, but I have the Live rock exactly were I want it! So it will just have to do! Thanks


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Fair enough.
I'm not trying to be a jerk, but in 5-6 months when you can't figure out why your nitrate levels stay high, remember this conversation.

[bribo12]

How can you not want wrasses!!!! They're the greatest! Lol


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