28 Gallon JBJ Nano Cube Start Up

[grabberblue2010]

Just setup my new Nano it's the CF version mainly going to keep fish with some basic corals eventually. 26 lbs live rock InTank media basket with floss, chemi, and purigen.

Now I tried the raw shrimp cycle method which I dropped in the tank Saturday morning and it has been decaying pretty well. Tested today

Temp 79
Salinity 1.023
PH 8.0
Ammonia 0-.25
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0

 

[Crystal A]

Looking good so far.

 

[grabberblue2010]

Thanks it's getting there

 

[grabberblue2010]

Diatoms have started to appear on sand and live rock. Good sign?

 

[Mr. rY]

It is but if i were u i wud turn off the lights until cycle is done to prevent algae, since u dont have any livestock.

 

[grabberblue2010]

Mr. rY thanks for the info what are the next steps? When should I test again?

 

[Mr. rY]

If u still have the shrimp in the tank, let it stay there until u get 4ppm of ammon, test it daily if u want to see the progress of the cycle

 

[grabberblue2010]

Shrimp is still in tank almost completely decomposed

 

[Mr. rY]

Test it again, what test kit r u using?

 

[grabberblue2010]

API master test kit

 

[grabberblue2010]

Crappy pic but these are my results from tonight

 

[grabberblue2010]

Nitrites are def 0
Ammonia looks to me 0
Nitrates between 0-5.0

 

[Mr. rY]

Isee the progress, if u wanna c ammonia spike up keep testing, if not test again next week u might see nitrite spike, like i did

 

[Mr. rY]

U have ammonia, its close to the 2nd color, u dnt have any trites or trates looking at this pic.

 

[grabberblue2010]

Just started to see diatoms tonight so when will I know the cycle is in full force?

 

[grabberblue2010]

Correct no trates or trites but def ammonia getting higher

 

[Mr. rY]

Once ur ammonia is 0(clear yellow) and trite also 0 and the trates is gona be high which is spected, then u do major wc, after wc i would wait another week to make sure the tests r within normal limits. On my thread my trates r high, 0 trites but my ammonia is still cloudy yellow so i stil hav ammonia present, some people tells me mine is cycled , but for me i wanna make sure so ima wait another week , im like really patient right now cuz i learned my lesson the hard way lol

 

[grabberblue2010]

Thanks for the info I am going to wait and test this weekend. Anything else I should be looking for while cycle continues

 

[Crystal A]

I just gave my tank plenty of time. I left the shrimp in till nothing was left. I did small water changes once a week and just continued to test untill I started to see life develop. Keep light cycle low to lessen the algae ( didn't know this my tank was a forest ). First life I saw was little white pods on the glass. My tank has been up and running since march 5 and I just added my first fish. How long have you been up and running for?

 

[Crystal A]

Here's a pic of my algae when it wasn't even at its worst!