Changed the substrate, now im cycling ALOT

[Nyghtryderz]

I have a 75 gal tank and i had about a 3 to 4 inch substrate of CC for 2 years and it was a freaking nitrate factory and i wanted to get rid of it because i absolutly hated it so i decided to change it out to black aragonite sand of about 3 inches. I added a fishnet full of the CC in the tank to help seed the sand when i switched it all out 4 days ago. After 48 hours i had a nitrite level of 0.3 and today i have nitrite 0.8 and did a 10gal water change and added 2.5x the normal dose of prime to detoxify the nitrite. Nitrates are at 5ppm, Salinity 1.024 refract, temp 78, PH 8.0. i just ran out of Ammonia test kit so i have to buy another one. (what is a good test kit to buy in your opinion?)

I have coral and 6 fish, snail, and a tiger tail cucumber and they are all in good health from what i can tell. They all are eating and moving around like any other day. When i changed out the substrate i only changed out about 15-20gal of water because i didnt have room for those 15-20gal. Do you think this cycle is going to last and should i continue to use prime on a daily or weekly basis and what do you think about using stability. The only reason im asking about stability is because i already have it and was wondering if that could help me out. Thanks

 

[AquaRick]

First off, good idea on removing the CC. How much rock do you have in your tank atm? Odds are your cycle is due to moving your rock\substrate around and kicking up the detritus that was in/on your CC. For now I'd keep up the PWCs and monitor. As you do your pwc's, try to siphon out the junk on the sand bed. The API test works well to test for ammonia.

 

[kelly0707]

I heard the Salifert tests are good. I have api and when they are gone will be getting Salifert. The color coding on the api test kit especially for ammonia is sometimes hard to read I think.

Good Luck

 

[AquaRick]

For ammonia and trites API is good enough. After cycling there really isn't a need to test for ammonia or trites unless a mini cycle occurs. I'd suggest red sea or as kelly mentioned, salifert, for anything but ammonia and nitrite.

 

[Nyghtryderz]

I dont have as much LR as i should do to money and im thinking this could be my problem also (i think i have 50lbs. I was given the rock and never weighed it so dont know, but that is my best educated guess). Everything in my tank i have gotten for free except the rock. Im planning on buying 80 lbs of base rock this week, but unfortunatly that wont help my problem now. I add 2.5x the amount of prime last night and this moring at 5am the nitrites were at 0.3 which is better but im wondering if im just slowing the cycling process or if i have enough BB on the rock that is in there to eventually stablize the tank if i continue to add prime and PWC?

How often would you suggest adding the prime and should i use the Seachem stability that i have or is it bad for the coral/cucumber IDK im not experienced enough?

Also i forgot to mention in my first post and after reading last night this is probably what caused this cycle is my buddy who gave me the sand had it sitting in a brute food grade trash can for a month with no water movement or heat in his garage so everything that was live died. I did rinse it for 2 days for about 3 hours and it was clear when i was finished with it. I would hate to loose fish and coral, but i can come back from that, but i've heard if i loose the tiger tail cucumber it can destroy the whole tank and i work 10 hour days and by the time i get home i could be dead for a solid 12 hours before i would see it. My wife keeps telling me i made a mistake on switching out the substrate and should have keep my factory haha (You gotta love the wife) since it worked for 2 years even though the nitrates where always at 20ppm. Sorry i had to add that tidbit. thanks for the help.

 

[kelly0707]

For ammonia and trites API is good enough. After cycling there really isn't a need to test for ammonia or trites unless a mini cycle occurs. I'd suggest red sea or as kelly mentioned, salifert, for anything but ammonia and nitrite.

Aquarick, when starting corals what extra tests do I need to get? Do I need to add anything special to the water?

 

[AquaRick]

I'd get a good reef test kit. Alkalinity, Calcium, and magnesium tests are must. Personally I'm a fan of the Red Sea Reef Foundation Pro test kit for this. Others like Salifert. Both are higher quality test kits than API.

If you are keeping stony corals (SPS,LPS) you may have to eventually dose your tank by adding calcium & magnesium. This can be done with a 2 part doser (2 part pump/drip), or by adding kalkwasser (powder that's mixed in with RODI water and used in topoffs).

However, with a good reef salt you won't have to start dosing until you add a lot of corals and/or purchase large corals.

The best thing would be to get yourself a good reef salt, test your water parameters before and while you add corals. If you notice your regular PWCs aren't doing the job anymore of keeping your levels up, then it's time to dose. Dosing, unfortunately, is trial and error. Start with a conservative dose and then test a couple times a week. Increase or decrease your dose as needed based on the testing you do etc.

 

[Nyghtryderz]

when i got home i tested the nitrites again and it is now 0.3-<0.3. I dont know if it is actually going down due to the cycling process winding down which i doubt or if it is because of the prime i put in to detoxify the nitrites which is my best guess.

Also read my above post for further details and questions that i still have. Thanks

 

[kelly0707]

I'd get a good reef test kit. Alkalinity, Calcium, and magnesium tests are must. Personally I'm a fan of the Red Sea Reef Foundation Pro test kit for this. Others like Salifert. Both are higher quality test kits than API.

If you are keeping stony corals (SPS,LPS) you may have to eventually dose your tank by adding calcium & magnesium. This can be done with a 2 part doser (2 part pump/drip), or by adding kalkwasser (powder that's mixed in with RODI water and used in topoffs).

However, with a good reef salt you won't have to start dosing until you add a lot of corals and/or purchase large corals.

The best thing would be to get yourself a good reef salt, test your water parameters before and while you add corals. If you notice your regular PWCs aren't doing the job anymore of keeping your levels up, then it's time to dose. Dosing, unfortunately, is trial and error. Start with a conservative dose and then test a couple times a week. Increase or decrease your dose as needed based on the testing you do etc.

Can you gvive me an example of a stony coral? Also what is a good reef salt?

 

[Nyghtryderz]

Can you gvive me an example of a stony coral? Also what is a good reef salt?

You wil get mixed opinions on what is the best reef salt. My best answer would be do a search on AA and decide for yourself after you have read what people have said and debated back and forth on as this has already been brought up. My opinion though. I use instant ocean and birdsnest.

 

[AquaRick]

A stony coral is any hard coral that has a calcium based skeleton. This group is further divided into LPS (Large Polyp Stony Coral) and SPS (Small Polyp Stony corals). SPS are much needier than their LPS cousins. They usually require much more flow and more light. an example of LPS would be a Hammer Coral. Acros are SPS etc. Take a look at Aquarium Fish: Tropical Freshwater Fish and Saltwater Fish for Home Aquariums for more info/pictures.

As for a reef salt, it's up to you. I used to use Instant Ocean Reef Crystals but it just didn't go very far. The box of salt for 200gallons only makes 200gallons if you're mixing your salt at 1.21 Salinity. It's best to keep it at 1.26 for a healthy tank. I'm currently using Salinty by Aquavitro. So far so good. It's got a bit more Ca and Mg than IO Reef. But I basically use it because it's a better deal at my LFS and it comes in a large 225g size (@1.26 salinity). It'll last me much longer.

But you really should do some research and find what' salt is good for your needs.

 

[Tmyboy]

Can you gvive me an example of a stony coral? Also what is a good reef salt?

Numerous thread ninja'ing going here! Ha!

I think you may need more seed material. It's a guess?

You say your sand was 100% dead and you only dropped a net full of cc in. Big net? Little net? I think it'll eventually cycle through, but it'll take longer only given that little amount. Good luck!

 

[kelly0707]

Sorry about asking questions on your thread.....I had some of the same questions.

 

[Nyghtryderz]

Numerous thread ninja'ing going here! Ha!

I think you may need more seed material. It's a guess?

You say your sand was 100% dead and you only dropped a net full of cc in. Big net? Little net? I think it'll eventually cycle through, but it'll take longer only given that little amount. Good luck!

I dropped in a fishnet full of CC. The fishnet stockings that chicks wear. I didnt have room to fill both the legs up with CC so i just filled up one leg. It is a decent amount of CC if i had to guess since im at work i would say it is about 10-12 circumfrence and going the width of my tank and makes a turn and goes about halfway the length of my tank.

Yea it has been thread ninja'ed, but whatever sh;; happens and as long as we all happy and the fish are too. My guess was it probably needed more seed material too and i did buy 50lbs of base rock which wont help me know, but im hoping that in a week i'll be good since i've survived week 1.

 

[Nyghtryderz]

So reefrocks was behind on there orders and they called today and they said that they are shipping my base rocks out today and i should have them by wed. I was wondering how long does it usually take for base rock to become live rock? (just out of curiousity)

Also I still have my wifes stockings in my tank with the old CC in my tank, so it has been in there since the 23 March. It has been in the tank for 10 days and i was wondering if you knew how long is a good time to keep the old CC in there before i can remove it to have the sand seeded? I havent been able to test the water in the past 48 hours and im going to test it tomorrow so ill get those results back to you then to let you know if the cycle is complete or not. Fish, snails, cucumber are all doing fine with no signs of stress. I've been doing 10gal PWC every 4 days. I think im on track what do ya'll think? Thanks.

 

[Nyghtryderz]

Had the water tested today and the results are Ammonia-0, Nitrites-0, nitrates-10-20, ph-8.0, salinity-1.024.

Still looking for answers on the questions i asked on the above post so any help would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[Nyghtryderz]

BUMP!!

 

[Nyghtryderz]

50lbs of rocks were added on the 4 april and im still looking for advice on my posts from above. Any advice would be HELPFUL. Thanks.

 

[Sniperhank]

It depends on how much lie rock and sand you have. It will take ~ month maybe. You'll know, the base rock will turn the same colors as the rock you already have.

And you are def in a good place cycle wise.