New Tank - Advice Please

[Chizzle007]

Hi All,

I have been a freshwater guy for some time and decided to tak ethe plunge to salt. I purchased a 28 JBJ LED tank which I love. Today my live cured fiji rock came in the mail. Rock is in the tank used real ocean water to start the tank. Just did a water test and received these values.

PH:8.2
Ammonia: About 1ppm
Nitrite: About 1ppm
Nitrate: 20ppm

I've attached a picture.

What'e next?

Do I preform a water change already or wait for a higher ammonia spike?

Any advice would be great.

Thanks

 

[Chizzle007]

PIC

 

[emerald76]

Don't use real ocean water as it may be contaminated
Instead use RODI water with salt mixed in

 

[Chizzle007]

It came from a professional company that processes it for fish tanks.

Aquarium Salt Water | Real Ocean Saltwater | Commercial Saltwater | Buy Saltwater

 

[emerald76]

It came from a professional company that processes it for fish tanks.

Aquarium Salt Water | Real Ocean Saltwater | Commercial Saltwater | Buy Saltwater

Ah interesting
You should be fine then!

 

[AquaRick]

Hi All,

I have been a freshwater guy for some time and decided to tak ethe plunge to salt. I purchased a 28 JBJ LED tank which I love. Today my live cured fiji rock came in the mail. Rock is in the tank used real ocean water to start the tank. Just did a water test and received these values.

PH:8.2
Ammonia: About 1ppm
Nitrite: About 1ppm
Nitrate: 20ppm

I've attached a picture.

What'e next?

Do I preform a water change already or wait for a higher ammonia spike?

Any advice would be great.

Thanks

Don't do any water changes until the end when your tank is cycled. Even though your rock is cured, your cycle isn't complete. You need to add an ammonia source to your tank to keep the BB alive.

Take a look at a fishless cycle using pure ammonia:
The (almost) Complete Guide and FAQ to Fishless Cycling - Aquarium Advice

 

[Ingy]

Check your salinity levels tho. Salt water varies and in the pacific NW the SG is only about 1.020 while most fish come from areas closer to 1.025-1.026. I have to add salt to my ocean water to raise the salinity.
Don't do pwc yet. Not until amm levels can hit 0 after 24 hrs (if you're dosing with ammonia) and trite levels hit 0 as well.

 

[Chizzle007]

Checked my salinity with my refract. about 30% or 1.023.

 

[Chizzle007]

Update

Just tested my water.

One week in to the cycle today, what do you guys think?

PH: 8.0
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 2.0ppm
Nitrate: 40ppm

Am I on my way to a cycled tank or do you guys see an issue?

I've attached a pic

/

 

[AquaRick]

What ammonia source are you using? Did you see Ammonia or Nitrites spike at all?

 

[Chizzle007]

What ammonia source are you using? Did you see Ammonia or Nitrites spike at all?

I used live rock. Ammonia did spike the day after setup. Nitrite spiked around the same time but have been slowly rising for the las couple of days.

 

[AquaRick]

I don't think the die off from the live rock is going to be enough ammonia to get your cycle going. If it starts to stall you'll most likely need to add a raw shrimp or dose with pure ammonia.

 

[Chizzle007]

I don't think the die off from the live rock is going to be enough ammonia to get your cycle going. If it starts to stall you'll most likely need to add a raw shrimp or dose with pure ammonia.

Ok thanks for the advice. I let it go a couple of days if my nitrites don't decrease ill add some shrimp.

 

[spoonman]

I prefer the ammonia route. Mostly because you can add a precise amount and know exactly what your cycle is doing. Also no rotting flesh in the tank to remove.

 

[Chizzle007]

I prefer the ammonia route. Mostly because you can add a precise amount and know exactly what your cycle is doing. Also no rotting flesh in the tank to remove.

How much do you dose? I have a 28 gallon tank.

 

[spoonman]

I did it with a 75 gallon and it only took a capful to get to 4ppm. You may want to start with drops.

 

[Sniperhank]

After doing a shrimp and a pure ammonia, for my 36 and 55 respectively, I like the shrimp route better. I overdosed my 55 with ammonia which caused a longer cycle and a living room that smelled like ammonia for a couple days. They say the shrimp will stink...but I never noticed it like I did the pure ammonia. Reminded me of when I was house training my puppy.

But the above stated is correct, the die off form lr isn't enough to get your cycle going long enough for it to complete.

 

[AquaRick]

How much do you dose? I have a 28 gallon tank.

I'd start with drops at a time. A little goes a long way.

It doesn't smell like ammonia unless you overdose

 

[Chizzle007]

Update on cycle.

I've been adding some flake food for the past 48 hours and seems that was enough to push my fishless cycle through the finish line. Everything test perfect.

I'm going to give it a couple of more days just to be sure.

What do you guys think clean up crew of can I add fish first?

 

[AquaRick]

I would redose your ammonia (more fish food) to a higher level and see if the ammonia and nitrites are broken down to nitrate in 24 hours.