cycling new tank

[pettydvm]

Ive been out of salt water for a few years and man have there been improvements..I bought a LED light for my 30 gal. and love it so much cooler temp wise to run and colors are awesome. right now I only have my emperor running without the biowheel to cycle the 50 # live rock. adding ca daily its at 300 adding daily to build up. live rock is showing new red, blue and pink algae each day. I added a power head at one end today and blew dead stuff off live rock for filter to pick up. Im only running light for hour or so at a time while work on tank while its cycling. been testing NO2 NO3 PH KH daily with dip sticks...finally bought a real test kit today and nitrates 40 tap tested 0
nitrites 0
Ca 300
KH 196.9
pH 8.0
phosphate 5 tap tested 5
sp. gr 1.023
therm. at each end added today temp at 1 end 70 other end 74
so do i need to add 150 watt therm towards colder end add more salt and do a water change with RO water? I added a buffer and Ca for the KH and Ca lvls. also why are nitrates higher with no nitrite increase I have never had a reading on nitrites and tap water has no nitrates. Ph is coming from tap water I discovered so will RO water eliminate that? also the new test kit confirmed the dip strip readings on nitrate

 

[pettydvm]

I also am seeing new pink, purple, and blue coraline algae and no critters in the live rock

 

[Smitty]

You should stop adding supplements to your tank because while it's cycling and adjusting, the cal and alk and ph levels are gonna fluctuate. For now on, you should start doing your top offs and water changes using ro/di water because tap water have too many bad elements not good for a salt water tank, that'll lead to high nitrates and phosphates, and eventually lead to algae problems. The different colors on the rocks are coraline algae, which is normal. And yeah, you want your temp to be between 76-80 degrees.

 

[kevdogg]

I would give it some time with the powerhead in the tank to even out the tempature before adding another heater. Good flow will also help as you keep going. The rule of thumb would be 25x-30x water turnover per hour. That would put you in the 750gph-900gph area. Good luck!

 

[little_fish]

Hello and Welcome!

+1 everyone!

 

[Bifferwine]

I agree to stop adding any supplements. They are not necessary for most tanks, as doing regular water changes keeps things in balance. Also, during a cycle, there is no need to worry about those things. Definitely switch to RODI water as soon as you can. The phosphates in your tank are very high and you are going to have non-stop algae problems if you don't use better quality water.

 

[Kelz88]

PH should come from the salt, not tap water. And if your water is that hard, id stop using it asap.

 

[pettydvm]

k thanks. Im gonna do a 25 percent water change with RO water add thermometer and leave alone for few more weeks and do top offs with RO water.

 

[cvcdrk]

Tap water can and does contain up to 40ppm by law of nitrates.

Your temperature situation shows that you don't even have a quarter of the flow your tank requires. As someone else said, 20x-30x the volume of your tank at minimum....and yes you will need a better heater. Titanium and probably 150 watts will do although I have a 29g and I get by with a 100watt at around 78 degrees.

You're also going to need to do a series of water changes if you only ant to do a 25% water change. To bring down that phosphate level you'll want to do a series of extensive water changes 4-5 gallons at a time should be fine unless you want to do more just do them like two days apart.

 

[pettydvm]

Did 50% water change with RO water. ordered an RODI 5 stage so I can do water changes easier. stopped adding anything for now. I will be out town next week so lights will be off all together and have a friend coming to check it for major problems.since its still cycling I think I will be okay with that, then by time get home next week RO unit will be here and do another 50% change. let it sit for while longer till all is 0. nitrates dropped to closer to 20 and phosphates improved closer to 2.5 with first change. still getting new coraline growth added a 150 watt heater but didnt turn on yet cuz phosphates high dont want to add heat. when I get home next week and get phosphates closer to 0 will turn it on to bring temp up. If anyone thinks I should do different would love to know.

 

[pettydvm]

the powerhead i added is 750 and temps are staying around 74 at both ends with no heater turned on for now we will see what they are next week after power head has been in longer than few days. I am also using LED lighting so not much heat from those either and I dont turn them on for very long right now while its cycling..long enough to see whats going on and to do my testing thats its. House temp around 70 if that matters.

 

[cvcdrk]

If the ambient temperature in the room is 70 degrees and you have no equipment to control the heat active then how is your temp stable at 74 degrees?

 

[pettydvm]

lol. good question. i have 2 brand new thermometers at each end tank and they are at 74 degrees but my thermostat on house ac is saying 70 I just checked it to double check before this post. maybe I need to call my AC guy ROFL

 

[pettydvm]

another reason I dont want to turn the heater on while Im not home for a week..and these are not stick on thermometers they are actual internal thermometers one up high and one down low...soooo what is up with that?

 

[Bifferwine]

Since you will be out of town and you don't have any livestock, there isn't an issue with leaving the heaters off while you are cycling. :) Things will run their course in time.

 

[pettydvm]

thanks..i will def. not have any livestock till im sure I can handle it. upon the advice I am gonna sit and let it cycle and do RO changes until Im ready...when things are stable I will add a few CUC....first I pay attn. LOL....right now im happy watching coraline grow Im easy to please :)