ErinCahir
Sausage Wrangler
Once you've had your initial ammonia spike you can take the shrimp out.
Question on cycling brand new tank
- Thread starter Captain Ron
- Start date
Captain Ron
Reefing newb
Thanks for the response. I just took it out. Hopefully having it in there that long didn't screw up my precious nitrifying bacteria. Back to testing and reading up on the forums to figure out what to get for my CUC when the time comes.
-Capt. Ron
Bifferwine
I am a girl
Leaving it in longer (or until it rots completely) won't hurt anything. It will just stink. :)
Captain Ron
Reefing newb
Well no stink, or at least my wife hasn't complained about a smell. :D
My nitrates jumped up from 15 to 85 in just 3 days!
ammonia 1.3
nitrite 2.8
nitrate 85
How low do I need to be before I add a CUC? 20? From what I have read here I guess water changes are my best option to control nitrate? Do you think adding a HOB refugium on back with chaeto growing in it would be effective at lowering the nitrate or just water changes? (I am a little afraid of hanging weight on the back of the tank.)
-Capt. Ron
Ted
Living one day at a time
first off I wouldn't do a water change until the cycle is complete. You want the trates now. Second I have used a HOB fuge for years and it is not a issue. I got mine from Aquatraders and it works great. The only down side is it isnt feasible to run a reverse light cycle with a hob fuge. Cheato grows like crazy i half it every month and a half or so. I cant find people to give it away to anymore so I end up trashing it. I wouldnt add your cuc until the end of you cycle.
You can add a CUC when your ammonia and nitrite both are 0 and you believe you have sufficient food (read: algae) for them. You should start seeing algae soon if you haven't already. When you test and your ammonia and nitrite both read 0 (its a happy day, believe me) you're ready to add your first fish and CUC. CUC is dependent on having algae, though.
As for the HOB fuge, you can do that and yes it would reduce nitrates. The best most reliable way to keep nitrates under control are water changes, though, and no amount of chaeto can ever elminate the need for regular water changes (which do more than just lower the amount of dissolved organics and nitrates in your aquarium -- they also replenish trace elements and minerals that lots of things rely on).
Captain Ron
Reefing newb
Ammonia is 0 and Nitrites are down to under 0.05! :mrgreen:
(nitrites were 1.5 yesterday)
Seems like my tank cycled pretty fast. No algae that I can see though. Maybe if I order something from reefcleaners they can send me algae for the critters to eat? Or I guess I can wait another week or two for something to grow. I'll do a 40% water change in the next day or two. How long can I leave the tank uninhabited before my nitrifying bacteria are adversely affected? I ordered some fish books from amazon but they aren't here yet and I wanted to take some time to plan out what I am going to put into the tank.
Captain Ron
Reefing newb
It's me again. Sorry to bother everyone yet again but I have another question. I just tested my nitrates and they are down to 25 from around 90 4 days ago. I never did my 40% water change when my cycle ended 2 days ago. Did I screw up? Was I supposed to do the water change right away? Where did my nitrates go? Into the sand? The only thing I see alive is the purple algae on the 1 pound of "live rock" rubble I seeded the tank with.
-Capt. Ron
-Capt. Ron
Water changes don't necessarily have to be done same time every week. It's just good practice to get in the habit of doing them once every ten days or so.
Do your water change today or tomorrow....You can change 40% if you want....that will bring your nitrates to around 15...maybe a couple days later do another smaller water change and get them down under 10.....but really as long as they're under 20 you can add your first fish.
Do your water change today or tomorrow....You can change 40% if you want....that will bring your nitrates to around 15...maybe a couple days later do another smaller water change and get them down under 10.....but really as long as they're under 20 you can add your first fish.
