well week one is done

[Meslo]

Well week one is over <week 2 if you count setup and leak fixing>

The tank has been up and running for a week now with just dead/live rock and sand.

Ammonia 1.5
nitrates 15
phosphate 0
calcium 360
water temp 77-79

Do the numbers look about right ?

After alot of reading I have decided there is no set way to start a saltwater tank. I have seen you should change water daily,weekly,bi weekly,never. 2%, 10%,20%,25% while cycling the tank.
I kind of think I should not change water so the ammonia eating stuff has food.

So how did you do yours :)

The rocks are starting to get some brown red and purple colors to them and are a bit slimy to the touch.

I assume that is a good thing for now

Should I add a dead shrimp ? or are things looking good without it ?

Thanks for all the help its made the adventure a lot less stress full.

John

[Meslo]

salt is at .023

[falcondob]

I wouldn't add dead shrimp. Do you have a skimmer on the tank? If so, I would skim heavy. I also, don't think a 10% water change weekly would be a bad thing. Do you have any cycling fish like damsels?

[Europhyllia]

no need to add shrimp(dead) or fish (alive) at this point in my opinion since the die off from your rock is already generating ammonia, etc.
I'd wait till that drops and then add one critter (alive) at a time so that the good bacteria can gradually adjust and no animal gets overly stressed in the process.

[Meslo]

ya skimmer is going <turned it on on sat> but its only making white bubbles no junk seems to be coming.

There are no living visable creatures in the tank :)

I thought it was a NO NO to have any fish in there when cycling a new tank ?
The amonia at 1.5 would be toxic right ?

thanks

[Europhyllia]

I thought it was a NO NO to have any fish in there when cycling a new tank ?


In my opinion the no fish approach is the way to go but some people feel they need to add a bigger ammonia source and they add live fish that are known to be able to survive stressful conditions such as these. Obviously just because they're able to survive it doesn't mean it's good for them.

Meslo I think you are on the right track.
You'll have visible live creatures in no time. :thumbs_up:

[profntbtr]

i usually would advocate addition of dead shrimp, but it appears that you already have a source of ammonia, so it would be completely unnecessary.

[hobogato]

you also need to get a test kit for nitrite. as ammonia drops, nitrite will rise. then, as it falls, nitrates will rise. i would not add anything living until after the ammonia level and the nitrite level is zero. bringing nitrates lower is a longer process.

[falcondob]

I concur with Ace and Karin. I would wait on adding any fish until the ammonia/nitrates are at an acceptable level. That is the reason I was asking. Many times tanks are sold "..with everything you need, including a couple of fish to cycle the tank."

This is a hobby a patience..it will payoff in the end.

[falcondob]

Oh forgot..It will probably take some time for the skimmer to break in and start producing good skimate.

[kkiel02]

You will get a "hard" cycle if you dont do water changes but if there are some hitchhikers that you want to save people do water changes for a "soft" cycle. This just means they keep ammonia down to a low number but this may cause mini cycles after the initial cycle is complete. I personally didn't do water changes as I wanted it done quick and easy imo. I also had a quick cycle in terms of what others posted but I used live rock and without water changes I feel it goes quicker.

I would also give your skimmer a week or so to break in like falcon said. You may have to adjust it quite a bit in this timeframe. You do this for a slime to form on the skimmer, i believe.

Oh yeah and I would also suggest the nitrite test kit. Ammonia and nitrite are poison to fish at any doseage. Nitrates can be bad if they get real high but that is why we do water changes. Also I would reccomend getting a nice test kit as I bought the api test kit when I first got in then found out they arent very accurate.

[Meslo]

Nitrites are at .5ppm

So how often should I test at this stage of the game ?

[kkiel02]

I would test daily to watch the cycle. My nitrites only lasted 2 days but everyone has different experiences with cycling.

[Meslo]

Monday Tues Wed
Amonia 3 1.5 .25
nitrites 1 1 1
Nitrate 20 20 20
Phosphate .25 .25 .25

[Meslo]

and the skimmer is looking NASTY in the cup on top but I guess thats a ggod thing