New Tank, First Testing

[aimee]

Hello all!

 

I set up my 10 gallon FOWLR with 20 lbs of live sand and 3 lbs of live rock on August 6th. I added 9.5 lbs of live rock last Saturday, and my Jebao W-10 came in today so I decided hey, why not do a brand new tank check while I'm installing? This is what came up:

 

Using my API kit:

 

- Calcium: WELL above the max, probably at least 600

- KH: 214.8

- Nitrates: 40

- Phosphates: 1.0

 

Using my hydrometer:

 

- Salinity: 33

- Gravity: smack dab in the middle of 1.024 and 1.025

 

There is also a HOB and standard filter cartrage, nothing fancy. The heater is keeping the temperature in the 84F range.

 

I know that some levels will be crazy since this tank is brand new. I'm not sure how cured the live rock is but the LFS employee did say the tub they keep it in in the back (which was a blast to dig through) goes through waves of foul smell.

 

My question is, is this pretty standard for a new tank? What are the levels I should be shooting for? I'm psyched to add fish and inverts at the beginning of next month and want to make sure the environment is stable.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

[thegambler26]

Have you tested ammonia? With nitrates that high so soon into you're cycle the rock you added could've been cured live rock, speeding things up. Here's a chart that'll help. It's reef tank parameters but it gives you some reference

[aimee]

I haven't tested the ammonia, no. I will do that as soon as possble. Cured rock would be great; I drive an hour and a half to the good quality LFS for my fishkeeping needs (I don't trust Petco or Petsmart in town for anything besides pre-packaged items), so it would be nice to see another perk for making the long trip.

 

Do you recommend any specific ammonia test?

[thegambler26]

For ammonia I've always just used API. Good thing about them is they can usually be found at any petco or similar store.Sometimes the color chart can be deceiving but they work well enough. Once you're done with the cycle you'll rarely if ever need to test it again. so I can't see spending too much on any of the higher end kits from salifert or elos but those are some options as well. For everything else I use the Red Sea kits and have had good success with them.

[aimee]

Awesome. I'll pull the ammonia bottle from my API freshwater kit (which I somehow forgot about) and use a tube from the saltwater kit to avoid any issues. Much better than buying more products!

 

I'll look into Red Sea kits. The API will run out eventually and if it's a pain it'll be good to have another option to turn to.

[thegambler26]

I would check to make sure that the freshwater kit will work on saltwater, I'm not sure it does. But I could be wrong. Good Luck with your new tank:)

[aimee]

I'll check. Worse case, I'll drop by Petsmart on the way home tomorrow. Thank you for your help!

[ghostgr]

It should work. There should be a saltwater color chart in there. Don't use strips, they are worthless.

[aimee]

Gotcha. The droppers have worked so far, I'll stick with them. Thanks!