Tank half full

[fgeer85]

So when first setting up my tank, I only filled it up half way because we did not have a stand yet, and I knew moving it would be nearly impossible if filled all the way. Now that we have it on the stand, I need to fill it up. I'm just wondering if I fill it with the normal ratio of salt to water, or if I use less salt. I'm asking because I know when you are just topping off a tank you don't add any salt due to the rising salinity.

[william_payne1]

You don't top a tank off with saltwater because only water evaporates leaving salt behind, you are not topping off you are filling, use saltwater just like the first half, let it run its cycle then do a water change of like 50% then you can worry about regular top offs and water changes

[fgeer85]

You don't top a tank off with saltwater because only water evaporates leaving salt behind, you are not topping off you are filling, use saltwater just like the first half, let it run its cycle then do a water change of like 50% then you can worry about regular top offs and water changes

 

Thanks for your reply! So does this mean I am basically starting all over? Do i need to wait an additional 6+ weeks to add any livestock?

[Mariaface]

What salinity are you keeping the tank at? Fill the tank to your new 'normal operating level' with the correct salt ratio.

 

Topping off is for when the water level falls below the normal operating level, since this means salinity has risen.

Adding water doesn't mean that you're starting over; the beneficial bacteria involved in the initial cycle live on surfaces and not within the water column itself.

[HarryPotter]

Is it half full or half empty?

[william_payne1]

Thanks for your reply! So does this mean I am basically starting all over? Do i need to wait an additional 6+ weeks to add any livestock?

I'm not sure, I'm under the impression you have not cycled your tank, if you have cycled it half full then your good (as long as there was no rock left above the water, if so re-cycle), although I would wait a few days just to watch parameters before adding a fish, then wait a few weeks before adding more.

[Roshan8768]

This ^

[Clown79]

Is this a new tank from scratch that was

cycled half full? Besides sand and liverock, is there anything in it? Have you been testing ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates during the 6 weeks?

 

Sorry for all the questions but it helps us help you better.

 

The tank needs to be filled with salt water, make a mark on where the water level is to be everyday.

 

When the water evaporates, you top up with ro/di or distilled water to the level you marked.

I top up every morning so that my salinity stays stable. An ato can do this for you as well.

 

For the first while I would check salinity daily to make sure its where it needs to be.

[fgeer85]

Is this a new tank from scratch that was

cycled half full? Besides sand and liverock, is there anything in it? Have you been testing ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates during the 6 weeks?

 

Sorry for all the questions but it helps us help you better.

 

The tank needs to be filled with salt water, make a mark on where the water level is to be everyday.

 

When the water evaporates, you top up with ro/di or distilled water to the level you marked.

I top up every morning so that my salinity stays stable. An ato can do this for you as well.

 

For the first while I would check salinity daily to make sure its where it needs to be.

 

Hey, thanks for your help. The tank is new and from scratch. I'm only about 2 weeks in. I only have the sand and live rock at this point. I've checked my salinity daily and it seems to be right on point. I just got my testing kit in the mail to run the other tests..

[jojopus]

Has the sand and live rock been in there the whole 2 weeks?

 

If that's the case the cycle has likely already begun. Testing is the only way to see for sure.

 

You should be safe just filling the aquarium the rest of the way with saltwater matching the salinity of whats already in there. That is, as long as the water that's already in there is at the proper salinity to begin with.

 

Also, you didn't mention... what type of water did you use to originally fill the aquarium? whatever you do, don't use tap water. RO/DI water is the best, but distilled water is great as well. Too much harmful stuff in our drinking water for a reef tank. Namely phosphates and heavy metals.

 

Best advice moving forward... take it slow. Its exciting getting into this hobby but rushing things can produce some negative results and lost $$.

[fgeer85]

Has the sand and live rock been in there the whole 2 weeks?

 

If that's the case the cycle has likely already begun. Testing is the only way to see for sure.

 

You should be safe just filling the aquarium the rest of the way with saltwater matching the salinity of whats already in there. That is, as long as the water that's already in there is at the proper salinity to begin with.

 

Also, you didn't mention... what type of water did you use to originally fill the aquarium? whatever you do, don't use tap water. RO/DI water is the best, but distilled water is great as well. Too much harmful stuff in our drinking water for a reef tank. Namely phosphates and heavy metals.

 

Best advice moving forward... take it slow. Its exciting getting into this hobby but rushing things can produce some negative results and lost $$.

 

Has the sand and live rock been in there the whole 2 weeks?

 

If that's the case the cycle has likely already begun. Testing is the only way to see for sure.

 

You should be safe just filling the aquarium the rest of the way with saltwater matching the salinity of whats already in there. That is, as long as the water that's already in there is at the proper salinity to begin with.

 

Also, you didn't mention... what type of water did you use to originally fill the aquarium? whatever you do, don't use tap water. RO/DI water is the best, but distilled water is great as well. Too much harmful stuff in our drinking water for a reef tank. Namely phosphates and heavy metals.

 

Best advice moving forward... take it slow. Its exciting getting into this hobby but rushing things can produce some negative results and lost $$.

 

 

Yes, the rocks and sand have been in the tank the whole time. I used distilled water. Thanks for your advice

[jojopus]

Glad to help out a fellow Ohioan.

[Clown79]

You're welcome.

 

So the tanks been cycling half full for 2 weeks. You can mix a batch of salt water and fill up the tank.

Now that you have your testers you can test every other day just to monitor the cycle.

Some cycles are fast and some aren't.

 

My 15g, it cycled in 2 weeks. I was expecting longer and would have missed the whole thing if I hadn't tested. Lol

 

My 10g took 6 weeks-i set them up the same way??

 

Once your cycle is done you can do a water change, test again for a few days and then the fun begins. No more watching tocks in water

"Rocks in water, not tocks"

[william_payne1]

You're welcome.

So the tanks been cycling half full for 2 weeks. You can mix a batch of salt water and fill up the tank.

Now that you have your testers you can test every other day just to monitor the cycle.

Some cycles are fast and some aren't.

My 15g, it cycled in 2 weeks. I was expecting longer and would have missed the whole thing if I hadn't tested. Lol

My 10g took 6 weeks-i set them up the same way??

Once your cycle is done you can do a water change, test again for a few days and then the fun begins. No more watching tocks in water"Rocks in water, not tocks"

This is so true, I have had tanks take almost two months to cycle and my most recent is almost complete at only 8 days I didn't even start testing till day 5 expecting it to take at least 2-3 weeks and was shocked, I thought I had a bad test kit.

[fgeer85]

You're welcome.

 

So the tanks been cycling half full for 2 weeks. You can mix a batch of salt water and fill up the tank.

Now that you have your testers you can test every other day just to monitor the cycle.

Some cycles are fast and some aren't.

 

My 15g, it cycled in 2 weeks. I was expecting longer and would have missed the whole thing if I hadn't tested. Lol

 

My 10g took 6 weeks-i set them up the same way??

 

Once your cycle is done you can do a water change, test again for a few days and then the fun begins. No more watching tocks in water

"Rocks in water, not tocks"

 

I just did my first water tests..

 

ammonia - 0 ppm

pH - 8.2

nitrite - 0 ppm

nitrate - 0 ppm

[william_payne1]

I just did my first water tests..

 

ammonia - 0 ppm

pH - 8.2

nitrite - 0 ppm

nitrate - 0 ppm

 

No cycle, fill your tank up all away put your light on 12 on 12 off and dump a bottle of biospira or a piece of shrimp in there, I just don't see the cycle happening with no nitrates left in the tank. You should have a rise in ammonia then zero with a rise in nitrites then zero with a rise in nitrates. Then it will have cycled. Did you change your water at all?

 

Do you have a pic of the tank? Any growth on your rocks? What is the temp?

[fgeer85]

No cycle, fill your tank up all away put your light on 12 on 12 off and dump a bottle of biospira or a piece of shrimp in there, I just don't see the cycle happening with no nitrates left in the tank. You should have a rise in ammonia then zero with a rise in nitrites then zero with a rise in nitrates. Then it will have cycled. Did you change your water at all?

 

Do you have a pic of the tank? Any growth on your rocks? What is the temp?

I have not done a water change. Someone told me no water changes until after the tank cycled. I'm currently laying in bed but I believe the temp is around 72ish. I do have growth on my rocks! Almost like green grass. Is this bad? Good? I will send post a pic tomorrow.

[tsouth]

You can reference this for the algae and whether or not it should be taken care of. https://www.reefcleaners.org/nuisance-algae-id-guide

 

As noted, no water changes, but go ahead and fill the tank up with saltwater. Next steps are to get your cycle going which can be done by feeding 1/2 a cube of some frozen food a couple of times a week or throwing a piece of raw shrimp in there and letting it decay, whichever is more readily available.

 

As to whether or not you want to run lights, figure out what algae you have in the tank right now. If it's bad and invasive, don't run your lights. If it's okay, run them if you want. If the algae is problematic then it we'll have to consider getting it all off now before it gets any worse (cooking/drying the rock)

 

Best of luck to you

[william_payne1]

I have not done a water change. Someone told me no water changes until after the tank cycled. I'm currently laying in bed but I believe the temp is around 72ish. I do have growth on my rocks! Almost like green grass. Is this bad? Good? I will send post a pic tomorrow.

I would bring your temps up to about 80 to cycle then down to about 78ish after its done, with that growth do about 8-6 hrs of light. You'll be ok it will cycle. Oh what's your salinity?

[william_payne1]

I just did my first water tests..

 

ammonia - 0 ppm

pH - 8.2

nitrite - 0 ppm

nitrate - 0 ppm

 

Just to be sure, you did the tests properly yes? What brand test? If api you must shake nitrate bottle #2 for 30 seconds, add drops, then tilt capped glass tube over and back a few times and let sit for 5min.

[fgeer85]

Just to be sure, you did the tests properly yes? What brand test? If api you must shake nitrate bottle #2 for 30 seconds, add drops, then tilt capped glass tube over and back a few times and let sit for 5min.

I have API. I do believe I did it properly. I read the directions carefully and did what they said. In your opinion, is the growth bad? Should I try and remove it? Some people say it's normal, some don't. I'm confused. Oh, and I think it looks like green hair algae. I'll post a pic when I get home from work.

[jojopus]

I had hair algae near the end of my cycle, but it subsided. You can certainly scrape it off the glass and siphon it out if you like. My clean up crew took care of anything that was on the rock work.

 

I wouldn't worry about it too much unless it reaches plague proportions.

[fgeer85]

I had hair algae near the end of my cycle, but it subsided. You can certainly scrape it off the glass and siphon it out if you like. My clean up crew took care of anything that was on the rock work.

 

I wouldn't worry about it too much unless it reaches plague proportions.

Yeah, it is only on my rocks at this point. Does the growth mean that my tank is currently/has already cycled? I started the tank April 9th. Is this possible? Thanks and sorry for so many questions!

'

[jojopus]

Its certainly possible that the aquarium has cycled, but the presence of that algae doesn't guarantee that.

 

Since you haven't been testing since day one, its hard to determine the state of your cycle. As you probably have already read, first you'll see an Ammonia spike, followed by Nitrite, then those 2 fall off and Nitrate starts to rise.

 

So If you have only Nitrate within an acceptable range your cycle has completed. But here is a SNAFU... Nitrates can also be 0 on a cycled tank. Mine are. The last 2 times I tested it...

 

To be safe you may want to wait another couple weeks and keep testing. As some people above have said, sometimes the cycle is quick and sometimes it takes longer for unknown reasons.

[fgeer85]

Its certainly possible that the aquarium has cycled, but the presence of that algae doesn't guarantee that.

 

Since you haven't been testing since day one, its hard to determine the state of your cycle. As you probably have already read, first you'll see an Ammonia spike, followed by Nitrite, then those 2 fall off and Nitrate starts to rise.

 

So If you have only Nitrate within an acceptable range your cycle has completed. But here is a SNAFU... Nitrates can also be 0 on a cycled tank. Mine are. The last 2 times I tested it...

 

To be safe you may want to wait another couple weeks and keep testing. As some people above have said, sometimes the cycle is quick and sometimes it takes longer for unknown reasons.

Thank you so much! So should i try and remove this algae? Some people are saying it's normal, some are not.