First saltwater project

[boostforfun]

got it. who sells a low range phosphate kit? I see some electronic testers on amazon.

[seabass]

Yeah, Hanna's ULR Phosphorus Checker is good (it's digital so you pretty much know what the level is). Or you can just get a Salifert Phosphate test kit. Salifert's kit has a color match for 0.03ppm (so you want the result to match or be lighter than 0.03ppm on the chart).

[boostforfun]

Thank you for all you help, Seabass.

[Clown79]

It looks like diatoms are starting. It has nothing to do with the cycle but most likely phosphates leaching from rock or silicates from various sources. It is a common first algae to appear in new reefs.

 

Diatoms do like light as well so keep the lights off during the cycle.

 

Diatoms, once they have absorbed their food source, die off.

[boostforfun]

tests for today:

 

Ammonia: 2.0 ppm

Nitrites: 2.0 ppm

Nitrates: 10 ppm

Phosphate: .10 ppm (new low range seachem test)

 

Algae appears weaker than it first was.

 

Still the Ammonia is holding steady. Odd?

[seabass]

Still the Ammonia is holding steady. Odd?

Nah, not really. It can take some time before you see it coming down. Once it notably starts coming down (let's say 1ppm), you can start doing water changes.

[boostforfun]

Sounds good

[msparklym13]

I wish I would have been posting like you are in the beginning! It would have helped with so many mistakes- Mostly placement of rock and stocking. I have rock on the back wall and it is impossible to clean :-( My only input is to make sure your rock allows you to clean all areas-- Now moving my rock is a pain in the ass job I haven't done. You are doing great!!

[boostforfun]

todays test results:

 

Ammonia: between 1-2.0 pppm

Nitrite: between 2.0 - 5.0 ppm

Nitrate: REALLY high. 80-100ppm (maybe the test got messed up?

Phosphate: Under .05 ppm.

 

seems like things are getting wacky. it needs topped off by like a gallon but I have no rodi right now. Got to get to store.

[seabass]

Looking good so far. Don't worry about nitrate at this point. You'll likely need to do a 100% water change once ammonia becomes undetectable. That will take care of nitrate and phosphate.

[boostforfun]

10-4

on a side note, algae is almost gone and there is more of that purple algae showing up.

[boostforfun]

Ammonia is now under .5 parts per million. Should I get ready to do a water change? If so, do I need to add Rodi Water to correct salinity before doing a water change?

[seabass]

Ammonia is now under .5 parts per million. Should I get ready to do a water change?

You're good to go on a water change whenever you want. You can do it this weekend if you have the time.

 

If so, do I need to add Rodi Water to correct salinity before doing a water change?

You should be topping off your tank with RO/DI (or distilled) daily to keep specific gravity stable. But don't worry if you haven't yet (it's more important after you have added livestock).

 

It's also easier to mix new saltwater to your desired parameter (say 1.025) than to try to estimate what the sg would have to be to correct the level. So topping off prior to a water change will make keeping the specific gravity on point.

 

With nitrate so high, I'd switch out all of the water, so it wouldn't really matter if you corrected specific gravity before the water change or not.

 

I'm sure it doesn't matter that much, but occasionally I'll do a large water change prior to topping off. The thought behind that is that you will be removing more concentrated organics and nutrients by doing a water change prior to diluting it with top off water.

 

So the short answer is, it doesn't really matter.

[boostforfun]

I will change out the water with fresh saltwater from my LFS. My refractometer doesnt get here until wed.

[boostforfun]

100% water change done. Im assuming watch and test for a bit, then the next step is?

[seabass]

Yeah, just confirm that ammonia stays undetectable. Then you should be able to add a small cleanup crew of carnivores and omnivores (hold off on herbivores until you start seeing a little algae). Until you get a fish, you can feed your crew a tiny bit of fish food twice a week. Wait about a week before adding a fish.

 

Some decent cleanup crew choices might be:

• nassarius snails (carnivore)
• cerith snails (omnivore)
• dwarf blue leg hermit crab (omnivore)
• trochus snails (herbivore)

[boostforfun]

ok. i will watch ammonia levels for a few days then pick up a small CUC. maybe no more than 3-5 total? do pellets work best for feeding them?

im in no rush for livestock. want to do it right. i kinda want a pistol shrimp/goby pair and a clown

[boostforfun]

I also put a bag of carbon in the HOB. I researched it and it seems to be ok. Any problems?

[seabass]

ok. i will watch ammonia levels for a few days then pick up a small CUC. maybe no more than 3-5 total? do pellets work best for feeding them?

Like a couple of each (with the hermits as optional). Whatever you are feed your fish with will be fine (but the smaller the better; so if you are using pellets, you might have to break them up). Again, don't feed your cleanup crew very much.

 

I also put a bag of carbon in the HOB. I researched it and it seems to be ok. Any problems?

No problems.

[boostforfun]

ammonia still holding at 0. Seems like its making progress. Will try to get CUC in the next few days if the ammonia holds.

[boostforfun]

Ammonia still at 0. I was in Omaha today so I stopped to get the CUC (as its a 40 min trip each way to my LFS). Got the following:

 

1- nassarius snail

3- very small cerith snails

2- Astrea snails

 

resisted the strong urge to buy an emerald crab. They are very cool but im worried about him having enough to eat and chomping the snails, creating a die off ammonia problem.

 

Hopefully these will work. I am drip acclimating now for an hour or two.

 

Algae started popping back up with the lights on so the snails will have something to eat for sure.

[seabass]

Cool. But you should feed the nassarius snail a little once or twice a week (at least until you get a fish), since they don't eat algae.

[boostforfun]

yeah, thats what I read. He is kind of a funny guy. Just buried himself in the sand bed and chilling.

[boostforfun]

today test results:

 

Ammonia: 0 ppm

Nitrite: 0 ppm

Nitrate: 5 ppm

Phosphate: .15-.20

 

big news is... ALGAE!! Everywhere! Rocks... sand... powerhead... glass... everywhere.

 

Makes for happy snails, but ugly tanks.

 

[Veng]

10 gallon tanks are great. Glad to see someone listening and doing it right. I kinda miss my 10 gallon, this was it in it's heyday.