Cycling done, where to start?

[tims55gallon]

Alright my tank has been up for 6 weeks and 2 days, last night I took some water test and came up with this.

 

PH 8.4

salanity 1.024

ammonia 0

nitrite 0

nitrate 15

temp 77

 

So what is my next step? I am planning on giving the tank until the end of the week to make sure everything goes ok and then I will do a 20% water change. After that next week I will be getting my clean up crew and inverts. After that fish and then coral. Does anyone have any suggestions? Am I moving to fast?

 

Thanks

[Dustin]

Raise the temp a bit, other than that you are doing great. Some say that temp is, fine, and it is. But if you raise it to about 80 you will have a preventative measure on marine ICH

[Jandree22]

Originally posted by Dustin

if you raise it to about 80 you will have a preventative measure on marine ICH

 

news to me! really?!???

 

BTW, tims55gallon. I agree, your progress is sounding right on track:) You're not moving too fast

[tims55gallon]

Sorry but every book i've read says 75 and I thought I was a little high at 77, never heard that temp affects ICH.

[TiGs]

Just remember don't stock too quickly, let your tank adjust to the new bioload.

 

I think you're ready to let the excitment begin and start adding the clean-up crew. Just do that 20% water change you mentioned now and let the tank settle somemore.

 

Next week you should add the clean-up crew. when you acclimate your live stock the water used for acclimation will be dumped, take this chance to do a water change also.

say you used 1 gallon of water for acclimation which you will have to dump since it's mixed in with the LFS water. you can just replace that gallon with your water change h20. Now you just acclimated your critters and did a water change at the sametime. Saves time and water.

[Dustin]

Yes, most reefs are natually about 83 in the day, mine gets up higher than that some days.