NanoDood Posted January 29, 2004 Share Posted January 29, 2004 Hi, My tank has been setup for about 2.5 weeks with about 15lbs live sand and 9lbs live rock (supposedly cured from the LFS) Here are my tank stats Minibow 7gal Ph:8.2 ammonioa:0 Nitrite:0 Nitrate: 30-40(can't really tell from these damn color charts) Photoperiod: 5 hours a day There have been no algae or diatom blooms and I was wondering when my cycle ends. I see conflicting things on this site about the Nitrate levels. The article on this site says that the nitrate levels are reduced through partial water changes but i have seen some people on this message board saying that the nitrate levels need to be at 0 before i add anything??? What should I do? Thanks Link to comment
mattie Posted January 29, 2004 Share Posted January 29, 2004 wait another week and a half and check again ammonia needs to be 0 and nitirites need to be 0 nitrates should be low <5 ppm if can keep your nitrates low in the long term is best but in the begining you won't have any nitrates untill your cycle has finished to say the least read it over again or read a little or something different i think you got a little confused try under information on the top of the page Link to comment
NanoDood Posted January 29, 2004 Author Share Posted January 29, 2004 Should I do a partial water change to bring my nitrate levels down??? Oh yeah, this is the article that i was looking at. http://www.nano-reef.com/articles/?article=8 Link to comment
birdman204 Posted January 29, 2004 Share Posted January 29, 2004 Yes, partial water changes help dilute nitrates. Overfeeding tanks or aimal death can lead to increased nitrates. thisis why they show up after a cycle. Water changes are the best solution in nano's at least price wise..... Link to comment
NanoDood Posted January 29, 2004 Author Share Posted January 29, 2004 I was just at my LFS and they told me to just let it keep cycling and to turn off my lights. They said this would reduce my nitrates.???????!?!? What is the deal with that? Link to comment
birdman204 Posted January 29, 2004 Share Posted January 29, 2004 it may not reduce your nitrates. It will reduce an outbreak of algae. I highly recomend no lights. I would say, for a few weeks. unless the life is clearly abundant on the LR. then go with a 3 - 5 hour photoperiod, until the tank is established enough to add animals. Link to comment
birdman204 Posted January 29, 2004 Share Posted January 29, 2004 My LFS also told me I could keep a hippo tang in my minibow if i change 25% of the water once a week. Jerk.... Link to comment
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