theclearblue Posted February 12, 2004 Share Posted February 12, 2004 My tank has been cycling for approximately 6 and a half days. I'm using fully cured live rock from Palmetto Reefs and Arag-Alive Sand seeded with one pound of Palmetto live sand. I haven't seen any change in the parameters of the tank thus far. I purchased a Red Sea Nitrate test about three days into the cycle and am having trouble reading it. It shows blue, but I can't match it up to any of the colors on the chart. I'm trying to include any information about my set-up I can think of. Tests I'm Using: Ammonia - Red Sea (Exp: 12/04) Nitrate - Red Sea (Exp: 12/04) pH - TetraTest kH - TetraTest Nitrite - TetraTest Here are my parameters as of today: Temp: 89 Salinity: 1.025 pH: 7.7 Alk: 10dKH Amm: 0 Nitrite: 0 Nitrate: ? Set-Up: 10 Gallon AGA AC 201 Powerhead Penguin Mini Powerfilter w/o bio-wheel 14 lbs. LR 12 lbs. LS 50 watt Visitherm Heater No lighting during cycle R/O Water Plenty of pods swimming around and various HH - no cool ones though A Couple of Question: 1) Does anyone know how to read blue on a Red Sea Nitrate test? 2) How do I raise my pH? I know I'm only a week into cycling and that I shouldn't be concerned, but well... I am. 3) Any thoughts about how far I am into the cycle? If blue on the Nitrate test is a positive does this mean I'm reaching the end? Thanks for any help! Link to comment
gabbeyshell Posted February 12, 2004 Share Posted February 12, 2004 okay for one lower your temp, i've never heard of 89 degrees before. mine is set at 80. 82 w/ lights on. next when i researched my test kit, i heard red sea stinks. so i ended up getting pharmaceuticals master or something like that. it was a whole kit ph, trates, trites, and nh3. you may need to play around w/ your kit to get the hang of it. also some lfs will test for free. as far as everything else imho looks great. 1. sorry can't help you there 2. i had the same concern and used a tsp of baking soda and it raised it, but be carefull, you don't want to raise it too quick. you might want to look for balance blocks. those will help and they have other nutrients also. later on down the line you can start dosing, my pref is b-ionic I and II. 3. as you might have heard patience is the key fellow grasshopper. it can take a full 3 mo to achieve cycled stage w/o spikes of somesort. i think i put 2 percs in after 6-8wks. good luck and enjoy it. Link to comment
theclearblue Posted February 12, 2004 Author Share Posted February 12, 2004 sorry, typo... 79 degrees Link to comment
theclearblue Posted February 12, 2004 Author Share Posted February 12, 2004 According to Red Sea customer service, a blue represents 2.5 ppm of nitrate. Link to comment
gabbeyshell Posted February 14, 2004 Share Posted February 14, 2004 call around to local lfs and ask them if they do customer water tests and compare to your own. Link to comment
theclearblue Posted February 14, 2004 Author Share Posted February 14, 2004 Funny you say that, I actually went and did that earlier this afternoon. He tested using Lamotte. SG: 1.025 (refractrometer) PH: 8.0 Alk: 10 dKH Amm: 0 ppm Nitrite: 0.5 mg/l Nitrate: 0.25 ppm Copper: 0 Phosphate: 0 LFS said that it looked like the tank was starting to process nitrite. He suggested sitting on it for two weeks before I even think of putting anything in there. My Tetratest still shows no nitrites, and my red sea still shows 2.5, but frankly I don't trust either. Link to comment
theclearblue Posted February 15, 2004 Author Share Posted February 15, 2004 Here's the latest tank pic taken under my temporary lighting. Link to comment
gabbeyshell Posted February 15, 2004 Share Posted February 15, 2004 the best advice i can offer is patience is a virtu in this hobby. i waited for at least 6weeks to get anything. another thing you might want to do, is remove that biowheel. look into and do some research. imho the trap nitrates and build them up and later on you might have a nitrate spike. i think i canned mine around 2-3mo. they really are unnecessary in a salt tank due to your live rock. i have a 12g and have at least 25lbs of live rock. i wouldn't run right out and get rock if your planning to get corals due to the fact that some of the frags you get come w/ rock ex/ mushrooms, polyps. when it comes to lighting i think i've changed mine about 2x. i started off removing the stock lighting and getting a 32wsupernova then i've currently upgraded to a coralife 96w powerquad w/ a moonlight. if you want clams you need a stronger light. good luck and hope this helps. Link to comment
theclearblue Posted February 15, 2004 Author Share Posted February 15, 2004 I haven't been running the biowheel for any of the time the tank has been running. Link to comment
nanocat Posted February 15, 2004 Share Posted February 15, 2004 Good advice from the LFS. Even if all your parameters are perfect, wait 3 weeks before adding inverts IMO. Too many people wait for the first day that everything tests Ok and then start dumping in fish and god knows what else. Obviously you know better. Sounds like things are coming along pretty well. Can't wait to see pics in a month. A bit of advise (since you're already concerned about ph... ). Don't test yourself crazy and start chasing numbers. Your nano will do best will a minimum of aquarist interference in terms of dosing. Link to comment
gabbeyshell Posted February 16, 2004 Share Posted February 16, 2004 sorry clear blue didn't see w/o there. good luck!! Link to comment
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