Cycling 10G tank - questions

[Polecat303]

This is my first saltwater aquarium:

 

10 gallon AGA with glass lid

Skilter filter/skimmer

heater - 75w

Maxi-Jet 1200 powerhead

5 lbs Live Rock (was mostly cured when I got it, there was little die off)

10 lbs CaribReef Aragonite Arag-alive

light strip (only using it a few hours a day)

 

On the live rock I have about 5 clams (anyone know what species these are... the tough ugly ones not the expensive type), a feather duster, and what appears to be a rock anemone and a couple of glass anemones. I have not seen any pods, crabs, starfish, or any of those sort of hitchhikers yet.

 

 

I am experimenting with this 10 gallon to learn prior to setting up a 90 gallon. I want to try to convert it into a refugium after the 90 gallon is set up.

 

My question is: How high and how fast should the ammonia spike during the cycling, and should I add more live rock or species to provide more ammonia for the cycle?

 

I tested every day so I could see what was happening in the tank... here are the data:

 

Date/ Sg/ Temp/ Ph/ Ammonia/ Nitrite/ Nitrate/ Notes

03/27/04 /1.022/ 79/ 8.2/ 0/ 0/ 0/ Added 10 lbs live sand after testing

03/28/04 /1.023/ 80/ 8.2/ 0.25/ 0.25/ 5/

03/29/04 /1.023/ 82/ 8.2/ 0.25/ 0.25/ 5/

03/30/04 /1.023/ 82/ 8.2/ 0.25/ 0/ 2.5/

03/31/04 /1.023/ 80/ 8.2/ 0/ 0/ 0/

04/01/04 /1.024/ 80/ 8.2/ 0/ 0/ 0/ Added 5 lbs of live rock

04/02/04 /1.025/ 78/ 8.2/ 2/ 0.25/ 5/

04/03/04 /1.023/ 78/ 8.2/ 2/ 0.5/ 5/

04/04/04 /1.0235/ 78/ 8.2/ 2/ 1/ 5/

04/05/04 /1.0235/ 77/ 8.2/ 1/ 1/ 5/

04/06/04 /1.0225/ 78/ 8.2/ 0.5/ 1/ 15/ added salt water from reserve tank

04/07/04 /1.024/ 78/ 8.2/ 0.25/ 0.5/ 15/ added light bar for several hours

04/08/04 /1.023/ 78/ 8.2/ 0/ 0.25/ 15/ added 1 cup saltwater

 

 

 

I know it is not easy to read but I couldnt put a table in the message.

 

Anyway, after the Carib Reef sand was put in, it appeared to go through a "mini-cycle" with very low levels of ammonia, then also had some nitrates which then seemed to go away. (Why would the nitrates go away???)

 

Once the Live Rock was put in the tank, Ammonia spiked up to 2 and then fell from there..... now it is down to 0 and it looks like nitrites are steadily falling to 0 as well. Nitrates have hit 15. SG keeps dropping and salt has encrusted the skilter and tank lid so I am guessing that is why my SG is going down.

 

The Carib Reef sand claims that it will "dramatically reduce cycle time for a new aquarium" or something like that, but this seems really fast even considering the bacteria that came with the sand.

 

Can I expect the Ammonia to spike again on its own, or do I need to add some more live rock and/or cleaning crew to kick off more cycling? How high does Ammonia typically spike during cycling?

 

thanks,

 

Craig

[Steve973]

get rid of the aiptasias before they take over!

[Steve973]

By the way, you don't need to see a huge spike of anything. The cycle will happen, no matter how dramatic or how subtle. Nature will take its course because that's what it does. I think you'll want more live rock though, since 5 lbs in a 10 gallon tank is a bit on the low side. I used 1.5 lbs/gallon in mine, plus a little over a pound per gallon of live sand. Just make sure you get rid of your aitpasia problem, and identify the other anemones to make sure they don't plague your tank. As for your levels, make sure you're using reliable test kits and not hobby test kits. While the cheaper test kits will give you a general idea of what's going on, better tests (like the tests made by Salifert) will give you much greater accuracy. Good luck and I hope this helps.

 

Steve

[Tempest]

Welcom to the wonderful world of reefing.

 

It's difficult to identify the "clams" without a picture. The pods will come after the initial cycle/break-in period is finished and the tank matures.

 

You need more rock in that tank - for a 10 gallon tank 10-15 lbs is about right. Lose the SKilter. They are garbage (poor filters, tend to break down, skimmer isnt worth squat). You'd be better off with an Aquaclear 150 for a HOB. On a tank that size you really don't need a skimmer (you should have a small bioload, especially since there isnm't anything in the tank yet ), but if you choose to use one try a Lee's or if you got the bucks get a Bak-PakR (may be overkill for a tank that size.).

 

Your cycle looks like it's going well. Give it a few more weeks (approximately, keep testing - the best test kits are Salifert and LaMotte) for the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate to hit 0 before adding corals. The nitrates aren't really that big of as long as they are under 20, but lower is better!

 

Whenever you add rock or sand to a tank you may get a "min-cycle" as any debris on the rock/sand will break down. The more cured the rock is the less of a cycle you'll see.

 

It seems weird that your SG keeps dropping. Usaully it increases over time due to evaporation. How are you testing the SG? Swing arm hydrometers are notoriously inaccurate - you're much better off with a refractometer.

[Polecat303]

Thanks for the information, I am going to reply to all 3 in one reply:

 

aiptasias: I have been reading about these things and want to get rid of them. One reason for my post was that I want to add several peppermint shrimp as soon as possible in the hopes of getting one that has a taste for aiptasias.

 

Test Kit and hydrometer: My test kit cost about $30 IIRC and uses test tubes, not strips. I have no idea if that is an expensive kit or not. The hydrometer is a swing arm, I want to get a more expensive one for my bigger tank but was using that one for right now. When using it I take a reading on pure water first (seems to make less bubbles stick for later readings) then take two readings from my tank. If the tank readings are different I take 2 more, being extra careful to knock every bubble off.

 

Skilter: Yeah the guy in one of the LFS recommened this as a way of having a cheap skimmer. Usually I reseach every product on the Internet but didnt for this one and got burnt apparently. It did skim some scum into its resevoir during the short die-off period the first day I got the LR. It has skimmed just a bit in the meantime. Two days ago I turned the skimmer part off and just use it for its filter and to make a current.

 

Tempest: I was thinking of adding more rock. I want to add anothe 5 lbs at least. I can get some cured rock from the LFS. My question is should I go ahead and add the LR now or wait for the cycle its in now to get nitrites to 0? And what lowers the Nitrates? It was my understanding that water changes and macro-algaes in a refugium were the best way to lower the nitrates. In this small tank with only LR, what is eating the Nitrates?

 

Critters: I will take pics of the anemones I have ASAP. I have the small fast moving clear ones (aiptasias?) plus some bubble tip looking stuff that is probably the other bad type. I also have one living in the rock that looks like the "rock flower anemone" here: http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Di...=23&pCatId=1704 except it is brown. It does not move except that it was hiding in its hole initially and it stretches to get into the strong current once in a while.

 

Anyway, at the rate the nitrites are dropping, my nitrites should be at undetectable levels tonight or tomorrow. Would it be ok to then add 5 more lbs of LR and some peppermint shrimp to eat the aiptasias before they get out of hand? And perhaps some other cleaning crew?

 

 

thanks,

 

Craig

[Steve973]

question - are you using the filter bag in the skilter? If so, this can act as a nitrate factory. What brand is your test kit? And make sure you get the correct species of shrimp since there are some species that look very much like true peppermint shrimp.

[Polecat303]

I am using the filter that came with the skilter it is a "bio-filter" I think (sort of like the bio-balls?)

 

I dont know the test kit brand, I am at work, but it says "Dr Wellfish" on the test tubes. I remember that because I thought it was a stupid name.

 

As far as the peppermint shrimp, I found a thread on here last night that described what someone thought the aiptasias-eating ones looked like. I am going to look at the ones in the different LFS around here and try to find one. Failing that I was going to buy a random assortment and hope to get lucky!

 

 

 

thanks

 

Craig

[Polecat303]

This is the test kit I have:

 

 

API Saltwater Master Liquid Test Kit

 

A Complete Kit for Testing Saltwater & Reef Aquariums

 

Kit contains the following tests:

 

• : High Range pH (7.4 to 8.8 )

• : Ammonia

• : Nitrite

• : Nitrate

[Steve973]

Yeah, the aquarium pharmaceuticals testkit isn't all that great. Take a look at www.aquatictech.com for salifert kits. The prices there are great. I would remove any media from the skilter, and just use it for circulation, not mechanical filtration. Also the species of shrimp you want to make sure you get is Lysmata wurdemanni. You won't have any luck with others, from what I've read. You might want to write that down for when you go to the store.

[Polecat303]

OK thanks, I found some information about the species and printed it out.