TeflonTomDosh Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 Ok so I'm pretty sure my cycle is complete, 2 weeks in, ammonia is at 0, nitrites are 0 and ph is 8.0. Salinity is 1.025 and temp is 79.5 all steady. Nitrates though remain around 5-10ppm ( so hard to tell the color difference on that API chart, and my vision is 20/20!) Anyways, my filtration currently consists of 20 lbs of live sand, about the same in rock (in the tank of course) 12 gallon Nano. I have a iNtank media basket in chamber one with ( in this order from top to bottom) filter floss, carbon, and purigen 100, in chamber 2 there is a bag of ceramic rings, and chamber 3 contain my heater & return pump. My nitrates have been around this level for about a week, and I did a 20% water change this past weekend and they remain the same. My question is this. I have a probably 1/2 lb piece of live rock left over after doing my aquascape, it's fully dried out and sitting on my porch. Should I take these ceramic rings out and crush this live rock up and replace it in chamber 2, take the ceramic rings out and replace with nothing, or just leave it alone and hope my nitrates come down on their own? Thanks for the read! Link to comment
TeflonTomDosh Posted March 29, 2012 Author Share Posted March 29, 2012 Oh, I just remembered. I also have an unopened package of chemi-pure. Should I just drop that in chamber 2, replacing the ceramic rings? Link to comment
altolamprologus Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 The ceramic rings and live rock rubble are for nitrifying bacteria which turn ammonia in to nitrite into nitrate and will do nothing to lower nitrates. They are not necessary because you have plenty of biological filtration in your display. Take out the rings and add the chemi-pure. Have you checked your purigen lately? It might be exhausted because of your nitrates. Link to comment
Salty_Snack Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 First off... 20/20 vision has little to do with seeing color. Second, live rock rubble is the biggest crock of sh*t there is in this hobby. There is absolutely no benefit to using it, especially if you have adequate live rock IMO. I would try some seachem matrix. It works the same way as LR but with a lot less volume and weight. Or you could always grow some macro algae back there. Depending on what your stocking plans are 5 ppm nitrate really isn't a big deal. Link to comment
TeflonTomDosh Posted March 29, 2012 Author Share Posted March 29, 2012 I ended up taking the rings out and throwing a bag of chemipure in there, and tested a few hours later, trates still seem the same (if not higher) with that in there so i'll let it run for another day or two before testing again. I had planned on using the 2nd chamber for chaeto originally, just havent gotten around to purchasing any. I do however have the submersible light from InTank to support it once I do. Guess all I can do now is wait, and get me some chaeto! First off... 20/20 vision has little to do with seeing color. Second, live rock rubble is the biggest crock of sh*t there is in this hobby. There is absolutely no benefit to using it, especially if you have adequate live rock IMO. I would try some seachem matrix. It works the same way as LR but with a lot less volume and weight. Or you could always grow some macro algae back there. Depending on what your stocking plans are 5 ppm nitrate really isn't a big deal. Link to comment
NancyC Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 I have no input as to your question (I have the same questions), but I can share that I agree with you....the matching the colors up on those tests is not an exact science. This one, wait, no this, no that, um....I'm going with "close enough," since that's all there is for it. Link to comment
TeflonTomDosh Posted March 29, 2012 Author Share Posted March 29, 2012 If by "checking my purigen" you mean taking it out and rinsing it, yes, I did that with my 20% water change on Sunday. My tank has only been up and running for 2 weeks now, could the 100ml bag of purigen really be exhausted this quickly? The ceramic rings and live rock rubble are for nitrifying bacteria which turn ammonia in to nitrite into nitrate and will do nothing to lower nitrates. They are not necessary because you have plenty of biological filtration in your display. Take out the rings and add the chemi-pure. Have you checked your purigen lately? It might be exhausted because of your nitrates. Link to comment
altolamprologus Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 If by "checking my purigen" you mean taking it out and rinsing it, yes, I did that with my 20% water change on Sunday. My tank has only been up and running for 2 weeks now, could the 100ml bag of purigen really be exhausted this quickly? Idk why you would rinse it...If it's collecting detritus, you should work on your mechanical filtration. I meant have you checked it's color? It turns dark brown as it exhausts. If it's brown you should either recharge it with bleach or buy a new bag Link to comment
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