Question bout cycling

[Hunt3r]

 

I just did my test

 

Ammo im a little torn if its 0 or .25 but its more of a 0 i asked my wife its 0 twice. Nitrite is 0 and nitrate rose to 20. I was suppose to add a little shrimp but since my nitrate went up. My sg went up to 1.024. I might go to my lfs to check my water.

[Tamberav]

Looks like its fine to me. I would call that 0 ammonia. The little bit of yellowish could diatoms thinking about blooming, perhaps silicates from the equipment or sand, if they do bloom, no worries.

 

If it were my tank, I would prob do a w/c since Nitrates are creeping up to make sure nuisance algae doesn't also creep up.

[Pjanssen]

Yes they are in the water

 

I thought so, it's just so clean!

[HarryPotter]

We are so over thinking this. lol I personally don't test the cycle but I exercise caution with other peoples tanks. I suppose its harder to explain the possible diatom/gha and critters that are markers for different stages vs numbers on a test kit.

Same on testing. People don't look for visual clues enough IMO (except Brandon perhaps) to gauge health, numbers aren't everything!

[vegasgundog]

Brandon helped me a lot with my cycle. Loads of knowledgeable information. His pico, o my.

[Hunt3r]

Thanks guys for all the input!! So that puts me where right now? Im pretty sure that ill do wc, hut do i need to put some load in the tank like fish food or is too early for cuc?

[Hunt3r]

Do my sg rise because of evaporation?

[Hunt3r]

Same on testing. People don't look for visual clues enough IMO (except Brandon perhaps) to gauge health, numbers aren't everything!

What kind of visual clues should i look for?

[Pjanssen]

Brandon helped me a lot with my cycle. Loads of knowledgeable information. His pico, o my.

 

Yes, Brandon is a wealth of information. I can generally only understand about 70-80% of what the professor is trying to teach me though!

Do my sg rise because of evaporation?

Most likely. If you have an open top and do not have an ATO (Auto Top Off), you will need to replace water daily, twice daily is even better, with fresh RO/DI water. Put a mark on your tank with tape or marker or whatever you want and when the water falls below this level simply add RO/DI to bring it back up.

[Pjanssen]

What kind of visual clues should i look for?

positives would be coraline growth of all colors. I'm not 100% sure of this, but I believe a Diatom bloom usually comes at the end of a cycle. Algae growth would indicate phosphates. Distressed looking corals may indicate an Alkalinity and/or temperature imbalance. Distressed fish could be a sign of ammonia, lack of oxygen or any number of illness...a lot of slimy or fuzzy looking things tend to be bacterial in nature and tend to be a result of water quality and maintenance. Once you have your tank up and running for awhile you will start to notice these things. In the meantime, I think you need to keep testing so that you learn what to expect.

I just saw the top of this page. Nitrates at 20 means you are likely not through your cycle.

[Hunt3r]

What do you think is better for me to do since my nitrate is going up wc is a way to go but my sg is going up to. Should i do 20% wc then 50/50 of saltwater and rodi water

[Tamberav]

What do you think is better for me to do since my nitrate is going up wc is a way to go but my sg is going up to. Should i do 20% wc then 50/50 of saltwater and rodi water

1.024 is fine, most people run around 1.025 and 1.026 for corals.

 

Once you get the salinity you want, be sure to top off evap with RODI, just make a mark on the tank somewhere so you know where to fill to.

[Pjanssen]

What do you think is better for me to do since my nitrate is going up wc is a way to go but my sg is going up to. Should i do 20% wc then 50/50 of saltwater and rodi water

 

Well it's tricky. A bit of a math problem. Figure out what your salinity in tank is. What the salinity of your new water is. Then you can figure out how much RO/DI you need to add to new water to bring tank Water to 1.024-1.026. However, if you already have creatures in your tank, then don't drastically drop your salinity all at once. How high is it?

LOL. What tamberav said!

[Hunt3r]

Should i put some load in my tank like fish food or little shrimp in it? My salinity is 1.024 the first time i check it yesterday.

[Hunt3r]

1.024 is fine, most people run around 1.025 and 1.026 for corals.

 

Once you get the salinity you want, be sure to top off evap with RODI, just make a mark on the tank somewhere so you know where to fill to.

If i top off with rodi due to evaporation will that lowers my nitrate?

[Pjanssen]

If i top off with rodi due to evaporation will that lowers my nitrate?

 

no. you still need to do a water change.

Should i put some load in my tank like fish food or little shrimp in it? My salinity is 1.024 the first time i check it yesterday.

There are different opinions on this. Personally I wouldn't do it.

1.024 is perfect for your salinity

[Hunt3r]

So i tested my water and for some reason my sh shoot so high 1.030 so i did mu water change and put some rodi and now my reading is 1.022. Not sure if my hydrometer is broken. I have the fluval brand.

[Mariaface]

So i tested my water and for some reason my sh shoot so high 1.030 so i did mu water change and put some rodi and now my reading is 1.022. Not sure if my hydrometer is broken. I have the fluval brand.

 

 

Get a refractometer, and add water in increments when lowering salinity. Test the salinity fifteen minutes after each addition to let the water mix first. This way you won't pass your mark too drastically. If you know your exact water volume after displacement by rocks/sand/equipment/organisms, you can calculate the water needed.

 

A plastic hydrometer can have small bubbles stuck to the arm and give false high readings, so avoid them.

 

Water changes are a good way to lower nitrates once that portion of the cycle is done, but it may also be useful to supplement the tank with denitrifying bacteria that will find their place within the rocks.

 

When cycling, you can add something like Seachem Prime before adding ammonia - it'll convert it into a much less toxic form (ammonium), and bacteria will still be able to process it.

[Pjanssen]

Can you take your water to las for reading? Invest in refractometer. #s definitely should not jump around that much

^ *LFS

[Hunt3r]

Ill tale my water tom to my lfs to see kbow all my parameters. And see where im at

[Tamberav]

So i tested my water and for some reason my sh shoot so high 1.030 so i did mu water change and put some rodi and now my reading is 1.022. Not sure if my hydrometer is broken. I have the fluval brand.

 

Any air bubbles will mess up the hydrometer, also it needs to be washed with every use.

[Hunt3r]

If my parameters stays the same or maybe lowered the nitrate down. Am i close or how close am i with my cycle? Without any diatoms blooms etc.etc.

[Pjanssen]

It's hard to say. Few days. maybe a week or so...You need to figure out you salinity issue before you can add any livestock anyway. Nitrates need to be close to 5 and ammonia 0 for a few days before you can consider your cycle complete

[Hunt3r]

It's hard to say. Few days. maybe a week or so...You need to figure out you salinity issue before you can add any livestock anyway. Nitrates need to be close to 5 and ammonia 0 for a few days before you can consider your cycle complete

Ok thanks so much for all the info ill keep on checking my water.

[Hunt3r]

My day 5 test result

Ammo is 0

Nitrites 0

Nitrates is 20 or 40ish

Sg is 1.022

Nothing added to my tank other than adding rodi this early morning. And yes there is a turtledecor inside coz my wife and kid want it for them to say yes.