Adding Life

[ccejka]

My tank has been cycling for 3 weeks, I did push the ammonia to 1ppm - 2ppm about 3 days ago and it was back down to 0 Ammonia/NO2/NO3 with in 12 hours. I believe my tank has cycled and plan to make a trip to my LFS tomorrow afternoon to pick up a fish and coral. 

 

I tested the water parameters and here are my results:

Temp 78

Salinity - 1.026

Ammonia - 0.00

Nitrate - 0.00

Nitrite - 0.00

Phosphate - 0.00

Calcium - 360ppm

Carbonate Hardness - 7dKH

PH (my test kit hasn't arrived used a buddies 4 days ago and got 8.2)

 

Looking at the numbers would it be confident to say my tank is ready to start supporting life? I am looking to had Frogspawn and Hammerhead, along with a Zoanthid. I also planned to purchase one cleaner shrimp, 2 - 4 Trochus snails, and  Clownfish. It sounds like a lot but the LFS is several hours away so if it is safe to add them all I would like to. I plan to let the tank run a few weeks with these guys in it testing waters and keeping an eye on everything before making another change. I will do weekly water changes of 10% starting Friday after I add the fish.

 

Does this sound like a recipe for disaster or will my tank be able to handle this change? 

[Donny41]

Have you done a water change? I would expect to see a nitrate level if you haven't. Also I would say you'd be fine adding a zoa at first but the hammer and frog spawn can be a bit more touchy

[ccejka]

1 minute ago, Donny41 said:

Have you done a water change? I would expect to see a nitrate level if you haven't. Also I would say you'd be fine adding a zoa at first but the hammer and frog spawn can be a bit more touchy

I did have to remove about a gallon and a half of water and added RO DI to pull the salinity down from 1.029.

 

but not an actual water change yet.

[Donny41]

What type of filtration are you running? Do you have a skimmer or refugium? Just weird to have 0 nitrates at the end of a cycle, especially if you dose ammonia and are now reading 0

[ccejka]

2 minutes ago, Donny41 said:

What type of filtration are you running? Do you have a skimmer or refugium? Just weird to have 0 nitrates at the end of a cycle, especially if you does ammonia and are now reading 0

I have an HOB filter running floss, seachem matrix and carbon and a HOB Refugium with chaeto algae.

[Donny41]

Ok, so I would say your likely good to go! 

[ccejka]

1 minute ago, Donny41 said:

Ok, so I would say your likely good to go! 

 

Yeah I may have jumped the gun on the refugium according to a few guys I talked to but I really wanted to make sure this tank would be ready when I decided to get coral.

[Donny41]

I've never run a refugium so I cant say from experience but I've heard that it can slow down the cycling process, but as long as your processing ammonia fast enough you should be fine. Zoas and lps can also do well in higher nutrient environments so it's not a necessity to keep nitrates super low

[ccejka]

Just now, Donny41 said:

I've never run a refugium so I cant say from experience but I've heard that it can slow down the cycling process, but as long as your processing ammonia fast enough you should be fine. Zoas and lps can also do well in higher nutrient environments so it's not a necessity to keep nitrates super low

 

I am going to give it a try have to see what is left from the black Friday craziness. 

[Clown79]

That's a lot to add all at one time.

 

In a new tank, you want to add livestock slowly because even though it's a cycled tank, the bioload a new tank can handle isn't normally high.