1st water change, should i wait or am i ready now? here are my readings

[watson_ab]

1st water change, should i wait or am i ready now? I set up my tank on the 10th of November (10 days and counting - i'm dying waiting to get fish, haha), 48G deep show, 50LBs live rock - 15 of which from an established tank, 50LBs Crushed coral 1/2 and 1/2, here are my readings:
Amonia: 0
Nitrite: .5
Nitrate: 40
Hardness: 300
Alkalinity: 300
PH: 8.4
Salinity: 39
SG: 1.029
My questions are....
1) has my Nitrate's peaked or are they still in the proces of going up?
2) Am I ready for a water change tomarrow night or do I wait till I get back from thanksgiving on sunday? How much do you change on your 1st one and what is the process, i.e. do I have to leave the water sit out for a day or days???
3) Would 1 24" reef light from ***** be strong enough for few simple corals??? They were only like 20bucks and the box seems to suggest that is what it is for???

 

[coachklm]

seems to me your nitrites should be 0 wait for it then when your trates are high... due your water change... and no light from ***** will be good for corals...

 

[laddy]

Your posting in the reef board so you're going to get a flat: NO. I could care less what your nitrate level is, considering your nitrite level is .5. It's harmful even for a fish only tank. I believe you may need to wait a while to have your levels come down.

 

[watson_ab]

Originally Posted by Laddy
Your posting in the reef board so you're going to get a flat: NO. I could care less what your nitrate level is, considering your nitrite level is .5. It's harmful even for a fish only tank. I believe you may need to wait a while to have your levels come down.
Laddy why don't you be more of an ---, I was asking an honest question and I was hoping to get an honest reply no some jarble that isn't even legible and I don't even have a clue what part of my question you are answering and I made no mention of adding fish anytime soon so you can keep your jerkoff comments for someone else....Don't be such a jerk!

 

[watson_ab]

Originally Posted by coachKLM
seems to me your nitrites should be 0 wait for it then when your trates are high... due your water change... and no light from ***** will be good for corals...
thanks coach i'll wait till my nitrites are at 0 before I do a water change. This would be my 1st water change, what exactely do I need to do and how much water should I change....thanks.

 

[laddy]

Sorry, honestly didn't attempt to offend. The first sentence was a little harsh, I appologize.
...if you're still interested in my opinion, I'd wait till your nitrites are at zero for a while and your nitrates come down before you do your first water change.

 

[watson_ab]

thanks for the help, just looking for an education response that's all, not having much luck on these boards, usually get no response and someone that responds but doesn't answer the question

 

[laddy]

I can understand your frustration. The best resource on this board is the 'archive' section, it has a lot of historical threads to help you out.
.....plus you don't have to talk with a---- like me

 

[watson_ab]

archives are providing some good info, thanks...
see you live in dc, i just moved from alrington to waldorf, got any live rock for me

 

[bonebrake]

Watson, don't do your water change until your nitrites are zero and your nitrates quit rising and have been the same concentration for two days. When I cycled my nitrates spiked beyond 250 ppm and I did as close to a 100% water change as possible. However, my rock was not cured whatsoever and I had a ton of decaying matter in my tank.
:joy:

 

[bonebrake]

Don't waste your money on those cheap lights. Save some money and buy at least a decent set of power compacts so you have more versatility in your coral selection.
:joy:

 

[watson_ab]

Originally Posted by Bonebrake
Don't waste your money on those cheap lights. Save some money and buy at least a decent set of power compacts so you have more versatility in your coral selection.
:joy:
what do you think about this lighting system for my tank??? does this seem like an ok system for the price???? Is there certain brands i should stay away from or look into getting??

http://cgi.----.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...1548&rd=1&rd=1

 

[bonebrake]

It seems like an ok system, however, I would be wary of purchasing a refurbished light off of

[hr]
though. If it doesn't work two months later you will likely be out the money. I would rather pay the extra $100 for a new system from a reputable company. You could also try Hello Lights they have great lighting.
:joy:

 

[watson_ab]

Originally Posted by Bonebrake
It seems like an ok system, however, I would be wary of purchasing a refurbished light off of

[hr]
though. If it doesn't work two months later you will likely be out the money. I would rather pay the extra $100 for a new system from a reputable company. You could also try Hello Lights they have great lighting.
:joy:
hellolights??? ur kidding right, i don't care how nice they are, i'm not spending 700 bucks on a 36" lighting system...sorry, just venting, grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.....

 

[larryndana]

Originally Posted by watson_ab
thanks coach i'll wait till my nitrites are at 0 before I do a water change. This would be my 1st water change, what exactely do I need to do and how much water should I change....thanks.

Make sure you use good water, that was my first mistake. Like RO/DI or Distilled water, I use ro/di water from my lfs. And make sure you aerate/age your salt water for at least 24hours.
As far as when to do it....at least when ammonia and nitrites are 0....how much water to change at least 50 percent. Everyone's opinions are different, I have yet found an exact science to any of it. This is just my opinion.

 

[gandolf8]

say dont know how much you want to spent but I know were you get 36 inch 150 watt MH and leds and moon light in one combo for 429.00

 

[watson_ab]

Originally Posted by gandolf8
say dont know how much you want to spent but I know were you get 36 inch 150 watt MH and leds and moon light in one combo for 429.00

I have found a couple new fixutres with moon lights and PC for like $220. Can't get just one MH b/c I have that support crap in the middle of my tank, so i need a split fiture, this one looks perfect only thing i'm worried about is that the MH is on one side and the PC is on the other side...
MY QUSTIONS IS THIS: DO you think the lighting will be evenly distributed to both sides of the tank??? thanks.

 

[reefkprz]

nope it wont but you can use that to your advantage by growing low light stuff far from the MH and high light stuff under it. halides are usually effective to about three feet wide give or take for fixture type, and distance from the top of the tank.

 

[petjunkie]

No one's mentioned but your salinity is too high, I would drop it to 1.025 or 35 ppt.

 

[bonebrake]

Originally Posted by watson_ab
hellolights??? ur kidding right, i don't care how nice they are, i'm not spending 700 bucks on a 36" lighting system...sorry, just venting, grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.....
Spend more time looking on there, they have very cheap systems. I don't know where you saw a 36" one for $729.00 unless it was a PFO.
:joy: