Cycle winding down

[nate_m]

Last night I tested my water...
Ammonia: 0
Nitrites : .5
Nitrates: 40
Alk: 300
PH 7.8
My nitrites dropped by 2.5 since 2 days ago.
I'm thinking of doing a 20% water change to level out the nitrates. Any problems with this?
Also still struggling with my temperature stabilization. Most things I read suggest 74-79 degrees. My tank sits right around 80-81. Is this an issue?
Concerning water molecules and the params. Most of the params are measured in PPM. I am curious if anyone knows how many million molecules of water there are per gallon of water? If this question could be answered one could calculate the amount of dillution needed to drop a certain parameter to a safe level.
- Nate

 

[pfitz44]

Nate,
Wait until your trites drop to 0 for a week before you do your 20-25% water change.
your pH semms a little low, and your alk seems high.... do you have a Calcium test kit (Ca2+)???
What about your SG??
Temps fine, mine stays at 80

 

[fishieness]

no, i dont know how many million particles there are per gallon of water. But i do know where most levels shouold be. But water changes cannot solve all of your problems. you must identify the problem first.
id wait a few more days to let you nitrates and trites drop to 0. Then a 20 % water change.
what is your SG?
your pH seems a little low, but this is common in new tanks. But your ALK seems high.... what is your Ca? It could be the salt you are using too. what brand?
as far as the temp, that is fine. 74-75 is considered cooler waters. some species prefer that, but many do not. I keep my tank at 79-80.
good luck!

 

[fishieness]

Originally Posted by PFitz44
Nate,
Wait until your trites drop to 0 for a week before you do your 20-25% water change.
your pH semms a little low, and your alk seems high.... do you have a Calcium test kit (Ca2+)???
What about your SG??
Temps fine, mine stays at 80
holy crap..... you beat me to it.... when i clicked on this thread there were 0 posts

 

[nate_m]

Originally Posted by fishieness
no, i dont know how many million particles there are per gallon of water. But i do know where most levels shouold be. But water changes cannot solve all of your problems. you must identify the problem first.
id wait a few more days to let you nitrates and trites drop to 0. Then a 20 % water change.
what is your SG?
your pH seems a little low, but this is common in new tanks. But your ALK seems high.... what is your Ca? It could be the salt you are using too. what brand?
as far as the temp, that is fine. 74-75 is considered cooler waters. some species prefer that, but many do not. I keep my tank at 79-80.
good luck!
What uses up nitrates in a tank? I was under the impression that water changes diluted the number of nitrates. I'm sure some chemistry major out there will remember how to use Avagodros #(sp) to calculate the number of molecules of water :help:
I don't have a Ca testkit yet SG was perfect about a week ago and haven't checked it recently.
I can't remember what salt I used to start the tank up with. I know it was 1 of the two major brands recommened by books and this site. Honestly I think the Ph may be a bit high because my test kit goes from 7.8 to 8.4. No steps in between so it very possible could be high than 7.8. I'm certainly going to be investing in salifert test kits in the near future.

 

[fishieness]

you pH is definatly not high. do you mean it could be lower than 7.8?
avagadro's number is 6.022X10^23
however, unless you know the volume of a mole of water, this wouldnt work. and also since it is salt water, there are all types of minerals and planktonic organisms and all sorts of things. if it was pure water it would be relativly easy. but there are too many additives to find that out.
nitrates and nitrates are used up in the nitrogen cycle. you Amonia cycle is complete, just wait a little until your nitrates and trites go down.
and your SG was perfect about a week ago. If you havent been doing percise topoffs, then i garentee that it is no longer perfect. are you using a refractometer or a hydrometer?

 

[nate_m]

Originally Posted by fishieness
you pH is definatly not high. do you mean it could be lower than 7.8?
avagadro's number is 6.022X10^23
however, unless you know the volume of a mole of water, this wouldnt work. and also since it is salt water, there are all types of minerals and planktonic organisms and all sorts of things. if it was pure water it would be relativly easy. but there are too many additives to find that out.
nitrates and nitrates are used up in the nitrogen cycle. you Amonia cycle is complete, just wait a little until your nitrates and trites go down.
and your SG was perfect about a week ago. If you havent been doing percise topoffs, then i garentee that it is no longer perfect. are you using a refractometer or a hydrometer?
I was saying my PH could be a bit higher than 7.8, because my test kits measures 7.8 and the next shade of color is 8.4. So if it was a bit 'darker' than the color for 7.8 my PH may be like 8.0 or 8.2 but there isn't enough fidelity in the test kit to tell. It certainly isn't lower than 7.8 and not higher than 8.4.
I haven't been doing percise topoffs. The biggest reason is because I've had very little evaporation due to the glass top. While trying to regulate my temperatures I've uncovered 1/3 and probably have been getting quite a bit more evaporation so I'll keep a close eye on it. BTW the evaporation allows for about a 1 degree cooling effect on the overall water temp. I am using a hydrometer. From what I've read the refractometers are leaps and bounds better. Any recommendations one which unit to purchase? This is only going to be a FOWLR tank so is it still highly recommended to purchase the recfractometer?
I'm getting ready to purchase a RO/DI from a certain site who specilizes in airwaterice. This is a home/reef RO/DI unit and I'm wondering if anyone has experience with this unit? I havent quite come up with a good system for moving 10 gallons of water from the unit to the tank. Any suggestions on setup? Perhaps I should start another thread for this discussion.
- Nate

 

[fishieness]

oh im sorry. i thought you meant that ou pH scale ONLY read from 7.8-8.4..... as in it also read 8.0 and 8.2 but the 7.8 and the 8.4 were just the minimum and maximum.
i dont have a top on my tank because it prevents a lot of gas exchange, and like you said, evaporation too. i just top off my water every day
if you have a fowlr, then a refractometer is not as important seeing how most fish deal with salinity much better than inverts. however, it is still recomended if you have the money because you dont know how inacurate your hydrometer is. and as it ages, it becomes more and more innacurate. or it could be becomeing more accurate. you never know. The refractometer i got was the cheapest one i could find,but it still does the job very well. It has ATC (automatic temperature control) so that is good. I got it for 43 bucks on a competetors site so i cant list it here. But try typing "portable refractometer" into google and see if it comes up with anything good. That is jsut what the site called mine.
and im sorry, i dont know anything about that model of RO unit. I have a little DI filter that just plugs into a faucet because i have two relativly small tanks. I dont need anything too big.

 

[nate_m]

Quick Update: My nitrites have dropped to 0 and my nitrates are still at 40. All other params are perfect.
Do I need to wate for the nitrates to drop on their own or do a water change? Hope this means I'm ready to add my first fish!

 

[nate_m]

 

[fishieness]

wait until your nitrates get below or around 20, then do a water change. That is JMO however, some may say otherwise.

 

[nate_m]

Originally Posted by fishieness
wait until your nitrates get below or around 20, then do a water change. That is JMO however, some may say otherwise.
I read in a magazine last night that nitrates generally don't drop on their own. They are used up by plants and algae of which I have none. Although the 'cycle' they depicted showed Nitrate bacteria so I'm guessing that you're probably right and they will drop on their own.
- Nate

 

[nate_m]

Looking for opinions from a few of the regulars.
I'm on the last stage of my cycle and my nitrates are sitting at 40 (nitrites = 0, ammonia = 0, ph = 7.8, SG = 1.024). The questions is this. Should I keeping waiting for the bacteria growth to lower the nitrates or do a 20% water change and populate the tank with its first inhabitant?
Thanks!
- Nathan

 

[pfitz44]

if its been here for a week, go ahead and do your waterchange!!!
Good luck!

 

[nate_m]

Getting very very close to a week and I'm getting impatient.
Guess now would be a good time to run my fish lists by you guys, but I'll save that for another post. :happyfish

 

[pfitz44]

Impatience will not be allowed in this hobby...... you will end up killing things... some things cant be rushed... like nature..
Just hang in there... it will be done soon enough.. then u can get your fish!!! (After a water chagne)
~fitzy

 

[nate_m]

Originally Posted by PFitz44
Impatience will not be allowed in this hobby...... you will end up killing things... some things cant be rushed... like nature..
Just hang in there... it will be done soon enough.. then u can get your fish!!! (After a water chagne)
~fitzy

I think you might find that impatience is allowed in this hobby. Impatience is nothing more than an eagerness to begin. There is really nothing I can kill just being eager :thinking: However acting on that impatience and doing something prematurely will absolutely kill. Nevertheless, I understand your point and appreciate your opinion on the water change.

 

[nate_m]

Is it time to get my first fish?
Nitrates have been at 40 for over a week now. Did an 8 gallon water change last night and they seemed to have dropped to about 20.
Thanks for the help.
- Nate