Day 10: Water Quality Test #1 (Please give your 0.02 on my tank's progress?)

[dutchswan]

Tank: 47 Gallon Column = 20"(w), 18"(d), 30"(h)
Filtration Used: Emperor 400
Live Sand: Nature's Ocean Bio-Activ Live Aragonite Reef Sand (40 Lbs) 2" - 3" Deep
Live Rock: 5 Melon size cultured Fiji Live Rock (more to be added)
Test Type: Red Sea Marine Lab ($50)
Age of Tank: 10 Days
Water Temperature: 82 Degrees F
Chemical Test #1
Animals added on Day 10: 6 Red Leg Hermit Crabs, 4 Astrea Snails, & 2 Ocellaris Clowns
(Yes, probably too early for the clowns...but what can I say?...I am a newbie and we are impatient!)
Day 10 Notes: I plan on testing the water every 5 days, and then posting the results on this page. I will put the results side-by-side with the previous results so that changes can be observed. (This is actually test #2, but I did not properly follow the instructions and Test #1 on Day 5 was thrown out.) Thank you in advance to anyone who is willing to track my progress and help a salt water newbie out! I intend to put fish and corals in this tank. I am still trying to find suitable 20" lighting that will allow corals to do well in 30" deep water (well, 20" considering the height of the rock).
pH: 8.4?

Alk: 2.5?

No2: ???

No3: 10?

NH3/NH4: ???

 

[twood]

Looks like you are about half way through your cycle. Ammonia is near zero and nitrites are really high. Ammonia should go to zero in the next few days, then nitrites will start to go down and nitrates will go up. When ammonia and nitrites both read 0, your cycle is complete. You will then need to do a water change to lower the nitrates. Then weekly 10% water changes to keep it down.
Also, If you want to keep corals, you probably should get a calcium test kit.

 

[geridoc]

Your nitrite test may not be high, but very low. The color you show is too dark to match with anything, but it is in the brown/red range, which seems to be the low, not the high, end of the scale. You should rerun the test after diluting the sample with fresh salt water 1:1 or 2:1, and see what color you get. If your nitrites are as low as I think they might be, then your tank has completed its cycle, which is not uncommon if your live rock were fresh and in good condition when you put it into the tank.

 

[dutchswan]

Originally Posted by GeriDoc
http:///forum/post/3283732
Your nitrite test may not be high, but very low. The color you show is too dark to match with anything, but it is in the brown/red range, which seems to be the low, not the high, end of the scale. You should rerun the test after diluting the sample with fresh salt water 1:1 or 2:1, and see what color you get. If your nitrites are as low as I think they might be, then your tank has completed its cycle, which is not uncommon if your live rock were fresh and in good condition when you put it into the tank.
I thought it took weeks and weeks to cycle a new tank? It has been only 10 days. The 40Lbs of live sand was added on Day 1. The Live Rock was added on Day 5. I hope to add more live rock today to create a better platform for corals. I will purchase the calcium test as you recommended.
My tank seems to go between 82-83 Degrees F. Based on my research it seems this is on the high end of the scale. My house has central air, but this room is the top room (Level 5 in a split level home). It also houses my main computer, security camera control box, and back-up batteries; all which generate extra heat in the room. I do not think my actual aquarium heater has turned on a single time. 82 Degrees must be the ambient temperature in the room. Is this too high?

 

[geridoc]

Originally Posted by dutchswan
http:///forum/post/3283739
I thought it took weeks and weeks to cycle a new tank? It has been only 10 days. The 40Lbs of live sand was added on Day 1. The Live Rock was added on Day 5. I hope to add more live rock today to create a better platform for corals. I will purchase the calcium test as you recommended.
My tank seems to go between 82-83 Degrees F. Based on my research it seems this is on the high end of the scale. My house has central air, but this room is the top room (Level 5 in a split level home). It also houses my main computer, security camera control box, and back-up batteries; all which generate extra heat in the room. I do not think my actual aquarium heater has turned on a single time. 82 Degrees must be the ambient temperature in the room. Is this too high?
If your live rock was truly "live", that is, teeming with bacteria, then there might be no cycle at all, and your tank would be ready. It would depend on how much die-off occurred on the rock, and what source of organic material you added. Have you added anything in the form of cocktail shrimp or ammonium chloride? I don't run my tanks quite as high as you have yours, but is should be OK as long as your bioload remains reasonable since one of the problems with higher temperatures is the loss of oxygen from the water.

 

[dutchswan]

Originally Posted by GeriDoc
http:///forum/post/3283741
If your live rock was truly "live", that is, teeming with bacteria, then there might be no cycle at all, and your tank would be ready. It would depend on how much die-off occurred on the rock, and what source of organic material you added.
My rock came out of the aquarium at the store with soaked paper towel laid on them, drove 3 miles, and then put them in my tank. I received A LOT of hitchhikers with that load. I am going back to the same place right now to get some more LR.

 

[geridoc]

Originally Posted by dutchswan
http:///forum/post/3283742
My rock came out of the aquarium at the store with soaked paper towel laid on them, drove 3 miles, and then put them in my tank. I received A LOT of hitchhikers with that load. I am going back to the same place right now to get some more LR.
Your tank could be cycled. Do the dilution on the nitrite test, and if they are truly low, then you are probably good to go. The highnitrate level indicates that nitrogenous wastes have been processed from ammonium through nitrites and into nitrates, the hallmark of a cycled tank. The bacteria on your live rock have provided you with an "instant cycle".