Is my tank cycled?

Kronic

Kronic

Member
No i haven't had them test for TDS. I will the next time I'm there. I happen to have 10 gallons of saltwater ready to go so I will go ahead and change the water. I did order a red sea nitrate/nitrite kit which will be here tomorrow so I'll test again tomorrow with the red sea kits. Hopefully changing that much water will get it closer to where it needs to be.
 
silverado61

silverado61

Well-Known Member
pegasus said:
Same here. I also keep mine heated to the tank's temp after mixing.
Click to expand...
I used to keep mine heated. Then I got my electrical bill. Now I cut back where I can. I keep the heaters turned off on all none essential equipment. I turn the heater on two days before I plan to do a water change and as soon as it's done, unplug it again.
 
pegasus

pegasus

Well-Known Member
bang guy said:
I'm not sure why you would want it heated until just before you use it.
Click to expand...
I failed to mention that I normally only allow it to mix for 24 hours before use. I do, on occasion, allow it to go for a week if I get busy doing other things. I definitely always mix cold...
 
Kronic

Kronic

Member
Ok so I did a 50% water change yesterday in the afternoon and just tested my water with the new Red Sea kits. My ammonia is zero, nitrite is 0.05, and nitrate dropped to between 10 and 20ppm. Can I order my CUC or should I still wait a few days? I plan on doing another 25% water change later in the week to bring down the nitrates more I just want to know if i need the nitrite at absolute zero or if it being 0.05 I'm ok to slowly start adding starting with CUC.
 
Connorer

Connorer

Member
Nitrates should be ok, and the nitrite won't go down to completely 0 until your tank is fully cycled, mine was still at around 0.5 when i added shrimp crabs and snails, and they've all survived, not sure if it was just luck but I think you should be ok :)
 
Kronic

Kronic

Member
Just an update.. ammonia and nitrite finally a zero and has been since last Wednesday. Nitrate is about 15ppm. I got a peppermint shrimp, emerald crab, and feather duster and put them in on Friday. They are all doing well! I ordered some snails from reef cleaners which will be here Tuesday or Wednesday and then im going to wait a couple weeks before adding anything else. I will start a tank build thread and post pics there.
 
Kronic

Kronic

Member
I have a lot of white particles circulating in my tank. I'm told this is zooplankton or some other kind of stuff that the filter feeders eat. I got the feather duster because he looks kool and he'll eat that stuff. If I see the particles disappear entirely I will dose the water with phytoplankton. The sell it at my LFS
 
silverado61

silverado61

Well-Known Member
Kronic said:
I have a lot of white particles circulating in my tank. I'm told this is zooplankton or some other kind of stuff that the filter feeders eat. I got the feather duster because he looks kool and he'll eat that stuff. If I see the particles disappear entirely I will dose the water with phytoplankton. The sell it at my LFS
Click to expand...
If they don't keep the phyto refridgerated, don't buy it, unless they had just cultured it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top