pictures and parameters

gbfan41649

gbfan41649

Member
Here are some pics notice in one pic small green algea on sand, is this good




60 lbs of base rock 11lbs of live lava rock
60lbs of LS
day 5
Ammon .25
Nirtrites 0
ph 8.3
nitrates 10
temp 79.5
ammon and Nitrites going down on day 5 is this to early?
Can I expect them to go back up?
 
gbfan41649

gbfan41649

Member
had shrimp
removeds after in started desenagrateing after a couple of days
ammon went to .5-.75
nitirites was at .5
should have these #'s came down so quick?
 
socal57che

socal57che

Active Member
The decomposition of the shrimp is actually what you want. The bacteria that breaks down the shrimp are what you are trying to culture. I would introduce another shrimp and leave it be for at least a week. If it seems messy place it in a mesh carbon bag to make removal easier. I left mine in and let it decay. If anything is left, hermits will remove it quickly when added. This will ensure that you have enough bacteria established to control bioload when livestock is introduced. Your levels may have decreased due to the lack of material to break down.
 
rad

rad

Member
that sounds good to me. the only thing I would leave out is not taking the shrimp out after your ammonia is good and spiked. but thats just personal preference. it sounds to me like you used cured liverock. you need waste. sometimes uncured lr can do the cycling of the tank for you. but it usually helps just to make sure you have waste by throwing in some shrimp and just monitoring it.
as far as the aglae goes, your going to get it. alot of it. I wouldnt worry about the green stuff.
 
gbfan41649

gbfan41649

Member
new results
ammon 0
nitrites 0
nitrates 10
the rock took 5 days to get after was shipped, was just moist. I think this is uncured right. That was Saturday. this is Tuesday can my take have cycled this fast?
I started with just saltwater 2 weeks ago last wed added LS and shrimp
and then Sat. LR
Ammon. did spike to .5 -.75
trites .5
Should I add anything to tank yet/
 
m0nk

m0nk

Active Member
Personally, your cycle went exactly how I like mine to go. It sounds like it is complete considering ammonia and nitrites are at 0 and any time nitrates are under 20ppm, you're doing good. When using any live rock I don't let my ammonia go above 1ppm before doing a water change because that level of ammonia will likely kill off some of the hitchhikers that make live rock desirable (some of the more experienced people on the boards here don't even let it go too much above .5). And I also take the shrimp out at that same stage as well, because leaving it in there longer will make the ammonia go higher. Now you're fairly set, just ghost feed (which is basically tossing in a little food each day, even though there are no fish) and test to make sure there are no more ammonia spikes. This will "test" the beneficial bacteria to make sure it is breaking down the food before the food breaks down into ammonia. After a couple days of this you should be ready to add a cleanup crew and maybe even your first fish.
 
lecithin

lecithin

Member
Originally Posted by m0nk
Personally, your cycle went exactly how I like mine to go. It sounds like it is complete considering ammonia and nitrites are at 0 and any time nitrates are under 20ppm, you're doing good. When using any live rock I don't let my ammonia go above 1ppm before doing a water change because that level of ammonia will likely kill off some of the hitchhikers that make live rock desirable (some of the more experienced people on the boards here don't even let it go too much above .5). And I also take the shrimp out at that same stage as well, because leaving it in there longer will make the ammonia go higher. Now you're fairly set, just ghost feed (which is basically tossing in a little food each day, even though there are no fish) and test to make sure there are no more ammonia spikes. This will "test" the beneficial bacteria to make sure it is breaking down the food before the food breaks down into ammonia. After a couple days of this you should be ready to add a cleanup crew and maybe even your first fish.

Although your cycle seems quick for so little LR but it is entirely possible and things look like they're going smoothly. I'll just echo the above, ghost feed for awhile and make sure things stay zero'd out.
 
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