Readings Of First Water Test.help????

[swfishfan]

I Just Got Back From My Lfs And I Got The Readings On My Water Back And Well I Will Post Them (keep In Mind That My Tank Has Been Cycling For About 4 Days Now; 15g Tall Tank):
Nitrate: 20
Nitrite: O
Alk: 300
Ph: 7.8
Am: .25
75 Degrees
Salinity: 1.024
So What Do My Readings Mean? Has The Cycle Begun? Stoped? Any Info On My Readings?

 

[bigarn]

4 days ... your cycle has just started. Patience is the key.
If this is going to be a reef tank I'd raise the temp to about 80 degrees.

 

[palumbo]

It seems normal enough for only cycling for 4 days, although, you should have had some nitrite at one point. Do you have live rock in there? Live sand? Fish? Bacteria starter?
And yes, patience is key. I cycled my tank for 2 weeks, added live rock, then waited a month or so before corals.

 

[swfishfan]

i have decided that for now i am not gonna add coral... only fish and invert's..... i am in no hurry to get anything into my tank i just wanted to get an opinion on how my tank is doing and if the cycle is ok for the levels that they are at now.....
i used 15 gallons of r/o water from the .25 cent machines outside my grocery store.
i have a 15g tank tall
20lbs of agralite live sand (white and black colored)
about 5 lbs of live rock (going to add more)
1 maxi-jet ph 89 gph
1 heater
2 tetra 10 gallon bio bag filters (for more top water movement)
a stock hood w/ a 15k power glo fluorescent bulb
no protein skimmer yet, hopefully by wendsday next week. so is my tank doing good for the time that it has been cycling? since my nitrites have not spiked. is my cycle even in the cycle yet?
readings once again:
nitrate: 20
nitrites: 0
alk: 300
ph: 7.8
am: .25
salinity: 1.026
75 degrees

 

[swfishfan]

typo= 1.024 salinity

 

[bigarn]

Relax ... you're still cycleing .... This is the tough time, just wait it out. It's looking good.

 

[swfishfan]

thanks, i am fine with the waiting part i just want the tank to come out fine, sinc ei have put lots of time into the research and then into the setup, and its finally up and running i want it to come out ok, does me adding that i put a shrim in there when the tanks was first set up change anything?

 

[bigarn]

Raw cocktail shrimp? ..... No problem.

 

[swfishfan]

ok since we are on the shrimp, how long is it supposed to stay in there? it has been in there since day one and now its been 4 days? the shrimp has a weird coat over it and it has decomposed a bit, how much longer should it be in there?

 

[bigarn]

IMO once you see an ammonia spike take it out.

 

[swfishfan]

ok and how often should i test my water while it is in the cycle stage, i tested it after four days so when would an ideal day be to do it again?

 

[bigarn]

Your current schedule is fine, IMO.

 

[fmelindy]

It's a matter of opinion (like most things) but when your cycle is complete and before you add livestock it might be nice to have the temp a little higher.

 

[dskidmore]

Originally Posted by SWFISHFAN
ok and how often should i test my water while it is in the cycle stage, i tested it after four days so when would an ideal day be to do it again?
If you're taking samples to the store, every 4 days is a fine schedule. If you had a test kit at home, you might do it more often just for scientific curiosity. All you really need to see is that at some point your ammonia went up, and at some point your nitrates went up, and then ammonia and nitrite went to 0.