Specific Gravity in a cycling tank?

[bondgirl]

I have a 35 gallon, 2nd week in cycle, FO CS tank.
My question is, what do you suggest the SG should be? I currently have two percula clowns and two yellow tailed damsels that are just thriving. My PH is stable 7.0-8.0, NH3 is low, everything looks good (I guess my tank hasn't really peaked yet), but my Seatest is showing 1.016, even alittle lower. A few LFS salesmen told me I should be between 1.018-1.023 on a FO setup. But I don't want to mess with it if everything is in working order. I'm completely new to this so bare that in mind when I ask my measly little questions, LOL. Eventually, I want this to be a QT once I get the hang of everything and slowly start cycling a 150 gallon.
Should I add salt to the next water change? Or leave it the way it is?
Is there any other type of tester for SG that you would recommend?
Why is it that everytime I test my water at the store? They tell me it's always higher than what I show?
Thanks for any responses

 

[jester]

your kit and most lfs kits will vary. there is something called a refratometer that is more accurate. they are expensive though and have found my cheap plastic arm SeaTest meter farly accurate. How far off is it? if you can find a glass arm meter, they are much better. I keep my sg at .022. most of us do I believe.
welcome to the club. I am actually looking for a good lfs in the city. Can you recomend one? I am only about 40 min north and the lfs up here has a limited selection.

 

[bondgirl]

OK. I didn't express myself clearly. I am not nor was I doing any sort of water change. I meant should I add a trace amount more of salt to water removed from the tank? My temp is currently 77F. My Nh3 level is 0.03, Nitrite 0.2, PH 7.5. Crushed shell is my sediment.
I've been taking tests every night and they're within range (according to the test standard.) I just wanted to know what the SG range was, because everytime I turn around, they're telling me something different. I'm just trying to saturate as much information as I can right now, on the internet and in books... I'm waiting for that ammonia peak to pass. They gave me some NITROMAX to help the cycle pass, but after reading the bottle, I don't think I want to add it just yet. My ammonia hasn't spiked or built up I guess for it to start converting something that's not there? Make sense?
I'm going to run another proffessional test tomorrow with the lfs. According to them, my tank is doing just fine and right where it should be. Personally, i thought the salt level was too low.
Jester-
You're not to far from me. There's a huge store in Park Ridge on Devon that so far, has alot more to offer than any of the other stores I've been to. They're expensive though. They're called Living Sea Aquarium and I believe they're on the net as well. I've been to two places downtown, Aquatic World, <a href="http://www.aqworld.com" target="_blank">www.aqworld.com</a> and Old Town Aquarium in Lincoln Park. I think once I'm ready for fish though, I'm going to order online through these guys. I like their prices compared to what I've seen in the city, shipping included.
A good friend of mine told me that he also goes to a place up on the Illinois/Wisconsin border, Jim's Aquarium I believe, in Kenosha. He's supposedly huge in Milwaukee. That might be alittle closer GOODLUCK!
Thanks guys, for the input. Appreciate it.

 

[jester]

Tell your friend next time he heads up this way, to check out Happyland in wadsworth. They have good prices and I have never bought a bad fish. They are good people to talk to. In 5 years, he is the only lfs that has given the right advice. But like i said, kind of limited on selection. He did have purple tangs for $50 last week though. Too bad I don't have the room for on yet.
Good luck Bondgirl and thanks for the lfs in the park area. I have some friends down there and I'll check it out.

 

[jester]

ohh btw, ph seems a little low.

 

[bondgirl]

Thanks Jester! I will I might just check them out myself too! Had I known about using LR for cycling, I would have gone that route instead. I got really attached to these little guys and had no idea it would be so rough on them the first month. I wish they would have told me all this stuff I read here. I'd really have gone the other way had I found this board sooner.
They made it this far though, hopefully the rest will be a piece of cake. I'll definitely move them to a bigger and better home once we get that started.

 

[bondgirl]

Got it! Thanks!
I'll have a proffessional test run tomorrow.
I just need ALOT of practice <img src="graemlins//eek.gif" border="0" alt="[eek]" />

 

[fshhub]

forget the nitromax, let all of the cycle happen, do not try to reduce anything using that stuff, no water changes, no nitromax, jsut let it go
as for the sg, that all depends on what you want, many reefers keep theirs around 1.025 or 6, and some with fish only keep it a little lower, 1.021 to 3, is generally the norm, inverts will do better at the higher salinity, but fish will be fine, at anythignin that range, IMO
HTH and good luck
WELCOME ABOARD

 

[ebeckels]

Originally posted by bondgirl:
<strong> My PH is stable 7.0-8.0, </strong><hr></blockquote>
That doesn't sound to stable to me! That's a huge fluctuation that shouldn't be happening. You want your PH to be at or around 8.2...8.1 is ok 8.3 is ok. I just skimmed the other posts so if this was a typo that i apologize.

 

[thewolfman777]

i just got done cycling my 33g. i kept my sg @ .021-.022 the whole time and my fish did fine. i do agree with the others on the ph though, it does seem a little low. my ph remained 8.2 throughout the cycle. if you do plan to raise the ph i would do it slowly over a week or two and do not add the salt directly into the tank, like said above add saltwater instead of freshwater to top off your tank. if you are looking for a good book about saltwater look into getting "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" by Robert Fenner, it is an EXCELLENT book!!! good luck in you new found hobby, keep us posted on your progress.

 

[bondgirl]

Hey guys!
I screwed up last nite with the pH test. When I did the PH test, I used a wide range (4.0-9.0) pH tester which I originally bought for my freshwater tanks. It's pretty broad and not very good (for salt) now that I think about it. So that's why I posted my pH was between 7.0 and 8.0. It's not specific enough to tell to the decimal. I just suck at inbetween color guessing and would rather not do it.
Anyway, I do have another tester that's more specific: "FasTest" 8.0 and up, and the results were between 8.0 and 8.2 (I suck at color guessing) the night before. I just didn't use that test last night. Why, I don't know.
But, I'm STILL going to run a proffessional test today.
Which BTW, do you recommend any specific testing company/product for pH, NH3, Nitrate and Nitrite? I'm going by what my LFS puts in my hand. (Hagen)
Skipped the nitromax too.. thanks
I REALLLLLY appreciate your ideas and comments though. Thanks so much =) I want to do this right the first time around.
GONNA look into getting that book today I've seen references to it before on this board.
I am SO glad I found this place, you have no idea

 

[jester]

I used to use a dry tab testing kit. I think it was made by aquarium systems...but I am much happier with the quick dip testers. they are a little more money, but much easier, take less time & no clean up. I'm not that good at in between color guessing either (lot's of options to choose from on the color scale). They have been very accurate for me.

 

[fshhub]

sorry, but i have ot disagree,
test strips, although easier to use, are not very reliable, they are very easy ot corrupt, and are not always that reliable, IMO i would avoid them, there are manyother kits that are much more reliable, often when people come here looking for help wiht water chem. and they are asked to check their water against another source, they find it was a problem wiht the strips, and wind up purchasing another kit, it happens quite often, and i used to work in a couple of fields which involved testing water daily where i can tell you that it is a general problem with test strips, not just one particular type or brand

 

[jester]

Maybee i'm just lucky. I have gauged them against dry tab style and liquid drop kits. I have tested tap and salt water with all 3 kits. They were all very, very close. You just have to watch out for the date I guess; and remember to put the cap back on. I actually have an excell chart with the results at home if interested. (I am at work now...I keep SWF message board as my home page ).

 

[fshhub]

you also cannot shake or turn the kit at all, or it will bleed the colr, the exp. date has nothing ot do with any test kits, the date almost never is a good thing to go by, reagents, powders and strips go bad at any given time(not just the date), but also tabs, have to be kept in a very dry place, if they take on any moisture, they are no longer accurate, and you don't have to get them all wet, just moisture in the bottle, to name afew things that can corrupt them, and if you are geting accurate results, you are one of the lucky ones, often times it does happen, but i am not convinced with a few people having success, when so many do not
what do you mean you have na excell chart at home, is this a manufacturers chart showing the accuracy of their kits???, i have seen many ads on many products that show theirs to be better than others, and i have learned to not believe ads

 

[jester]

microsoft excell of my own personal comparisons.
I have a hard time believing other peoples results, espically when they are trying to sell me something (ie lfs, and manufactures). Personal expirence is the best. that is why we are all here, right?

 

[fshhub]

yep, and you are at least smart enough to test for yourself, instead of listening to manufacturers