Tank still not ready for SH, but here are pics you asked for

chappy

chappy

Member
Hi all. I know you have discussed cycling forever but here comes another newbie with questions. First my setup
37 gal tank
marineland Eclipse 3 hood and filter set up
aprox. a 4" base of sand sifted from a tank that was set up for years with a few fish also added a 20lb bag of new live sand from LPS
aprox 30lb of rock taken from same tank as above. Sand and rock is alive as there are bristle worms and other "stuff" living in it (lol)
OK now for the dumb question. I know that this tank will still need to cycle but not sure what to expect. After being set up for 48 hours i was expecting to see some type of ammonia spike. but my test were as follows
Temp 78F
ammonia 0
ph 7.8
nitrate 80ppm
nitrate .3
I can not understand what these numbers are telling me as they seem wrong to me.
any suggestions or comments will be greatly appreciated
Thank you all and God Bless
 
chappy

chappy

Member
First let me say "Welcome Home" from one to another. No that is what is so weird the Nitrites are .3 and the Nitrates are 80.
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
Welcome home brother. I would do a 50 % water change ghost feed a little and test in a day
You could have transported enough nitrifying bacteria to your tank and are getting die off from your live rock that is giving you the nitrate spike, how did you transport the live rock
 
chappy

chappy

Member
Thank you Joe.
Basically we just took the rock from the first tank, placed it in new 5 gal buckets and covered it with the water from the original tank. Set the new tank in its place, lifted out the rock and placed in the new tank. We used some of the water from the original tank, as we mixed up new. When the tank was almost full, we "sifted" in some the original sand ( we did not not want shells). We than added 20lb of new sand and again added some of the old sand. ( sandwiching the new sand)
I understand the 50% water change. but not sure what you mean by the ghost feed.
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
Ghost feeding is adding food for organic breakdown as if you had fish in your tank which is fallow. This food should break down as do one of two things. Read ammonia or continue to raise your nitrate level. If you continue to see nitrates and no appreciable ammonia or nitrites. You may have a tank that is established
 
chappy

chappy

Member
Thank You Again. I did the water change, and will throw in a lil fish food. I will retest tomorrow and post the results. Just a side note, the Mrs. put in a bristle worm trap and it looks like she caught a few.
Thank you again for the help. Please be safe and God bless
 
novahobbies

novahobbies

Well-Known Member
I'm inclined to agree with Joe. From your description, it sounds like whatever ammonia-producing die-off you had during the transfer was quickly converted by the established bacteria in the rock. The water change will go a long way to reducing the current Nitrate level, and ghost-feeding will let you know if you're going to GET a cycle. My gut feeling is "no." The only thing I'd be somewhat concerned with is the high nitrate levels....hopefully there's enough anaerobic bacteria in the rock core to help reduce those levels on a daily basis.
Now....How about some pictures???
 
chappy

chappy

Member
Thank you also. I will retest in the morning and let you all know the results. Pictures, right now it is a bare tank with some rock and sand. Oh yea and a plastic worm trap. i promise pic's as we start to make it alive.
Thanks and God bless
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
Quote:
I'm inclined to agree with Joe.
Be very careful my friend people will judge you by the people you agree with
 
chappy

chappy

Member
I want to thank you all for the quick response. As you can tell I am a real newbie. I did have the idea of cycling , but did not expect the results I got. I am sure before i am ready to introduce the SH's I will have a lot more questions.
As I know I am not ready for fry I am going to be sure the SH I get will all be the same sex. I am thinking females,thinking one less problem to worry about (pouches).
I am also thinking about adding macro algae for post, and trying to be more natural. I am open to any suggestions anyone may have. please feel free to comment, and tell me about lessons learned.
Thanks to all
God Bless
 
chappy

chappy

Member
Good morning all. Joe I followed your advice. I did the water change and the ghost feed. I tested thi morning and the results look promising.
SP GR 1.021
PH 7.8
AMMONIA 0
NITRATES 40
NITRITES .4
Looks like that cut the nitrates in half. I will continue to monitor and ghost feed. We only have one chain lfs here so i will see what they have for a clean up crew to start slowely adding. I will wait at least a few more weeks before adding SH. When that time gets closer, I guess I will pick your brains again. Thank You all , please do not hesitate to offer suggestions and comments.
God bless
 
chappy

chappy

Member
GM I thought i would give you an update. I went to the local ( we have nuttin) store and did find a feather duster. i wanted to have something in the tank besides just sand and rock. The Mrs. has ordered me some macro algae, ( i feel bad as it was susposed to be a susprize). I continue the capture of bristle worms, I made my own trap from a piece of pvc, i bet i have caught close to 50, i wil set the trap again tonight. For just having rock and sand the tank is not lookng to bad.
I am not sure when the macro is going to be here, when we get it inplace i will include pictures. i guess then , let it cure a lil longer and maybe then be ready for a couple of SH's.
Please keep the comments and ideas comming. i do appreciate all the help
be safe and God Bless
 
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