Water Tests + Skimmer Question

[swisswiss]

Hello everyone,
So iv done a battery of tests on my water today, 2 days after having added about 11 kilos of live rocks and sand, here are the results:
for a 180 l tank (47.5 gallons)
PH......................................................8 (low?)



NITRATE (NO3-)...................................10mg/l
NITRITE (NO2-)....................................0.05mg/l
AMMONIUM (NH4-)..............................off the chart, the JBL test flask was a dark brown almost black, i don't know if i messed something up or if its normal, also don't know if any of you use JBL water tests but is it normal that the first reacting agent is a viscus liquid? i fear the test might be old...
MAGNESIUM + CALCIUM (MG/CA)......1120 mg/l
specific gravity: lower end of 1.021
water temp: 25°c
please let me know if you think this is normal, if I'm on the right track and if there are any changes i need to do at this stage.
I would also like to add a couple more rocks but id rather wait till the tank settles abit.
now regarding the skimmer, the tank is in my room next to my bed and this skimmer i have (Vskim compact 200) makes soooo much noise, like a dragon who is gaging on my feet, it drives me nuts let alone abolishes any chances of falling asleep!
so my question is, can i turn it off at night together with the lights and the fan? i have a bio box and power head equipped with a little filter to filter the water.
Pics Below!!!

the grid on top i made myself

there is the noise bastard in the back and the power head with filter. what you see next to the power head is a reflection from the window

bio box and small water flow pump
ttp://forums.saltwaterfish.com/image/id/518557/width/1000/height/800" target="_blank">

double light rail with fresh water light at the moment

light heat cooling fan, had to modify it so as i could screw it to my grid

 

[mr. limpid]

Nice i like you arrangement of rocks looks natural. As for the spike in ammonia if you didn't rinse the dead off of your LR when you added this is normal, even if you did rinse you would still get a little spike. Looks like you have no fish yet so nothing to worry about, you will go threw a short cycle again. As for you skimmer it will be fine to turn it off at night, the only thing that will happen is that the water in the unit will get cooler and oxygen levels go down. The amount of water in the unit shouldn't effect a tank your size. I have turned off my skimmer in my 20gal over night without any problems.

 

[sweatervest13]

Quote:
AMMONIUM (NH4-)..............................off the chart, the JBL test flask was a dark brown almost black, i don't know if i messed something up or if its normal, also don't know if any of you use JBL water tests but is it normal that the first reacting agent is a viscus liquid? i fear the test might be old...
This is what you want. This is why you are adding live rock to get the spike in ammonia. You should be good. Keep testing and keep track of where the levels are going.
I like the rock arrangement as well. Looks good. Is that all the rock you are adding? I leave my skimmer on 24/7 but my tank is in my basement about as far from the bedroom as it could possible be. LOL You could put it on a timer and just have it shut off for a few hours so you can fall asleep then kick back on. Just an idea.
Hows the movement on the surface of the water? I was going to suggest pointing a PH towards the top to get that "boiling" effect, but it looks like you have some decent movement.
This stuff is fun!! Right? Keep up the good work!!!

 

[swisswiss]

Thank you for the feed back! I want to add more rocks especially to cover the right corner (where the bio box is) and add an arch some where, but will do this as of next week, give a chance to the tank AND MY WALLET to settle a bit.
regarding the skimmer I guess i'm going to have to pull an extension cord and set it on its own timer. currently I have lights and fan on a timer, they turn on at 9 am and shut down at 9pm. i'm guessing a 12h run without a skimmer is a little long.
anyway ill keep you all updated, glad I joined this forum! and thank you again for the help!!!
-Jeff-

 

[swisswiss]

anyone else want to voice an opinion? especially regarding the skimmer

 

[spanko]

You need to get the Sg up to around 1.025-1.026
Natural sea water value is about 1.0264.
On the skimmer if you cannot get accustomed to it's sound then yes you will be okay with turning it off when you are sleeping. Just be aware most run their skimmers 24/7.

 

[siptang]

Looks good so far Swiz, I really like your setup.
Give it some more time, let the rocks cycle, do some water changes and you should be ready in no time!

 

[swisswiss]

thank you! could you go into a little more into detail about water changes? at the moment im simply toping off what evaporates (will add a little salt mix to the tap water i use to get the SG up) but other than that im not touching the water.

 

[swisswiss]

next set of tests tomorrow btw

 

[spanko]

You are aware that adding more live rock at this stage may add additional materials that could cause a spike in ammonia aren't you? On the water changes, IMO if you don't have any life on the rock work that you are looking to save I would just let the cycle continue as is without water changes.

 

[swisswiss]

yes i am well aware of this fact, reason why i added all my rock now. in terms of "life" in my tank aside the micro organisms of rocks i have a squat lobster who was doing fine up till last night ( don't see her during the day) and a small snail. other than this my objective is to cycle the tank at the moment until its stable.

 

[spanko]

Oh, I read this in the first post and thought you were going to add more rockwork later.
"I would also like to add a couple more rocks but id rather wait till the tank settles abit."

 

[swisswiss]

yea your right, but after some reaserch i figured would be better to add it now...no?

 

[spanko]

Yes better to get it all in and let the initial cycle do its thing.

 

[1guydude]

+1 I agree with spanko! Bring ur SG up a lil.
Most DO run their skimmers 24/7, me included.
You could get a timer for it as suggested....or you could save up a lil and get a nicer unit.
I recently bought a skimmer made by hydor and its silent! Real silent!
Let ur cycle continue imo and keep up the good work!

 

[swisswiss]

right so here are the results for the second set of tests:
PH..................... still 8
NO3.................. 15-30 mg/l went up
NO2.................. still 0,05mg/l
NH4.................. still off the chart (brown/black test liquid)
Mg 1 Ca............ 900 mg/l (1200 mag - 300 Cal, low no?)
SG 1.022 and rising, want to add salt slowly.

 

[siptang]

Keep it up!
I leave my skimmer 24/7 also. I think more it takes out, better it is. I used to hate my old skimmer and I could hear it across the living room at night but I got used to it. It felt like a lullaby lol.
Edit:
sorry I didn't read your question about water changes.
Well, I have FOWLR with very little coral and it's very simple for me (for those with huge reef setups... whew...).
I use coral life salt (very good imho because of all the elements that it contains)
I do once a week 10~15% water changes. I don't believe in big water changes because I think it will shock the fish more then anything else and instead of drastic change in parameters, temperatures and such, I try to do it gradually. I also use RO water instead of tap to eliminate anything BAD going into my system that may hurt my fish.
I buffer the water using PH, half dosage of iodide (for anenome and too much is poison ), salt of course and last but not least, calcium.
Hope it helped.

 

[swisswiss]

Thx for the tip, it makes sense that large w/c may stress / harm life in the tank, so far my tank is cycling and aside the snail and squat lobster i have there are no other life forms at the moment. regarding the water can stick to tap water while my tank is cycling? when i add fish i guess ill stick to distilled water.

 

[1guydude]

R/O at least!!!! You should be able to purchase it at the store! Get some 5gal containers...like for water dispencers! Thats wat i do! Here its like 20cents less than distilled

 

[swisswiss]

ill try to find some reverse osmosis water but haven't seen any here to be honest, i can get my hands on distilled no problem. most pet shops have said that topping off with tap water isnt a problem ( Geneva water is pretty pure, will try to find the values for you people) but yea we all know that most pet shop keeps don't really care about your intrest.