No Going Back Now.

[VictorMeldrew]

Hi all

Thanks for your post john,o all water going in the tank from now will be RO water I have been testing the water today and here are the results.

High range Ph…7.8, this has dropped from 8.2 since adding the rock, why has it dropped and how can I raise it again?

Ammonia…0.25ppm ish, It was the closest colour match to the test card anyway.

Nitrate…5.0

Nitrite…0ppm

The specific gravity is still 1.020, how much salt will it take to raise it to 1.024, are we talking a really small amount?

Not entirely sure what to make of these results, should I expect a bigger rise in ammonia levels?

The rock seems to have lots of life on it, so far I have found those mollusc things, I think four in total, loads of tiny white flowery looking things that are about 3mm in height and a white tube that poked out from the rock last night but has disappeared this morning. No sign of the small worm I seen, that just dived in the sand.

Thanks

VictorMeldrew

 

[shibby]

High range Ph…7.8, this has dropped from 8.2 since adding the rock, why has it dropped and how can I raise it again?

ph will flucuate during cycling.


hope you have fun rock watching, its an addictive game

 

[BigC]

May take a fair bit to raise the SG up in your tank. do it slowly and let the salt mix. Then test again and again. I would also raise the temp to on or slightly over 80'F.
Test for Ammonia first it will spike at some point and then fall away to zero. Then test for Nitrite, it will do almost exactly the same...spike and fall away to zero. Then do a massive waterchange 50% and test for Nitrates... If below 10 its safe to add your CUC. Your tank is in its infancy and nowhere near mature, the pH will rise and fall with waterchanges until the whole thing settles and matures. There will also be other issues along the way and these will be answered in due corse as and when they present themselves.
Regards
BigC

 

[JJ56]

Wow, that looks amazing, well done mate. Love the aquascaping, it's persauded to me to go with that theme on my tank.

Hitchhiker spotting is endlessly entertaining!

JJ

 

[VictorMeldrew]

Thanks guys

Do i just test for Ammonia now, wait for the spike and then start the other tests again?

The rock watching is ideal i really enjoy studying it and looking for things, i got loads of shocked reactions from people who have came to my house, "What?......you paid £300 pounds for rock"..... they just do not understand. The two seperate reefs were not really a planned theme as such, i think in time i will add more rock and shorten the space between them. My wife aquascaped the tank, she has always been better than me at that sort of thing we have even allocated each other, a half of the tank, i have the left and she has the right, game on

Thanks

VM

 

[BigC]

Do i just test for Ammonia now, wait for the spike and then start the other tests again?

Ammonia first
then
Nitrite
then
Big Waterchange
then
Nitrates
Keep them below 10 (ideally as low as possible) Mine sits around 2.5
You just do you testing on a regular basis after that. I test Ammonia and Nitrite once a month and Nitrates Weekly.

 

[SkiFletch]

Well your pH is low because you've got some excess CO2 now being produced since there is life and biological processes happening. Also with your sg low at 1.020 you are likely also deficient in carbonate (remember, salt mix is not just sodium and chloride ). Adding more salt mix slowly to high-flow areas until you get your sg up where you want it will also help add some carbonate and buffer the pH up a bit. Regardless, 7.8 is not bad this early on

 

[Trod]

Your tank is going to be amazing. I am so jealous.
I can spend hours just sitting watching my nano, so for a tank your size you wouldn't see me for days
My dream, one day is to keep lionfish your tank would be perfect

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Looking great! So much potential with this tank, cant wait to see how it progresses.

And yeah, welcome to the world of rock watching even though the LR I have has been in one of my tanks for about a year now im still constantly find new things crawling around in there (and yeah I probably spend more time watching my tank then my TV ).

 

[VictorMeldrew]

Hi all

As some of you will already know from my other posts, i have found loads of hitch hikers so far, its amazing how much you can find when taking a closer look at the tank. The biggest thing i have found so far is this little unidentified crab that has black pinchers. Still not sure what to do with him yet, its only about 5mm in lengh and it was hard to get a good photo.



I also found a tiny pink catapiller type thing today. Little brownish umbrella looking things i found a few days ago, i have now noticed floating around the tank, opening and shutting, they look like a cross between jelly fish and ufo's they are only about 3mm long and most of them are just sitting on the rock opening and shutting constantly.

Ok so on to my water quality.The temp is 80'F, I have now got the sg to 1.024 by adding 2 more kilos of salt. I have also tested for Ammonia which is now in between the 0 ppm colour and the 25 ppm, more so the 0 ppm, surely it can't be 0 already can it? If not how long will it take to spike?

I have also noticed some patches of brown algee.

Thanks
VictorMeldrew

 

[garybuk]

Hey good to see you injoying it!!! cant really help on the spike but get some phosphate in your filter! to keep your phosphate levels down !! and the brown algee shud disapear or at least stop it from speeding!


iv had my tank going over 8months(over a year in my older tank) and i still finding hitch hickers i didnt even know about !!! ( just incase you didnt no hitch hickers are things that come in the live stock you may get tho you prob know that hehe)

 

[VictorMeldrew]

Hi all,
Just a quick question, how often do i need to test for ammonia? i have not tested today yet, as i do not yet know if i am just wasting my test kit by testing to often. I might aswell post a pic while i am at it Here is my tank with the blue light on.



Thanks
VictorMeldrew

 

[SkiFletch]

Once a day till the cycle is done (shouldn't take much more than a week). After that, you won't really need the ammonia test kit much (if at all), so no need to worry about using it all up

 

[xxBarneyxx]

That looks awesome already

With regards to testing, do it whenever you want. You could test every day or every other day. Personally I get impatient and end up testing every day just as its something to do on there while I wait for it If you have a liquid test kit I wouldnt worry to much about wasting it. Once the tank is cycled you really dont have to continue checking for ammonia all the time. I only ever check my tank now while its in the cycling process, when I add new stock or if anything looks wrong. Occasionally I will randomly test it just to make sure but its not really needed. That being said though if you are just getting into it testing on a regular basis is a good idea to try and pick up any problems at the start (just depends if you are as lazy as me or not ). Its also good to get a baseline of your water parameters over the first few months so you know what they should be and how the tank looks when everything is correct. Also a side note on testing - Never dose any additive that you are not testing for as well.

If you had some good quality LR it could be possible that there wasnt a lot of die off and the cycle will be very quick. Also that is a large volume of water so an ammonia in smaller doses is going to be diluted a lot.

With regards to the spiking it is impossible to say. It depends on your liverock. You could get some that has loads of die off and it will take a week or 2 two spike and then settle down again. Or you could have some that has next to no die off and you wont get a spike at all. Just keep a watch on it and once it has stayed at zero for awhile (I personally would give it at least a few days to make sure it stays that way) you can start looking at stocking it (obviously nitrites need to be zero as well and its best to get the nitrates down below 10ppm if possible).

Edit: lol ski got there before my while I was typing. I really must stop being so long winded

 

[VictorMeldrew]

Once a day till the cycle is done (shouldn't take much more than a week). After that, you won't really need the ammonia test kit much (if at all), so no need to worry about using it all up

Thanks Ski, i will test it now, did it seem to low last night? Not much of a spike is it.