Cycling Questions...

[Mr.September15]

Since I don't want to start a trillion topics...I'll just change this one.

***TOPIC CHANGE***

What is the healthy water parameters levels that a nano should have before adding any fish...

egH,carbonate hardness, nitrite and nitrate plus tempreture.

I also wanted to know what to do when cycling. Do you add the live rock while cycling or after cycling. And what are some basic steps to cycling for example:

-What to do daily/weekly while cycling.
-What to check daily/weekly


Please and Thnk You...

 

[SkiFletch]

10lbs

 

[Mr.September15]

Rlyy? I thought it was 5lbs. But whatever thanks . Over here a pound is 7bucks does that seem like a good price to you??

 

[SkiFletch]

thats prolly right for california retail... might want to conisder searching for local reef clubs on google. there you can usually find people selling some LR for much cheaper ~$3.00 per lb

 

[Mr.September15]

Since I don't want to start a trillion topics...I'll just change this one.

***TOPIC CHANGE***

What is the healthy water parameters levels that a nano should have before adding any fish...

egH,carbonate hardness, nitrite and nitrate plus tempreture.

I also wanted to know what to do when cycling. Do you add the live rock while cycling or after cycling. And what are some basic steps to cycling for example:

-What to do daily/weekly while cycling.
-What to check daily/weekly


Please and Thnk You...

 

[SkiFletch]

"cycling" is much easier in the sw world than it is in the freshwater case. In freshwater, the aquarist needs to wait for bacteria to grow. In saltwater, we cheat by using Live Rock. LR allready has bacteria on it. Its the equivalent of using an allready seeded filter. When you transport the LR home it will be in a dry bag so it will have SOME dieoff depending on how long its out of water. This dieoff of organisms will help fuel a mini cycle. Small amounts of ammonia or nitrite may be seen for the first week. USUALLY after a week ammonia and nitrite are zero and nitrate is at some other level as the byproduct of the cycle.

it will take some time for your tank to grow enough dentrifying organisms to help process nitrates. Some nano tanks furthermore cannot harbor enough dentrivores and will struggle to eliminate nitrates naturally. Adding a small refugium can usually solve this if nitrates are a problem.

To properly answer your question, here's what you should be at before adding livestock.

Temp 76-83
specific gravity 1.023-1.026
Ammonia/Nitrite 0
Nitrate 20ppm or less
Phosphate 0
Calcium 380-450ppm (only if keeping corals, unnecessary if not keeping them)
Alkalinity 9-12 dKH (again only for corals)

Daily testing should be performed early on for ammonia and nitrite. After that, probably weely or bi-weekly testing for the rest. You'll develop a feel for how your tank responds and behaves as you go. Remember, never dose for anything you cant test for.

 

[Mr.September15]

So you do keep live rock while cycling?

 

[SkiFletch]

So you do keep live rock while cycling?

Oh absoloutely. LR jumpstarts and finishes your cycle. If you have water in the tank at a decent specific gravity and a decent temp, go get some LR Make sure when you're aquascaping that you push the LR down so its touching the glass instead of resting on the sand. If it rests on the sand it can shift over time and risk collapsing on fish/corals

 

[Mr.September15]

Ohhh. I see thanks for the info. What do you use to measure specific gravitiy? And also whats the normal saltinity level?

 

[SkiFletch]

well specific gravity (sg) and salinity are both ways to measure the salt content of water. sorta like pounds and kilograms are ways to measure weight. the only difference here is that sg is dependent upon temperature while salinity is not. sg can be measured with a hydrometer, or a refractometer while salinity is usually only measured with a refractometer. A refractometer is significantly more expensive but also significantly more accurate...

 

[Mr.September15]

well specific gravity (sg) and salinity are both ways to measure the salt content of water. sorta like pounds and kilograms are ways to measure weight. the only difference here is that sg is dependent upon temperature while salinity is not. sg can be measured with a hydrometer, or a refractometer while salinity is usually only measured with a refractometer. A refractometer is significantly more expensive but also significantly more accurate...

Can i go without a refractometer? Or is it a must buy?

 

[SkiFletch]

Well, many around here will disagree with me, but I believe you can. You'll need to get your hydrometer calibrated by someone with a refractometer... As accurate as they claim their hydrometers are, most company's are way out of wack. For example, on mine 1.023 on the hydrometer was an actual sg of 1.026... Once you know where you need to be though you can use it.

edit: most marine shops worth their weight in salt will have a refractometer

 

[Mr.September15]

That's good...Do these prices look okay to buy?

Powerhead-$15.99

Play Sand-$7 for 50lbs

Hydrometer-$9.95





Master Saltwater Test Kit-$15.88


Filter Replacement-$10+

Instant Ocean Salt-$9.72

 

[SkiFletch]

Get a 10lb bag of aragonite sand instead of play sand. 50lbs is WAY overkill andy ou want aragonite sand, not play sand

 

[Mr.September15]

Crappers, I just came back from petco...I saw that type of sand there but I thought play sand would be the same...So you cant use play sand even though you rinse it out?