New Tank Cycle

[john.o]

I just set my 24g nano tank up on monday 10/03/08, added the live rock & (mature water from my L S )etc..

my tank readings are:
temp : 25.c
sg : 1.023
nitrate : 80 ppm

My living rock has how started to get a few white patches on it , my Q is should i do a water change or water till tank has gone full cycle.

SORRY!! no ammonia or nitrite tests as my api reef test kit isn’t got them in

 

[CageUK]

I just set my 24g nano tank up on monday 10/03/08, added the live rock & (mature water from my L S )etc..

my tank readings are:
temp : 25.c
sg : 1.023
nitrate : 80 ppm

My living rock has how started to get a few white patches on it , my Q is should i do a water change or water till tank has gone full cycle.

SORRY!! no ammonia or nitrite tests as my api reef test kit isn’t got them in

Hmmm not too sure what the white patches would be, one of the experts should be able to enlighten you.
Under normal circumstances you would not do a water change during cycling. You will not be able to tell when your tank is cycled without the ammonia and nitrite results so these two test kits are fundemental to the cycling process and these I would suggest should be your very next purchase. Liquid tests are the best types and the API ones are normally fine.

Once the tank is cycled and you have zero readings on both ammonia and nitrites you should do a water change to help control nitrates if they have accumilated.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

 

[@ombomb]

sounds like spots of die off on the rock, nothing to worry about

obviously the cycle on the way judging by he (extremely high) nitrate reading, but without a test for ammonia / nitrite, you have no way of saying for sure once it's completed, buy them!

with nitrates that high (assuming the reading is correct) you'll need to do a couple of BIG water changes before adding anything, although you should cycle the tank fully first IMO

 

[Colin_T]

The white stuff on the rocks is usually rotting organic matter. Basically something was living there but died and now fungus and bacteria are eating it. It will go in a little while but can cause the tank to smell bad if there is a lot of it. I normally try to syphon it out to limit the smell and associated water quality issues. The water quality issues aren't such a problem in a tank that is cycling.

Don't bother testing for nitrates until the tank has cycled. Nitrate test kits will pick up nitrite as well. It is more important to monitor the ammonia & nitrite readings to start with. Once the tank has cycled then start monitoring the nitrates.

 

[john.o]

Thanks every one for your advice it is very much appreciated,

I will go and purchase the Liquid API ammonia & nitrite tests first thing this morning when my L, F, S opens and I will report back with ammonia & nitrite readings

Ermm Colin had a really close look this morning the white stuff on the rock is not getting any worse there is not to much 6-8 small pieces about the size of 5 Pence pieces. Also as you said there is some white stuff which looks like fungus as well (2 pieces the size of 50 pence pieces)
Once again thanks for all your help and for putting my mind at rest thought all my living rock was going to die off with the high nitrate reading

 

[Crazy fishes]

I suggest you buy a better quality kit like Salifert or JBL. I used the API test and the nitrate result is REALLY unreliable; but in the end it your call.

Regards

 

[plutosmate]

john,o

Dont know if this will help, BUT I have also added LR into my 50 litre (10 gallon) tank on Monday.
Mine has not cycled as yet, there has been no real spikes as yet, but it all does depend on the quality of the LR, if you have bought 'cured' or 'un-cured', I've done tests everyday and had the following results :

Day 1 (10/3/2007) : CA:200 / PH:6.4 / NH3-4:0 / NO3:0 / NO2:0 / SALT:1.025 / TEMP:27.3
Day 2 (11/3/2007) : CA:280 / PH:6.4 / NH3-4:0 / NO3:0 / NO2:0 / SALT:1.025 / TEMP:27.1
Day 3 (12/3/2007) : CA:300 / PH:8.2 / NH3-4:0 / NO3:0 / NO2:0 / SALT:1.025 / TEMP:26.8
Day 4 (13/3/2007) : CA:400 / PH:8.8 / NH3-4:0 / NO3:0 / NO2:0 / SALT:1.025 / TEMP:28.1

You really need to do test and keep a log, so that once the cycle is complete you can start adding your CUC (Clean up Crew)
Also, keep and eye out for what does come alive, mine was very quiet until yesterday, then last night, nearly everything came to life.
Infact keep a log here as other people (gods) can help, I've learnt more from asking here than reading books etc.

Welcome to the long wait......dont rush.......dont panic.
Keep writing posts here and most people will check your progress

 

[Nim]

One thing to point here is that the cost of Test kits are peanuts compared to the cost of the live stock you can get in a saltwater tank.. kn maybe not for Nano reefs but still there are a fraction. Get a good test kit that has been reliable. I tried API and interpet and both of them gave false horrible readings especially for Nitrite and Nitrates. At one point the API gave 50ppm for nitrates and 5 for Nitrite whereas the Salifert gave nitrate as 10 and zero nitrite.

To make sure, I took a sample water to the LFS and got them to test it with their JBL and some other (i dont recall the name) and the salifert kit was spot-on.

Also, the sooner you get the cleanup crew in the better it will be for the tank as a new setup almost invariably gets some sort of algae and the cleanup crew will be able to handle the burst until the water conditions stabalize. I lost some nice polyps on a couple of LR that were freebies due to hair algae.. though the algae vanished overnight but the polyps were also gone.

Nim

 

[john.o]

Thanks again guys took note of advice for test kits got some new ones coming Tuesday ordered off the net LFS only has api tests
Here are the results from today’s tests
Temp 25*c
Sg 1.023
Ammonia……. test kit on order
Nitrite 0.0 ppm
Nitrate 30----80 ? ppm your right the colors are so close on the chart it could be ether of them
Phosphate 0.0 ppm
Calcium 460 ppm
Carbonate hardness 143.2 ppm

any comments or advice appreciated

oh sorry my rock is fiji fully cured rock.

 

[steelhealr]

The white stuff is coralline dieoff. Obviously, knowing the ammonia level would be helpful, as this would complete your info.. Your first water change is indicated when your cycle is complete and can consist of a 25% water change. SH

 

[Colin_T]

The best way to see the results when you are looking at them on the colour chart, is to put the test phial on the white card next to the colours and look own on them from above.
If you have a high nitrate reading after the tank has cycled then do a massive water change to remove them before adding livestock.