FishyReef
Broke Reefer!
What are your nitrate levels?
The first of many questions
- Thread starter dr_frnkblck
- Start date
dr_frnkblck
Reefing newb
My levels tonight for the 4 basic tests were
ammonia- 4 or 2
nitrite-1
nitrate-10
Ph-7.8
ammonia- 4 or 2
nitrite-1
nitrate-10
Ph-7.8
Ted
Living one day at a time
I think you have cycled my friend....time to play but S L O W....Some snails would be good and maybe one hardy fish...
Ted
Living one day at a time
I had to sunbleach a couple of my rocks when I moved them over because of bubble algae. When I put them back in the tank it took a good month before the rock wasnt a drastic bright white.
dr_frnkblck
Reefing newb
Ok... update and a couple more questions? Ammonia at .25, nitrites on their way up and nitrates are stable at 10. Life on my live rock has exploded in the last few days with little feather dusters, and snails showing up all over the place. Coraline is already starting to gain its color back after some initial bleaching and I can even see some small spots of purple on some of the dry rock!
There are little white "bugs" crawling around on the glass. Also, last night after the lights were off for a while, I was looking in the tank with a flashlight. There were these bugs that looked almost like white crickets that would hide whenever the light hit them. They were probably about 1/4 inch long or so. Are these pods?
I have a bunch of black and white striped tentacles that come out of the holes in the live rock. There are usually 2-4 per hole. They just sort of wave around. What the heck are these? They are neat but I don't know what they are. I sit and watch the tank already without any fish or corals in it. I'd like to figure out what all these little animals are as I discover them.
If my ammonia is on it's way down, the cycling shouldn't hurt the life that is in there at this point, correct?
I'm hopefully going to order some more dry rock this week if I have the cash. After having so much fun looking at the life on the live rock. I am thinking about ordering a little bit more from a different vendor to see if I can get some more cool hitchhikers. Will curing kill the life on the rocks? I will not cure it and let my tank cycle again if it the hitchhikers are going to die. I'm not in any rush to start adding more advanced life to the tank as my budget for the tank is limited.
There are little white "bugs" crawling around on the glass. Also, last night after the lights were off for a while, I was looking in the tank with a flashlight. There were these bugs that looked almost like white crickets that would hide whenever the light hit them. They were probably about 1/4 inch long or so. Are these pods?
I have a bunch of black and white striped tentacles that come out of the holes in the live rock. There are usually 2-4 per hole. They just sort of wave around. What the heck are these? They are neat but I don't know what they are. I sit and watch the tank already without any fish or corals in it. I'd like to figure out what all these little animals are as I discover them.
If my ammonia is on it's way down, the cycling shouldn't hurt the life that is in there at this point, correct?
I'm hopefully going to order some more dry rock this week if I have the cash. After having so much fun looking at the life on the live rock. I am thinking about ordering a little bit more from a different vendor to see if I can get some more cool hitchhikers. Will curing kill the life on the rocks? I will not cure it and let my tank cycle again if it the hitchhikers are going to die. I'm not in any rush to start adding more advanced life to the tank as my budget for the tank is limited.
Ted
Living one day at a time
You have pods!!! thats great. The tentacles are probably brittle stars, another good guy. Could also be bristle worms good for cleaning up the tank. Probably is both. Welcome to the world of the great mind sucker...I have been late to work because I see something in my tank and just lose time....:shock:
dr_frnkblck
Reefing newb
Ok tested my water tonight... and we are cycled! 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and 10 nitrates. I moved the hermit crab to the main tank. I figured he can be the guinea crab. If he lives for a while, I'll know the tank is ready for other life forms. I ordered 60 lbs of dry rock from marcos rocks which should be here this week and I got a bag of the indo pacific argo sand to add after I get the aquascaping complete. I currently have both a diatom bloom and some sort of brown algae growing on some of the rock and sand so a clean up crew will probably be the next purchase.
chichimom79
reef junkie
Congrats!
Ted
Living one day at a time
Wooo Hooo...snail time...I like turbos, they eat and eat then eat some more...My daughter calls the turbos "speedy snails"..blue leg hermits are another good choice just make sure to secure your frags...
dr_frnkblck
Reefing newb
The rock is here and both the sand and rock are in the tank. I did a 20% water change today. Both ammonia and nitrites are at 0 still. Nitrates were at 10 before the water change and 0 afterwards. I also ordered a cleanup crew from reef cleaners which should be here wed or thurs. I'll probably get my first fish, a clown, next weekend.
wontonflip
I failed Kobayashi Maru
Yay! Now the fun really begins!
