OK...tank is up and running, now the next step

[deynon09]

OK the tank I bought today is up and running, filter is pumping, water is cloudy and pH I think is a tad high. amk gave me a test kit to get me going, but I think she needed the color codes for herself. Is there a site that has the colors for an Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Inc. test kit? I retested the pH and it is a lot better. I wonder if I put in 6 drops instead of 5. Ammonia I think is pretty good according to my LFS's description of the colors.

What a pain in the BEHIND! I had a reflective back on the tank and I wanted black, so I got my trusty scraping blade and went to town, and to the next town and all the flippin' way to Cali it seemed like! Never attempt that! It took literally 4-5 hours to do. I tried acetone, paint remover so many things and ended up just going to my hand-held sander and just took it off with 120 grit paper. Wow, but now it looks kinda descent. I used a glossy black spray-paint and WHAT A DIFFERENCE! Even through the cloudy water I can see vibrant colors from the coraline that amk gave me. BEAUTIFUL! I can't wait to get the rest of the coral and everything else in!

Any advice on what to be careful on here would be much appreciated!

 

[nichols]

New API test kits are under $10. Pretty cheap investment. I'd just check for ammonia/nitrite should be 0. and check for nitrates for a day or. If the live rock was kept moist and the sand bed was moved undisturbed or replaced I don't really think you will get a cycle. To be truthful I'd personally have the corals in the tank shortly after the dust settled.

 

[reeferpj]

what give it a week or 2

 

[Shenlung]

Rushing now = Problems later, test 0 nitrates/trites/ammonia and phos for a week or 2 solid before adding corals and such.... just my $.02

 

[nichols]

Rushing now = Problems later, test 0 nitrates/trites/ammonia and phos for a week or 2 solid before adding corals and such.... just my $.02

He moved an established tank.

 

[Shenlung]

So he did...then again, so did I and I had a 2 week cycle.

 

[afboundguy]

Can't add too much more advice other than daily testing for ammonia, nitrite and nitrates for a few weeks and be prepared to do a water change if the ammonia and nitrites are above zero...

But as stated if you kept everything wet you shouldn't have a problem... As for the cloudiness it should settle in a day or two...

 

[deynon09]

Won't the corals die if they don't get any light?

 

[deynon09]

Well, here are some numbers:

PH: looks like 7.8
Ammonia: Inbetween .25 and .50 but closer to .50
Nitrite: looks like 1.0
Nitrate: around 20

I'm going to get some water and do a water change tonight.

Lost my damsel w/in 3 hours or so of putting him in the tank.

 

[Cheetos]

Yeah you really shouldn't have any livestock in the tank! If you do, you really should get them out of there and have someone hold them for you until your tank is done cycling.

 

[deynon09]

Really weird... I prepped a new batch of water, and did the tests, and I couldn't tell the difference between the comparative colors. The only one that I could tell the difference was the nitrate and ONLY by holding it up to a bright light source and looking really closely. ?? What's that all about. The Nitrate was clearly zero, nitrite looked really high, and ammonia looked high. THEN AGAIN I am colorblind (I got 2 out of the 12 numbers on the colored dot test). Is there a digital tester? It is so hard for me to see.

Regardless, my LFS said they would babysit my critters while this settles down a bit. I'm going to take them there tomorrow with a batch of water so they can test it.