55 Gallon - some minor ??'s

[jjmanes]

First of all hello all and thanks for all the help so far!! I have been reading as many posts about saltwater as I can. I don't know why I didn't start this hobby earlier. Oh well! I'm here now and thats what counts.

I have a 55 gallon tank with #25 live fiji rock, 2 damsels, #55 crushed Florida coral. PF500 filter with 200watt heater.

My tank is pretty stable. I set it up on Feb. 7th. I have maintained S.G. of 1.022, temp. had been at 78. I just recently started testing my water further, just to see where I am in the cycle. I am somewhat confused. Listed below are the most current reading:

pH: 7.8
SG: 1.022
Temp: 79
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 20 ppm

I have not done any water changes since I set the tank up on 2/7. I have been adding between 4 and 6 cups of RO water. I am going to start next Saturday with a weekly water change of 1.5 gallons. Please let me know if there is anything I should be worried about.

I feed my fish twice daily.

Some lighting information about my tank. I currently have (2) 15w Aqua Rays Fresh & Saltwater bulbs. I know they aren't the greatest but I am still get some good growth on my live rock. I have tons of new feather dusters, several snails, a couple crabs, etc... Those all came with the live rock, meaning I did not purchase them separatly.

TIA,

Jody

 

[OrionGirl]

Most likely, the live rock came with enough bacteria to support your fish load, which is why you don't have ammonia and nitrite spikes. The water changes should reduce your nitrates--otherwise looks good. The organisms on live rock usually are not photosynthetic (most are scavengers or algae eaters, several filter feeders), so are fine in your lights. If you want to add corals, you will need to upgrade.