steelerfan's 30 Gallon Breeder Journal/Build
- Thread starter steelerfan67
- Start date
Man I love new tanks. Great looking breeder!
well, you were 1 of my inspirations bud, so i hope i can get to your level 1 day.
btw, having the 18 inch wide tank is great, but i can already see me attaching 1 more aquaticlife in the future.
hi audi,
tank looks about the same as the 1 on page 6, except now it has a piece of raw shrimp floating around
i read a couple of threads where people putting the new pukani and fiji in brute buckets to cure and not being able to see tha water with all the stuff it had in it, so i think with me just giving it a hot water rinse and putting it in tank i am just going through a curing process to some extent, although my ammonia was only around .5 or a tad higher.
i hope to have it clear up after the whole process is done.
hi all,
questions for the experts if i may.
testing today as follows:
sg-1.025
temp-76
ammonia-.5
nitrite-1
phos-.25
alk-8
ph-7.8
my questions:
1. 1/2 a raw shrimp went into tank on 2-14 and ammonia level is still at the same level it was with just the fiji dry rock in there.
does this mean that the rock is keeping pace with the decay of the shrimp since ammonia or nitrite has not risen?
or does the shrimp just need more time to decay?
2. ph appears to be the color of 7.8 from 8.2, although it is reallyhard for me to tell color apart.
the saltwater has been mixed since 1-31 and i have not done a water change since the start.
could this have an effect on the hardness and ph going down, and if so should i do a water change?
thanks for any help.
questions for the experts if i may.
testing today as follows:
sg-1.025
temp-76
ammonia-.5
nitrite-1
phos-.25
alk-8
ph-7.8
my questions:
1. 1/2 a raw shrimp went into tank on 2-14 and ammonia level is still at the same level it was with just the fiji dry rock in there.
does this mean that the rock is keeping pace with the decay of the shrimp since ammonia or nitrite has not risen?
or does the shrimp just need more time to decay?
2. ph appears to be the color of 7.8 from 8.2, although it is reallyhard for me to tell color apart.
the saltwater has been mixed since 1-31 and i have not done a water change since the start.
could this have an effect on the hardness and ph going down, and if so should i do a water change?
thanks for any help.
Still early on. I might be tempted to add another shrimp but have you considered adding a small 1 to 2lb piece of good LR (maybe you have already?).
I wouldn't worry about pH at this point. Whether you do WCs during the cycle or not is a debated topic. I usually say do WC's during the cycle to save as much life as you can but since your tank started with just dry rock, I don't think it will matter. Think I would try adding another chopped up shrimp to see if I could cause a spike and also add a small piece of good quality LR.
I wouldn't worry about pH at this point. Whether you do WCs during the cycle or not is a debated topic. I usually say do WC's during the cycle to save as much life as you can but since your tank started with just dry rock, I don't think it will matter. Think I would try adding another chopped up shrimp to see if I could cause a spike and also add a small piece of good quality LR.
thanks greech,
tomorrow will make 1 week with the 1/2 shrimp in there, so i think i will add another half 1 to see what happens.
to be honest bud, the LFS here have not impressed me and i don't even want to gamble with throwing something in there from them, even 2 pounds of LR.
thanks on the ph thing.
i searched around after and found an article that cycling tanks can lower ph because of the acididy or something like that, so you nailed it again.
thanks for the help bud.
well, the fiji dry rock was added on 2-6 and it spiked ammonia to .5
1/2 raw shrimp was added on 2-14 and ammonia stayed at .5
as of this morning, ammonia was at .25, so i added another 1/2 of raw shrimp in the hopes of at least getting ammonia to 1.
i guess even if ammonia doesn't spike with the full shrimp in there i can still be confident that the tank will be able to support a CUC without getting a spike and hurting them, of course after the ammonia and nitrite are 0.
1/2 raw shrimp was added on 2-14 and ammonia stayed at .5
as of this morning, ammonia was at .25, so i added another 1/2 of raw shrimp in the hopes of at least getting ammonia to 1.
i guess even if ammonia doesn't spike with the full shrimp in there i can still be confident that the tank will be able to support a CUC without getting a spike and hurting them, of course after the ammonia and nitrite are 0.
put the other half of shrimp in yesterday.
ammonia back up to .5, hopefully still climbing.
nitrIte is 1
nitrAte is 20
is nitrate being that high normal?
didn't think nitrite was supposed to happen until an end of cycle?
i am using ro/di water with a reading of 0.
ammonia back up to .5, hopefully still climbing.
nitrIte is 1
nitrAte is 20
is nitrate being that high normal?
didn't think nitrite was supposed to happen until an end of cycle?
i am using ro/di water with a reading of 0.
Every cycle is a bit different but yes you can have nitrates at this point. 20 isn't really that high.
I think I should send you a piece of LR. You need some diversity in there.
Do you know anyone in the area with a good established reef you could get a pound or two from? the other option would be to get a clump of chaeto from someone. They are usually loaded with all sorts of good stuff. You need a little diversity.
I think I should send you a piece of LR
. You need some diversity in there.Do you know anyone in the area with a good established reef you could get a pound or two from? the other option would be to get a clump of chaeto from someone. They are usually loaded with all sorts of good stuff. You need a little diversity.
