Update on my tank

[Yash]

So ... after reading up on lots of information, and getting plenty of opinions, I figured that my tank had indeed completed its cycle in little less than 2 weeks. So, this past Friday, I added a couple of Percula Clowns and 4 small hermits.

I'm happy to say that all my levels are checking out perfect Sat, Sun, as well as today, my levels are as follows:

PH: 8.2
NH3: 0
NO2: 0
NO3: was 5 the last 2 days but went up to 10 today so I did a water change to bring it back down to 5.
SG: 1.024
Alk: ~3.5

Opinions? Am I in pretty good shape? I'll be waiting for another 2-3 weeks before adding any more livestock, and even then, I'll probably add only some more inverts.

One questions I had was ... is there any way, besides doing water changes, to keep the NitrAtes under check? I'm a little concerned that my nitrAtes went up so quickly. Is there any sort of marine life that reduces nitrates that I might consider adding to the tank down the road?

Thanks to everyone who has guided me through my "newbie" phase thus far

Cheers!
Yash

 

[Reefscape]

Hiya Yash,

Your nitrATES are not really that much to worry about at >10..Some test kits only really measure in chunks of 5, so unless you have a really acurate testing kit your nitRATES may actually be less than 10, it should be fine really to start adding livestock very slowly, in my opinion..Just keep up with regular water changes and you will be fine..

Your water results are looking good to me...just make sure they stay consistant for a good week or so...

What are you planning as your first fish?

Niko

 

[Yash]

Whats up Niko,

I actually already added my first fish ... added a couple Percula Clowns and four red-legged hermits this past Friday. The tests I posted above were after the addition of the livestock so I'm feeling pretty good about the tank right now

My tank params have stayed pretty much at those levels for about a week now, so I decided to go with adding some fish. I'll keep a close eye on them daily to make sure everythings checks out okay.

Yeah - I was wondering the same about the nitrate test kit ... there's such a big grey area regarding the results with the gap between 5 and 10. You really can't tell accurately with the naked eye if the color you get is closer to a 5 or a 10

Thanks for your input!
Yash