40G cleaning crew / cycle started

[Mstanker]

So Pete what do u think about this 0 color In Ammonia

 

[Mstanker]

Also just to tell everyone I am using my freshwater ammonia test kit would that matter

 

[Pete polyp]

I know API ammonia kit has 2 different cards, one for freshwater one for saltwater.

 

[Mstanker]

Is a 1 inch sand bed good or should I put another 20 lbs

 

[Pete polyp]

In my opinion you can have 1" or 4". The anything in between can have the potential to cause problems. I would just leave the 1" unless you wanna add about 60 more pounds to have the 4".

 

[Mstanker]

Well it's day 9 an still no ammonia spike, I might order some of that dr Tim's cycle

 

[Pete polyp]

The live sand could be consuming the ammonia. Where are the nitrite and nitrate?

 

[Mstanker]

i didnt do a nitrite test but nitrate is 0 also, yellow

 

[Mstanker]

well if I remember how to do the test lol I could of seen my lvls

 

[Pete polyp]

I'm seeing
.5 ammonia
1 nitrite
5 nitrate

 

[Mstanker]

ya need to let the shrimp die off a bit more, You think i should start running the protein skimmer now that i have some load in the system?

 

[saltyfish]

Yes, get your skimmer started. Your cycle is definitely running it's coarse. When you get your cleanup crew, sometimes the hermits will come in pretty small shells. Make sure to get some larger empty shells for them to move into otherwise they could potentially kill the snails to take their shells. This seems to happen more often for me when I buy reef cleaner packs online because the hermits come in shells that they have already outgrown.

 

[Pete polyp]

I would let it run without the collection cup or if it has a drain line let it run back into the sump. I wouldn't pull out any skimmate because it can weaken the cycle.

 

[Mstanker]

Alright, about when should i order my clean up crew. I was think maybe something this week and get them by friday? Or should i let the cycle finish and then order?
?

 

[Pete polyp]

probably best to wait until the ammonia falls.

 

[Mstanker]

Alright so ya i know my cycle is started but should i keep adding shrimp to the net to make more ammonia?

 

[Mstanker]

or should i now take the shrimp out of my tank since the cycle has began and now i just need the ammonia levels to get to 0?

 

[Mstanker]

so far so good, what about the bubbles in the neck of the skimmer are they the correct little bubbles

 

[Mstanker]

So my ammonia are down and nitrite as well. My tank looks really clean. With that said on the cuc i think i should wait because my tank looks really clean and i dont think i'd have food for them to eat.

 

[lovecrzreef]

You can always add a seaweed clip for your cuc if you wanted to add them. That's what we did and it ended up working pretty well.