Am I royally messing this up

[Keachj06]

got my set up running , I currently have live sand and dry rock only was going to go to the LFS to grab some live rock but due to holidays wasn't able to make it there yesterday, anyway set up the tank and took initial parameters dec 31st, come today around 1300 took a new set of parameters no concern from what I can tell other than the alkalinity. What is going on and what should I do also am I screwing this up by not having anything really live in there and when I do add live rock what should I be looking into. Thanks there has been so many different ways to start a tank and everyone has their own opinion from what I've seen some add colony some do all dry and add live sand from another established tank and get it moving I'm just doing this blind really and doing the best guess work at this any input or help would be appreciated thanks. 75 gal reef tank with re-100 sump skimmer running no refugium due to space. I'll upload my parameters from the two days of readings

 

[Oscar47f]

no you're not messing up lol but you should add some ammonia to the tank to start the cycle to make it safe enough to add a fish soon... and i would do live rock because your dry rock will become live soon and for other reasons but other than not starting the cycle you're doing well for now!

 

[Keachj06]

Oh thank god lol, so the alkalinity shouldn't really be an issue right now correct? Just do an water change like 20% and it should come down? Also what do you recommend for buying ammonia

 

[Oscar47f]

It won't be a problem yet especially because you don't have corals... and yes water changes will bring it down but i would worry about getting it ready for fish and other stuff first then add corals.. and a lot of people just get a piece of shrimp from the store and throw it in and let it rot in their tank.. other people add ammonium nitrate? i think you can find it online at BRS.com or marindepot.com and or you can ghost feed and all this means is you throw a set amount of food in the tank daily or every two days or something

 

[Brew12]

Oh thank god lol, so the alkalinity shouldn't really be an issue right now correct? Just do an water change like 20% and it should come down? Also what do you recommend for buying ammonia

What are you using to measure salinity?

While I agree that nothing is an issue right now, those alk swings and increasing calcium don't make much sense. It is something to keep an eye on before adding fish or coral.

I recommend ordering Dr Tims ammonia chloride. It comes with dosing instructions and you know it is reef safe. You have to be very careful buying ammonia in a store because many of them add soap since they are used as cleaning products.

 

[Keachj06]

I'm using a refractometer for measuring SG however as far as alk I'm using the saltwater test kit and the reef master test kits

 

[Oscar47f]

Ammonium chloride thats the stuff lol thanks Brew12, and did you calibrate the refractometer?? and i would upgrade test kits later in the future... and what salt do you use?

 

[Keachj06]

I know the alk and calc swings just didn't seem reasonable it wasn't like a slow trend they spiked in 12 hours or so, I'm wondering why I have nothing in the tank other than Rodin and my skimmer going to work the tank is nice and clear I did add like 3 small packets of water clarifier that came with the live sand would that cause calc or alk spikes I added those approx 48 hours ago

 

[Brew12]

I'm using a refractometer for measuring SG however as far as alk I'm using the saltwater test kit and the reef master test kits

I'm guessing those are the API test kits? They should be fine and a refractometer is the way to go.

It just isn't normal to see those kind of alk or calc swings unless salinity changes or you are dosing something. Fortunately, you can get your cycle going now and figure that part out before you add fish.

 

[Keachj06]

I calibrated my refracto at room temp 68 F with RODi output reading 0 TDS , salinity has been Fairly stable initial mixing I was at about 1.026 then when added more RODI it came down to 1.025. Just the Alk and calc has scared me a little Ima check them again here in a few hours that will put me at about 12 hours apart since the last reading again see if there's a trend or some continuity somewhere

 

[Keachj06]

Yea it's the API test kits I'll take readings here shortly and see what the deal is

 

[Oscar47f]

i wouldn't really worry about it too much atm, and personally i wouldn't run the skimmer while cycling...

 

[Keachj06]

Just want to make sure I don't need to dump the tank it's a pain hauling the RODi from the trash cans in the garage into the house

 

[Keachj06]

Ok I'll cut the skimmer now

 

[Keachj06]

What about any lghts

 

[Oscar47f]

and i would use calibrating fluid for the refractometer

 

[Oscar47f]

you don't need lights but you can use them if you want to, and my reasoning behind the skimmer is it will take out organic materials like ammonia therefore you have less for the bacteria and might not get a proper cycle... but again you're choice.. and the calibrating fluid calibrates the refractometer to read 35ppt which is the desired target salinity this ensures its calibrated to read that amount.. when calibrated to 0 sometimes it can cause a problem or so I've heard...

 

[Oscar47f]

And if you don't mind me asking what app you're using?? lol

 

[Brew12]

If your salt was freshly mixed this could be the problem. While it may look like all your salt has dissolved when you mix it, it can actually take a day or 2 for it to all be in an equilibrium.
I do agree that there is no reason to run lights or a skimmer during your cycle unless you used live rocks.

 

[Keachj06]

Good to know I'm using Aquarimate , it's 9.99 in the App Store I've found it to be pretty useful but then again I'm new to this so who knows I just know this is an expensive hobby lol so what's 10 bucks at this point