Am I worrying to much?

[Scott84]

I have a Red Sea 260 that has been up and running since March 16. It has 50# of the dry purple live rock, a very thin layer of the caribsea live sand, and I dosed the tank with starter bacteria daily until it the bottle was gone as recom by my LFS and Salinity is between 33-34.

March 22 I added five soft corals, three fish and a bubble tip anemone that came out of my old tank. ( side note, the anemone is happy and thriving up top on my rock near the return and looks happier then ever) Six days later,

March 28 I got what appeared to be diatoms heavy on the sand bed. Against my better judgement I decided to suck up five gallons of water to get the ugly out and added five gallons of fresh salt water. As directed by my LFS I ordered vibrant and started dosing 6ml once a week. After the five gallon water change and vibrant dosing the diatoms seemed to rapidly fade away and now I see no signs of it. I have been checking water chemistry 2-3 times a week because I’m determined not to fail at this tank like my previous bio cube.

April 10 I added
1 neon orange mushroom
1 cactus coral (pavona) recommended by LFS
2 emerald crabs
and 3 snails

April 11 my water test provided the following results
PH 8.2
Ammonia 0.25-0.50
NO2 1.0ppm
NO3 5.0-10 ppm
I did a 10 gallon water change

April 12
PH 8.2
Ammonia 0.50ppm
NO2 0.50ppm
NO3 0 ppm
I added a capful of Prime to my tank to detoxify the nitrite (that’s what I was thinking I should do)

8 hours later I conducted the water test again and saw no change, I do realize I can get a false positive with the primesince it only detoxifies and does not remove.

April 13
5 gallon water change

April 14 (today)
water test shows all the same parameters as before.

1- I just want to know am I worrying to much?
2- are these parameters undesirable?
3- should I do something different?

the water is crystal clear, with no visual algae. Filter socks are changed every three days, and the water temp is 78. All livestock including corals appear happy and healthy. Skimmer has been running steady and collecting skimate for about a Week

i also want to add that I have no bio filter media or anything else in my sump, I have been trying to figure out if I should add some. Any input or guidance much appreciated

 

[tehmadreefer]

You have a brand new tank, uglies are expected. Keeping dumping chemicals in and your going to have bigger problems. I would suggest start reading the stickies about the cycles of a new tank. Slow down, man.

 

[DarthSimon]

Take your time. Nothing good will come from rushing live stock into your tank.... BTA's as a good rule of thumb should only be attempted after 5-6 months of tank being mature...

We are here if you need help.... Be Patient and good luck...

 

[JoshO]

You don't need to dose prime. I would continue to dose vibrant as this is bacteria NOT a chemical! If you are algae free then dose it every 2 weeks after a water change.
You are adding livestock very quickly. Don't add any more corals or fish until your system has caught up and can handle the bioload.
Make sure you're not overfeeding and your light intensity it correct and you should be fine

 

[tehmadreefer]

You don't need to dose prime. I would continue to dose vibrant as this is bacteria NOT a chemical! If you are algae free then dose it every 2 weeks after a water change.
You are adding livestock very quickly. Don't add any more corals or fish until your system has caught up and can handle the bioload.
Make sure you're not overfeeding and your light intensity it correct and you should be fine

Why would you suggest dosing vibrant? Just because “bacteria” is the new hype this year?

 

[Cstar_BC]

I would second some previous recommendations. Slow down.

not everything in the tank needs a fix - sometimes it just needs to run its course to help mature the tank .

based on your tests I don’t think you are done cycling . You have ammonia and nitrite but almost no nitrates and no change in nitrates in an 8 hour period .

 

[BeejReef]

Sounds like you're off to a reasonable start to me.
In my novice estimation, you are being a tad aggressive in how quickly you're adding new creatures, but, obviously, they're coming in from an older, more mature tank you've been running. Aside from that, you've just padded your cleanup crew and tossed in a pavona.

Did any of the mature sand and rock from your old system make the trip over to the new tank?

I recently discovered Vibrant and it's worked well for me on bubble algae. Even so, I think I would want to know how my new system runs, unaltered. I'd watch for nitrate and phosphate trends over the course of a few weeks or months with my chosen filtration, feeding, and water change routine and then make changes based on that (if needed).

Nothing wrong with Vibrant, so far as I know, but it's another variable to account for (and worry about) and isn't really called for over some diatoms IMHO.

Best of luck

 

[Aqua Man]

New tank and your LFS said, here buy this Vibrant!! I would look for another store. Or at least check with us and verify what they are selling you is needed.

 

[JoshO]

Why would you suggest dosing vibrant? Just because “bacteria” is the new hype this year?

There are 2 cycles in an reef typically. Your initial nitrifying cycle and then the "4 month cycle" where bacteria will colonise to effectively outcompete algae etc. Vibrant is that bacteria in a bottle, it allows someone to almost skip the "uglies" stage. It's not a generally accepted method yet as most people think you have to go through uglies to get to a stable system, vibrant has only been around for about 2 years so a lot aren't on board yet.

 

[Erick Armanii]

Signs of diatoms are a badge of honor for the veterans! It means your tank is maturing and you should celebrate that!

I’m sure like previously mentioned your moving a little quick and overloading you’re bioload/livestock quickly.

I would stop dosing, turn the lights down 20-30% and let the diatoms and any other nastys or uglys come and play it’s part.

Diatoms come.... diatoms go....



I started my cycle Feb 10th, used microbacter7, added a couple dead shrimps to decompose and provide a source of ammonia for the bacteria to populate. After about a month I started to ghost feed some pellets and turned the skimmer on.

April 1st I added 2 small cardinal fish...
April 6th I added 2 clowns
Last night April 13th I added a Midas blenny
I have 4 more higher bioload fish in quarantine waiting for there number to be called.. (might be another month before they are all added.. depends on how the tank is doing)

Today I will turn lights on.

 

[tehmadreefer]

There are 2 cycles in an reef typically. Your initial nitrifying cycle and then the "4 month cycle" where bacteria will colonise to effectively outcompete algae etc. Vibrant is that bacteria in a bottle, it allows someone to almost skip the "uglies" stage. It's not a generally accepted method yet as most people think you have to go through uglies to get to a stable system, vibrant has only been around for about 2 years so a lot aren't on board yet.

You’re right on the 2 part cycling piece, however telling people to use vibrant as a crutch to bypass algae issue is just not recommended.

 

[tehmadreefer]

You’re right on the 2 part cycling piece, however telling people to use vibrant as a crutch to bypass algae issue is just not recommended.

Also that is not why the OP is using vibrant. He’s using because his lfs said to, in order to get rid of diatoms.

 

[JoshO]

Also that is not why the OP is using vibrant. He’s using because his lfs said to, in order to get rid of diatoms.

Vibrant will get rid of diatoms? I'm not saying it's the magic cure to skipping the cycle, it needs to be used correctly with good husbandry. Otherwise you'll end up with outbreaks once it's stopped! But it can definitely help with avoiding the uglies that people think you need to have!

 

[Scott84]

I appreciate all the pointers. I am by no means good at any of this. I just discovered this forum last weekend, So I look forward to gaining knowledge and learning from all the folks here. Everything I have done so far has come to me as recommendation from my LFS. Unfortunately, as far as I know is the only one within driving distance from me. They are great people but it was my only source of information.
Nothing from my precious tank made it into the new tank except for the fish and BTA. I had the BTA for two years and it never grew, it just exsisted. Since putting it in the new tank it has increased in size and appears to have filled out.
I just want to stay diligent and try to take care of the tank the best I can. I’m happy to take constructive criticism and pointers all the way!