Cycle question

[Pauliex77x]

Hey everyone. This may be kinda long winded but before i ask some questions i wanna cover all my bases.

While im not new to the hobby, its been about 12 or so years since ive had a tank up and running. Getting back started my current setup is this.

Nuvo fusion 25 lagoon
AI prime HD
2x sicce syncra .5 185gph return pumps
Eshopps nano skimmer
In-tank media basket with chemi-pure blue
Fuge basket with live rock rubble only atm
And a tunze nano osmolator ATO.

Sand bed is about 1" or so of dry sand
The rock was live rock that was stored from my old tank years ago that i cured for a little over three months.
After filling the tank 10 days ago and letting it sit to check for leaks, i added the salt along with a bottle of fritz turbo start with 2 small clowns.

On sunday the tank paramaters were:
Ammonia 0
Nitrites .50
Nitrates 25
Salinity 34ppm
Temp 78f

I did a 20% water change to bring the nitrates down. After working all day yesterday i did another test today and while the nitrites have come down to .25 the nitrates are still at 25.

My ? Is should i wait for yhe nitrites to drop on their own before doing another change? Or should i do another water change in between the weekly changes?

Sorry for the long post.

 

[Pauliex77x]

Hey everyone. This may be kinda long winded but before i ask some questions i wanna cover all my bases.

While im not new to the hobby, its been about 12 or so years since ive had a tank up and running. Getting back started my current setup is this.

Nuvo fusion 25 lagoon
AI prime HD
2x sicce syncra .5 185gph return pumps
Eshopps nano skimmer
In-tank media basket with chemi-pure blue
Fuge basket with live rock rubble only atm
And a tunze nano osmolator ATO.

Sand bed is about 1" or so of dry sand
The rock was live rock that was stored from my old tank years ago that i cured for a little over three months.
After filling the tank 10 days ago and letting it sit to check for leaks, i added the salt along with a bottle of fritz turbo start with 2 small clowns.

On sunday the tank paramaters were:
Ammonia 0
Nitrites .50
Nitrates 25
Salinity 34ppm
Temp 78f

I did a 20% water change to bring the nitrates down. After working all day yesterday i did another test today and while the nitrites have come down to .25 the nitrates are still at 25.

My ? Is should i wait for yhe nitrites to drop on their own before doing another change? Or should i do another water change in between the weekly changes?

Sorry for the long post.

Completely forgot to add that i make my own RODI water and its all that has been used on everything tank related.

 

[Tahoe61]

I would wait and retest in a couple days before another water change.

 

[lapin]

I agree with the above.
Wait until nitrites get to 0 or as close as your test kit can get to 0.
Then do a large water change.

 

[Pauliex77x]

Thanks. I was worried about the readings getting too high for the clowns. Ill wait for the nitrites to drop on their own before another change.

 

[bobssecrtsn]

I would wait and retest in a couple days before another water change.

I noticed that you were on 3reef when I was on there for awhile, have you seen Cheryl? AKA corailline ? thanks...

 

[BeejReef]

I'd read up on it if it interests you. From what I've read, Nitrites are barely a concern for marine fish. You do want them at zero as proof that the nitrogen cycle is well and truly finished, but they're not toxic to fish to anywhere near the extent that ammonia is. The thing to watch for is that if Nitrite really builds up, it can inhibit your ammonia eaters.

 

[Salty Lemon]

I reefed a looooooong time ago, took a hiatus and just came back to it a couple years ago. Long ago we used to cycle our tanks with live fish. I always used clowns like you did. They are hearty and can handle a lot of tank stress. The hardest part is waiting for the cycle to finish. It stunk back then and it stinks now. Good luck!

 

[Pauliex77x]

Thanks for the replies. I do remember clowns being really hearty fish but they are pretty small. Ill keep an eye on it for the next few days and unless the nitrates spike really high ill just wait for the nitrites to hit zero before my next change. With using the turbo start i expected the cycle to be done already. Its 6 days with the fish and bacteria in the tank and 11 days total of the tank up and running. Ive been changing the filter floss every 3 days and the skimmer is starting to pull out a light Yellow skimmate. Ill try to post some pics of the setup later tonight.

Should i be running my AI prime on the spectrum i picked out for when i add corals or should i run it differently until then?

 

[BeejReef]

Good question. I'd probably run the light for the same hours of the day you intend to with corals. The fish will get used to your schedule and they feed a lot better with light.

Running your lights at coral growing intensity (particularly the whites) will probably get you some algae. Some try to avoid it by running low lights or mainly blues. Others see it as the first step in the maturation process and fire it up to get it started/finished faster. Couldn't say which is best.

 

[Pauliex77x]

Thanks for all the advice. I think since im only a week or so into the cycle i may start a build thread. Would probably save me from having to ask a bunch of questions if i just posted how its progressing and hear input before a problem pops up lol. Thanks again.