First round of tests

[J A' mhuir]

Hey y’all,
Newbie here! I set up my tank Friday and I performed my first tests today! I used salifert test kits.
Tank: 25 gallon lagoon tank, 78°F. Temperature.

1 Ammonia was cloudy but no color. Tested two times same result.
2 Nitrite was clear
3 Nitrate was pink, but having trouble figuring out the color chart, I tried to take a picture, attached below.

Is this normal to have no Ammonia and Nitrate come up positive?? I appreciate your help and thoughts!

 

[Dan_P]

Hey y’all,
Newbie here! I set up my tank Friday and I performed my first tests today! I used salifert test kits.
Tank: 25 gallon lagoon tank, 78°F. Temperature.

1 Ammonia was cloudy but no color. Tested two times same result.
2 Nitrite was clear
3 Nitrate was pink, but having trouble figuring out the color chart, I tried to take a picture, attached below.

Is this normal to have no Ammonia and Nitrate come up positive?? I appreciate your help and thoughts!

How did you set up the tank? With what?

 

[J A' mhuir]

How did you set up the tank? With what?

Hey, I set up my tank with live rock and sand and Dr Tim’s nitrifying bacteria. Ghost feeding, a tiny amount of pellets.

 

[crazyfishmom]

looks like your live rock has taken your tank through its cycle. I would consider adding a bit of ammonia and testing in 24 hrs to confirm but looks like you’re well on your way.

 

[J A' mhuir]

looks like your live rock has taken your tank through its cycle. I would consider adding a bit of ammonia and testing in 24 hrs to confirm but looks like you’re well on your way.

Thank you for your thoughts. I appreciate you!

 

[Dan_P]

Hey, I set up my tank with live rock and sand and Dr Tim’s nitrifying bacteria. Ghost feeding, a tiny amount of pellets.

Some ideas.

Live rock would have all the bacteria you need.
Dr. Tim’s nitrifying bacteria can take weeks to show activity. I assume it is playing no role right now.
You are unlikely to see ammonia from ghost feeding, especially this soon and maybe never in the presence of live rock.
The nitrate in the water could be coming from die-off on the live rock, i.e., dying, rotting, ammonia generation and nitrate formation.
If you want to confirm the live rock is doing its job, add a few tenths of a ppm of ammonia and monitor its disappearance. Some folks would just start adding fish.

 

[Rjukan]

Hey y’all,
Newbie here! I set up my tank Friday and I performed my first tests today! I used salifert test kits.
Tank: 25 gallon lagoon tank, 78°F. Temperature.

1 Ammonia was cloudy but no color. Tested two times same result.
2 Nitrite was clear
3 Nitrate was pink, but having trouble figuring out the color chart, I tried to take a picture, attached below.

Is this normal to have no Ammonia and Nitrate come up positive?? I appreciate your help and thoughts!

Hi,

Can you include a pic or 2 of the tank so we can see what the rock looks like? It was LR from the ocean or from a LFS holding tank?

 

[J A' mhuir]

Some ideas.

Live rock would have all the bacteria you need.
Dr. Tim’s nitrifying bacteria can take weeks to show activity. I assume it is playing no role right now.
You are unlikely to see ammonia from ghost feeding, especially this soon and maybe never in the presence of live rock.
The nitrate in the water could be coming from die-off on the live rock, i.e., dying, rotting, ammonia generation and nitrate formation.
If you want to confirm the live rock is doing its job, add a few tenths of a ppm of ammonia and monitor its disappearance. Some folks would just start adding fish.

Thank you for your thoughts!

 

[J A' mhuir]

Hi,

Can you include a pic or 2 of the tank so we can see what the rock looks like? It was LR from the ocean or from a LFS holding tank?

Here are some photos. The rock came from LFS.

 

[Rjukan]

Here are some photos. The rock came from LFS.

Nice, aquascape! It That looks like the life rock stuff, which I always thought looks pretty good with all the purple to start with. Even better if it came from their system and not dry.

 

[J A' mhuir]

Nice, aquascape! It That looks like the life rock stuff, which I always thought looks pretty good with all the purple to start with. Even better if it came from their system and not dry.

Thank you! Yes, spot on!! Live rock from local store and some of it been sitting there for a while. I wanted the benefit of live rock (and the coloring is a nice touch).

 

[Rjukan]

Thank you! Yes, spot on!! Live rock from local store and some of it been sitting there for a while. I wanted the benefit of live rock (and the coloring is a nice touch).

You're on a great track then, your cycle is almost sure to be done by now. Definitely worth doing what @crazyfishmom said and add some ammonia just to verify it processes it, and then you're good for a couple fish.

 

[J A' mhuir]

You're on a great track then, your cycle is almost sure to be done by now. Definitely worth doing what @crazyfishmom said and add some ammonia just to verify it processes it, and then you're good for a couple fish.

I am definitely taking the advice, picking some up tomorrow!!