First test!

[DragonNamedPuff]

This is the first test I have done on my new tank set up. 55 Gallon with 30gallon sump.
Are these good results for a tank being one week old? I plan on doing a water Chang tomorrow, how much should I change out? Should I do it tomorrow or wait? Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[Tokash23]

Looks to me like the cycle is doing its thing i would let it be. I dont believe you need to do a water change until the end of your cycle when you see your nitrates skyrocket. Somebody will correct me if im wrong

 

[stevo01]

Let it brew. No water change needed.

 

[DragonNamedPuff]

Looks to me like the cycle is doing its thing i would let it be. I dont believe you need to do a water change until the end of your cycle when you see your nitrates skyrocket. Somebody will correct me if im wrong

Awesome thank you so much for the feedback! How long does it usually take for those nitrates to skyrocket lol ?

 

[DragonNamedPuff]

Let it brew. No water change needed.

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[RyanCSGO]

agree with the others.
side note: the surface water looks very "flat/still"
I would consider directing at least one of the return nozzles upwards to create turbulence at the surface.
surface agitation promotes gas exchange needed in the tank.

Tank looks good

 

[Jason mack]

Your cycle can take anything from 6-10 weeks , if you started with dry rock .. I'd chill test again in a week once your nitrites spike that will take 2-3 weeks too drop .. take it slowly you don't want too rush in this hobby !!!

 

[stevo01]

What are you feeding the tank, and are you using any bottled bacteria?

 

[Tokash23]

All those things ^^^ if you are using bottled bacteria that can help scoot things along sometimes. I also agree with more surface agitation take one of your return nozzles and point it up a bit to keep any kind of film settling on the water. Also helps get oxygen into the water helping PH i think? Still learning stuff myself

 

[DragonNamedPuff]

agree with the others.
side note: the surface water looks very "flat/still"
I would consider directing at least one of the return nozzles upwards to create turbulence at the surface.
surface agitation promotes gas exchange needed in the tank.

Tank looks good

Thank you ! I will redirect one of them when I get home.

 

[DragonNamedPuff]

I

What are you feeding the tank, and are you using any bottled bacteria?

I'm new to all this sorry if I come off as a noob(lol I am)

I'm not feeding the tank anything, or am I using any bottled bacteria... I'm guessing I should be ?! What do you recommend for that ?

 

[stevo01]

I


I'm new to all this sorry if I come off as a noob(lol I am)

I'm not feeding the tank anything, or am I using any bottled bacteria... I'm guessing I should be ?! What do you recommend for that ?

Thats cool, your at the right place!

I asked this question because you have elevated levels of NH3 in only a week and im seeing dry/rock white sand, but a matured overflow. Introducing food or something that will decay will create NH3 and begin the cycle. The bottled bacteria will boost the cycle time by manually introducing nitrifying bacteria to the system to remove the high levels of NH3. Last tank I used ATM brand, but there are many to choose from.

 

[stevo01]

Thank you ! I will redirect one of them when I get home.

Always want a little surface movement. The more movement you have the faster water will evaporate too, so keep up on topping off with fresh water. Great looking set up btw.

 

[DragonNamedPuff]

Thats cool, your at the right place!

I asked this question because you have elevated levels of NH3 in only a week and im seeing dry/rock white sand, but a matured overflow. Introducing food or something that will decay will create NH3 and begin the cycle. The bottled bacteria will boost the cycle time by manually introducing nitrifying bacteria to the system to remove the high levels of NH3. Last tank I used ATM brand, but there are many to choose from.

Yes the over flow is that way because this tank was purchased from a friend who upgraded his set up. Thanks for the feedback! I will shop around for some

 

[DragonNamedPuff]

Your cycle can take anything from 6-10 weeks , if you started with dry rock .. I'd chill test again in a week once your nitrites spike that will take 2-3 weeks too drop .. take it slowly you don't want too rush in this hobby !!!

Absolutely I rather go slow and and have good results than try and take short cuts and have bad results in the long run !

 

[Jason mack]

Absolutely I rather go slow and and have good results than try and take short cuts and have bad results in the long run !

Hat being Saïd , iT is also good too practice doing tests , so that you can trust yourself ... in the begin we all think ... have i done
this correctly , or getting used too having results that dont quite match in colour too the charts .. this is normal !!!
When i first started .. i tested everything , everyday , and iT cost me a fortune in tests , Then i realised that in the begin testing once a week would have been enough ,
Nothing good happens Quickly in a reef tank !!!

 

[Tokash23]

I


I'm new to all this sorry if I come off as a noob(lol I am)

I'm not feeding the tank anything, or am I using any bottled bacteria... I'm guessing I should be ?! What do you recommend for that ?

I just used smart start complete for my cycle, but there like stevo01 said there are a bunch of different kinds biospira and dr tims one and only are pretty popular