I think my cycle has finished?

[lilqtpierikki]

Hey everyone!! So after all my headaches i've had learning the ins and outs of this hobby I think my tank has cycled. I don't want to get my hopes up yet though.. Here's what i have:
wk 1 wk 2 wk 3 wk 4
ph 8.1 8.2 8.0 8.0
amm .25 .25 .5 0
nitrite .25 5 5 0
nitrate 5.5 40 40 0

wk 4 WAS taken 3 days late though.. But still, based off the colours of the water readings and my lil handy colour sheet, those are my readings. So... is my tank cycled? Should i wait a bit longer before adding more livestock? (I'm in hawaii so I wont be having coral...) My one out of four damsels is still alive and kickin!

from wk 3-4, i added 10lbs of live rock (finally). From what ive gathered 10 lbs won't be enough of live rock but it's super expensive to ship dry rock here, and $7 lb for live rock is a bit high. (funny off topic, there are 2 snails roaming around somewhere, guess they were living on the rock. they were quite a shock to me at first cuz i was like what the heck is that LOL)
I think i may end up shipping the dry rock to my parents and have them put it in flat rate boxes. surely 40lbs of dry rock won't take too many boxes...

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I am a little concerned with the layer of brown that is building on my puka shells on the bottom. It's all over the tank but i've been cleaning it with the magnet. Will a cleaning crew clean up the brown? I'm not sure if it is algae or not. I still have my biowheel in there but once i'm done with my sump i was planning on getting rid of it.. Thoughts??
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For those who were keeping up with my last posts i am almost done with my sump. I first tried to glue my acrylic with silicone, had to take it all apart and found some weld on 4. Still have a very small leak so i've melted some shavings of acrylic and i will seal it. I am waiting on my lifereef overflow to come in and i have my return pump.

Any help and/or suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated!!!

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

According to what you say I would yes it is done!

The brown algae you are experiencing is probably diatoms which is very common when starting a new tank or adding new sand, rock, etc. In your case new tank!

 

[lilqtpierikki]

WHOOO HOOO! I think i am going to take a water sample to the LFS to make sure. And i need to get my hands on some more rock so I can add my livestock.

Is it wise to go ahead and get a few shrimp and hermits? I really am trying to stay away from snails even tho there is one roaming around in there. Guess he was on the live rock.

 

[Steven R]

I would stay away from the shrimp for a little while longer maybe another month when it is more stable. snails will help a lot in algae control though why do you want to stay away from snails?

 

[lilqtpierikki]

i've heard snails can take over your tank. I found 1 snail in my bio-wheel. And now i dont know where the other one is. They are small though so that's probably why. i dunno, just don't think that snails look aesthetically pleasing, id rather have some banded shrimp and hermits. Are snails the only thing that control algae?

 

[harley]

Patience grass hopper! Nothing comes good in this hobby rushing! IMO! you should add a full cuc! that includes snails, hermits and urchins! Although they all have their negatives! But snails are a must! unless ya wanna spends hours every few days cleaning your tank! Get a solid cud from reef cleaners.com and save yourself the trouble! Will some of them breed, maybe, but i highly doubt they'll become an issue! your CBS will when it gets big and kills everything else in the tank!

your brown algae is prb def diatoms, just ride them out!

also, your nitrate ain't zero! unless your runnig GFO, or biopellets! pretty hard to hit zero without them!

i'd add your cuc and try to get another mini cycle going, then when thats done, add 1 or 2 fish, then wait to see how that goes,then add 1 fish per month till stocked! good luck! happy reefing!

 

[H2O]

Post some pics of the set up it be easy to help you if we saw how u got it set up .
Since you not doing coral its easy to controll the alergy just cut the lights off and it will die off keep the tank away from sun light and it be ok
How did you cycle the tank ? Did you add a dead fish to get the amonia spike ? If not then go slow adding fish
What kind of skimmer you run ?
What kind of fish you looking to keep ?
Best of luck and stay away from damsels those get very mean when u add small fish

 

[H2O]

How big is the tank , what kind of lights ? What you use for flow . etc all those things play a big role in the fish tank so ones you get that taking care of you be keeping happy fish .

 

[lilqtpierikki]

Yes harley, i know patience is a virtue, but if i'm ready to go, why am i still waiting ya know?
What's a solid cud? And i'm not sure where to get urchins from here.. Pretty sure the LFS don't sell them. They have feather dusters....? Also what is CBS?

Yes according to the colour chart, the nitrate is zero, zilch, nada... I am not saying it is right mind you. I will be taking my water in on tues to get it tested. It's discount test tuesday at LFS .

H20- I had started cycling with 4 damsels, advice given by LFS, lesson learned blah blah blah. I am down to 1 who is great. I was a bit late in adding LR, but i got 10 lbs in there.
What kind of skimmer you run ? I have a coralife rated for a 75g
What kind of fish you looking to keep ? I'm still working on this. I'm sure i'll want some yellow tangs, but I wanna compare all the eating habits and see if i cant get some that eat alike......
(Thanks for saying stay away from damsels LOL! a lil late)

I have a 55g with T5 lighting. Just the florescent thats reef safe. I am working on getting my sump finished so I can add my lifereef overflow box and RIO return pump. Right now i have biowheel which i hope to remove when my sump is finished.