When can I add Fish and coral???

[FixIt]

OK so I tested my water yesterday and these are the readings I got with the kit I bought. Oh and this is a LED BioCube 32 just so you know running just the stock filter stuff that came in the box right now.

Salinity 1.025
PH 8.0
Calcium 480
KH I believe is 11
Phosphate 0ppm
Nitrate is 0

That is all the kit tested and I think I am good BUT the tank has only been up and running for about a week. I have been using 2 cap fulls of Stability a day and today is the last day I am doing that unless you all tell me different.

Thanks for the help in advance.

 

[Gareth elliott]

How long has the tank been up?

Are you using an ammonia source?

 

[FixIt]

How long has the tank been up?

Are you using an ammonia source?

It has been set up about a week and a half with it being wet for about a week. I do not have an ammonia source.

 

[NoWaiAma]

Sounds like it hasn’t started to cycle yet

 

[Gareth elliott]

There are a few methods to feeding your nitrate cycle.

1) fish food little bit a day(messy uncontrolled)
2) cocktail shrimp in a media bag.(also uncontrolled, but less messy than fish food)
3) direct ammonia additions, simple, no phosphate added. Just need pure ammonia and a way of measuring 1ml. I like syringes for liquids.

Edited this link in

 

[FixIt]

There are a few methods to feeding your nitrate cycle.

1) fish food little bit a day(messy uncontrolled)
2) cocktail shrimp in a media bag.(also uncontrolled, but less messy than fish food)
3) direct ammonia additions, simple, no phosphate added. Just need pure ammonia and a way of measuring 1ml. I like syringes for liquids.

Forgive my newness, why do I need to do this? Should my nitrates be higher? What would a typical rundown of tank values be to support fish and coral?

 

[Gareth elliott]

When fish or inverts pee and poop. Its enters the water as ammonia, ammonia is deadly at almost any concentration to fish. The cycling is so that excrement, is quickly turned to nitrate by bacteria. Without this cycling your fish would not last long.

 

[WVNed]

Look up

Read the threads at the top of this forum. That's why they are there.

 

[FixIt]

When fish or inverts pee and poop. Its enters the water as ammonia, ammonia is deadly at almost any concentration to fish. The cycling is so that excrement, is quickly turned to nitrate by bacteria. Without this cycling your fish would not last long.

That video helped a lot. Thanks for that. I do not want to rush into anything but my wife is pushing for fish. She doesn't want to look at an empty tank forever lol.

Looks like I need to get a ammonia test kit.

Thanks for the help. Now to get her to wait.... sigh ...........

 

[Gareth elliott]

That video helped a lot. Thanks for that. I do not want to rush into anything but my wife is pushing for fish. She doesn't want to look at an empty tank forever lol.

Looks like I need to get a ammonia test kit.

Thanks for the help. Now to get her to wait.... sigh ...........

Np happy to help

 

[lapin]

That video helped a lot. Thanks for that. I do not want to rush into anything but my wife is pushing for fish. She doesn't want to look at an empty tank forever lol.

Looks like I need to get a ammonia test kit.

Thanks for the help. Now to get her to wait.... sigh ...........

The waiting game. For me it was a month without water then another month with water. When her friends come over and look at the empty tank she can explain the chemistry involved and sound like a genius.
Bio-systems, Bacteria..and all that fun stuff.
My wife tells our guests more about the tank than I do.

 

[Captain Quint]

Yes, you must go through the nitrogen process which hasn't started. Stability will help ease into a healthy process, but we must into the ammonia whether it be fantom feedings or a piece of raw shrimp from the deli at a grocery store. Place in a cutout of the end of a pantyhose for easy retrieval after you start to see ammonia which will eventually zero out, then you will see nitrites which will zero out and finally nitrates and you're in business.

Please keep us updated.

I know API test kits are not the best, but you'll have pretty good reading for the big 3 starting a tank which are ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates at a fairly low cost and then look into more advanced precise test kits.

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

It's been said in here already, but you need to introduce some kind of waste into the water as an ammonia source. Some use a small piece of shrimp or something else that will decay. I personally started feeding the tank a little to create the ammonia source and get the cycle started.

 

[tvu]

Just buy some Bio Spira. The cycle should be done in no time. Typically less than 2 weeks in my previous 4 builds.

I also use Bio Spira in my QTs for about a week adding filter media for bacteria colonization.

 

[Kmack0415]

As stated above get your cycle started, I would recommend adding some turbo start or another bacteria starter just to help you along. Unfortunately there's no fast forward button so just give it time and be patient, as hard as that is lol. Good luck!

 

[Sir Chris]

You’re on your way to a happy start!!! Patients is key!!! Slow and steady. This world we live on didn’t happen in a few years.... hundred. Thousand. Maybe millions. Yah that’s it. I’m 1month 17 days and added the damsel just for that ghost need once the tank has a cycle 1 fish helps 2 get cycling and feed ur pods. I was losing some chato but used fritz starter and made a bacteria bloom so I’m working backwards and needed anirobic bacteria as it’s all dead sand rock and all.

 

[lapin]

Ya to speed things up use the Bac-n-Bottle. Dr Tim One and Only, BioSpira, Nitromax Marine, API Quickstart. Im sure there are more. Just add some ammonia or a dead table shrimp. But remember your tank will never be cleaner than it is now. Oh those were the days.

 

[oldfishman]

I don’t believe your tank had cycled yet. I used the old shrimp in a bag method. Patience

 

[ItouchedThebutt]

I did the same thing your doing, added love sand, all live rock from my local fish store as well as used stability and had my clown fish in there the next day. Month later tanks doing well, 2 clown fish, Aurora goby and pistol shrimp pair as well as inverts. Yes the tank needs to cycle but basically the cycle is building up enough bacteria to consume the ammonia, so with all the cultured bacteria in the rocks, not only in my display but sump as well and live sand paired with stability it was more then enough to take the ammonia out from my two clowns. That's why I keep spair media such as marine pure bio balls in my sump incase you need to set up a QT quickly. But that's my experience.

 

[ectoaesthetics]

I'm not typically a big fan of anything to "speed up the process" but I have been very impressed with Dr. Tims and his ammonia source. You could probably just dose ammonia, but it is cheap enough that it isn't worth messing with trying to dial in the right amount.

Will get you a fully cycled tank (the right way) a lot faster than just fish food or a dead shrimp -not to mention the preservatives in the shrimp you typically end up adding to the tank...