Cycling and practicing the right PPM

[DAWREEFER]

Hello everyone!

I've been cycling my 20 long for about a week now, I know I still have a long ways to go. I'm doing a fishless cycle and I threw in a cocktail shrimp about 2days in and I'm wondering if I should remove it? I have about 5lbs of live rock in there and I'm just letting it do its thing. I'm also checking the PPM every once in a while and I keep reading 40ppm, which I know I need to get it to 35ppm ideally. I have 5g of salt and freshwater on standby. I'm glad to be joining the community and happy reefing!! Also, when should I think about adding some cleanup crew, will that help with the cycling process?

Thanks!

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

Did you add any bacteria source? Live rock rubble or bottled bacteria? What parameter is reading 40 ppm?

No livestock in the tank until ammonia drops down. You should add bottled bacteria if you havn't.

 

[Saltyreef]

Remove it when it starts to piece apart.
Also, what parameter are you measuring at 40ppm?
Its important to differentiate the readings and know what means what

 

[DAWREEFER]

Remove it when it starts to piece apart.
Also, what parameter are you measuring at 40ppm?
Its important to differentiate the readings and know what means what

The shrimp is pretty much like Jello'ish when water hits it.
What do you mean by what parameters?
I used this video from BRS to configure my refractometer

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

You said you keep reading 40 ppm. 40 ppm of what? Nitrate? Ammonia? Dog feces?

 

[Saltyreef]

The shrimp is pretty much like Jello'ish when water hits it.
What do you mean by what parameters?
I used this video from BRS to configure my refractometer

Your salinity should be at 35PPT.

 

[DAWREEFER]

You said you keep reading 40 ppm. 40 ppm of what? Nitrate? Ammonia? Dog feces?

Lol, my apologies. Salinity

 

[DAWREEFER]

Did you add any bacteria source? Live rock rubble or bottled bacteria? What parameter is reading 40 ppm?

No livestock in the tank until ammonia drops down. You should add bottled bacteria if you havn't.

I've added DrTims.

 

[Saltyreef]

At this point, you dont really have anything to for a clean up crew to clean. Id skip on this until farther along in your stages.

Also, youll want access to RO water at minimum. And more than 5g as your salinity is just going to go up without you topping it off.

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

I would make sure your salinity is down to 35 and remove the shrimp then give it 48 hours to process remaining ammonia before a large water change. You don't need to do this slowly unless you have fish and inverts
Do a 50% water change to bring your nitrate down and add your clean up crew.

 

[DAWREEFER]

At this point, you dont really have anything to for a clean up crew to clean. Id skip on this until farther along in your stages.

Also, youll want access to RO water at minimum. And more than 5g as your salinity is just going to go up without you topping it off.

I have access to R/O and I just have the 5g jugs of R/O salt/fresh on standby when it needs to be topped off. Should I be topping with salt or freshwater?

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

Top off with fresh RO. 35 ppt is max and I would suggest keeping the tank at 34 so you have room for swings and a learning curve buffer. Once you add coral you can adjust to 35

 

[Azedenkae]

Hello everyone!

I've been cycling my 20 long for about a week now, I know I still have a long ways to go. I'm doing a fishless cycle and I threw in a cocktail shrimp about 2days in and I'm wondering if I should remove it? I have about 5lbs of live rock in there and I'm just letting it do its thing. I'm also checking the PPM every once in a while and I keep reading 40ppm, which I know I need to get it to 35ppm ideally. I have 5g of salt and freshwater on standby. I'm glad to be joining the community and happy reefing!! Also, when should I think about adding some cleanup crew, will that help with the cycling process?

Thanks!

Welcome to the forum! Everyone here is helpful, so you should be able to figure out this whole reef-keeping deal soon.

So salinity. You will find that it will keep on being at 40 ppt (or higher if the water level drops) without changing, because that is not supposed to be something that (significantly) changes. You need to do a water change with fresh water to reduce this to 35 ppt.

After that, top ups should be with fresh water, water changes is with salt water.

You will also need to measure at least ammonia and nitrite as you cycle with your shrimp. And nitrate too, if you like. I prefer to measure all three just to know exactly how everything is changing.

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

Nitrite is non toxic in a marine setup and should only be used in conjunction with a nitrate test. Nitrates will test higher if unprocesses nitrite is in the water (roughly 4x nitrite reading will show up on nitrate test). Ammonia is the only factor that is relevant as far as toxicity goes.

 

[DAWREEFER]

Welcome to the forum! Everyone here is helpful, so you should be able to figure out this whole reef-keeping deal soon.

So salinity. You will find that it will keep on being at 40 ppt (or higher if the water level drops) without changing, because that is not supposed to be something that (significantly) changes. You need to do a water change with fresh water to reduce this to 35 ppt.

After that, top ups should be with fresh water, water changes is with salt water.

You will also need to measure at least ammonia and nitrite as you cycle with your shrimp. And nitrate too, if you like. I prefer to measure all three just to know exactly how everything is changing.

So, you're saying to do a water change (25%) now and replace it with fresh water to get a more accurate salinity ppm? I've got the testing bottles necessary for all of that, but I have not tested them yet. I was going to wait a few weeks before the first test. Should I test my tank and post the results to this feed xD ?

 

[DAWREEFER]

Welcome to the forum! Everyone here is helpful, so you should be able to figure out this whole reef-keeping deal soon.

So salinity. You will find that it will keep on being at 40 ppt (or higher if the water level drops) without changing, because that is not supposed to be something that (significantly) changes. You need to do a water change with fresh water to reduce this to 35 ppt.

After that, top ups should be with fresh water, water changes is with salt water.

You will also need to measure at least ammonia and nitrite as you cycle with your shrimp. And nitrate too, if you like. I prefer to measure all three just to know exactly how everything is changing.

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

Guess OP is screening my posts... Retest ammonia as you must have had a testing error. Precense of nitrite and nitrate indicate you are cycled but water change or time is needed for the ammonia levels

 

[Azedenkae]

So, you're saying to do a water change (25%) now and replace it with fresh water to get a more accurate salinity ppm?

You can do a very specific amount of water change to reach exactly 35ppt (in theory). If my math is not incorrect, it should be a 12.5% water change.

I have seen that ammonia reading before, cannot remember what it represents. But hey, your nitrite and nitrate are all high. You should take the shrimp out now, and let your beneficial microbes handle nitrification.

I am terrible at reading API nitrite readings once it comes to the purples, so I cannot tell exactly what it is, but if it is 5ppm... according to Dr. Tim, 5ppm nitrite can inhibit nitrifiers, so that may need to be a consideration.

 

[DAWREEFER]

Guess OP is screening my posts... Retest ammonia as you must have had a testing error. Precense of nitrite and nitrate indicate you are cycled but water change or time is needed for the ammonia levels

haha, no I'm not. I'll test Ammonia again and get back to you!

 

[DAWREEFER]

haha, no I'm not. I'll test Ammonia again and get back to you! Here it is!