General questions

[Mizu]

Hi everyone, my tank is cycling and I have a few concerns, would really appreciate any advice!

1. I have a fish only tank, After my Ammonia drops to 0 and my nitrite goes up and then back down to 0 I know my initial cycle is complete and I can start adding my first fish, are there any other water parameters I should be testing or are just the pH, ammonia, Nirite, nitrate, salinity and temperature enough?

2. My water temperature seems to be fluctuating a few degrees. For example yesterday morning I believe the temperature was around 77.2, by 10pm it was 78.2 and now this morning it's up to 78.8 but i don't believe it will go any higher. If a fluctuation of 2~ degrees slowly throughout the day acceptable?

3. I have a split AC unit that I can turn on to cool down the tank water if needed, I'm not sure if that is recommended though because it might be too quick of a temperature drop?

4. The inside of my tank glass is "dirty", it looks like sand is all over it, can I use a Mr Clean Magic eraser to wipe down the sand?

 

[William Chiavetta]

Hi everyone, my tank is cycling and I have a few concerns, would really appreciate any advice!

1. I have a fish only tank, After my Ammonia drops to 0 and my nitrite goes up and then back down to 0 I know my initial cycle is complete and I can start adding my first fish, are there any other water parameters I should be testing or are just the pH, ammonia, Nirite, nitrate, salinity and temperature enough?

2. My water temperature seems to be fluctuating a few degrees. For example yesterday morning I believe the temperature was around 77.2, by 10pm it was 78.2 and now this morning it's up to 78.8 but i don't believe it will go any higher. If a fluctuation of 2~ degrees slowly throughout the day acceptable?

3. I have a split AC unit that I can turn on to cool down the tank water if needed, I'm not sure if that is recommended though because it might be too quick of a temperature drop?

4. The inside of my tank glass is "dirty", it looks like sand is all over it, can I use a Mr Clean Magic eraser to wipe down the sand?

1. I would do KH but it's not necessary.
2. The temperature fluctuation is fine as long as it's not too quick
3. Don't use it unless you really have to
4. Use a scrub daddy I would not recommend a magic eraser due to the Formaldehyde on the eraser, this can result in removing dissolved oxygen but if you are fine with that go ahead by all means

 

[Uncle99]

Generally speaking.

1. Rock,sand, saltwater, heat,flow, a bottle of bacteria + say 3-5 days your ready for first two fish.

That being said, me, I monitor each parameter weekly except Alk which I do daily. I strive to reduce any fluctuations on a consistent basis at all times as the stability goes a long way in reducing ugly stages as it favours the production of good guy algae’s and bacteria.

2. That’s not a big variance. Those are exactly my fluctuations last 7 years if that helps.

3. I run AC comfortable for me. Should not be a factor unless your going beyond 80 regularly, then, a simple fan would suffice.

4. Don’t know, several different brands of these, me, I don’t use them.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

1 - for FOWLR tanks after the cycle (assuming no inverts), Salinity, Temperature, Nitrate, and Phosphate would be the most important; testing pH is a nice bonus. Calcium and Alkalinity would be similarly nice, but not needed.

2 - Yes, a 2 degree swing is fine.

3 - I wouldn't use it (or really any cooling method) unless your tank gets up closer to 85-86F (83F and above can be problematic for corals, but most fish in the hobby tend to prefer warmer temps like 83F, so I'd give it more leeway with a FOWLR).

4 - Some people swear by magic erasers for cleaning their glass, others say it'll leave micro-scratches or otherwise damage it; I don't have a recommendation on it myself at the moment.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

1. The cycle is done when ammonia is zero and you have measurable nitrates (don't worry about nitrite).
2. 2 degrees is fine, but you should have a heater in the tank and not just let the tank fluctuate.
3. Use the a/c for yourself and the water should remain below 80. If it gets above 80, there are ways to lower it.
4. Buy an aquarium glass scraper from amazon or any pet store, you will need it.

 

[WhatCouldGoWrong71]

Interesting read on #4. I have 2 tanks an older RS Max 500 scratched to heck, so I can't tell if the magic erasers are doing any bad, but boy do they clean well. Been using them a year now. I also have a Reefer 250, that is scratch free. I can't see any damage by the magic erasers. I have a new tank being built and have been thinking about how I will want to clean this tank considering the cost I have into this nice fancy glass, lol.

However, what would be a leading indicator that I would be impacting dissolved oxygen? I was unaware of this issue using them. Thoughts?

 

[Mizu]

Thanks everyone for the replies! I do have a plastic algae scraper (aquablade) and the sponge scraper from API but they werent giving me the results I was hoping for, Ill keep reading up on the magic erasers before using

Also really happy to hear the 2 degree temperature fluctuations aren't a big deal!