Help cycling

[taylorb04]

I’m New to the salt water tanks and im having a hard time cycling my tank, i decided to go the hard route and do a 5 gallon goby and shrimp tank. I’m about a week into the cycle in believe. I used live sand, 3 pounds of live rock, prime water conditioner and fluval cycle for the bacteria and boost to help the cycle. I’ve tested me ammonia a few times and its come back as zero, but my nitrates and nitrites are sitting at 10mg/L (nitrates) and 1mg/L(nitrites). I can’t seem to get either of those any lower however im using test strips from imagatiarium and i know they aren’t the best. So im looking for advice to lower oth the no2 and n03. Take it easy on me im new and some of y’all are hard on us new people lol

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I would grab you a nitrate or nitrite test kit and ditch the test strips. Do a test with those and see what your numbers are. If you started with live rock and live sand you should be cycled by now.

 

[Bosreef]

Used live rock ? Like rock that has always been wet? And in an established aquarium and or the ocean. YOU ARE CYCLED

 

[taylorb04]

I would grab you a nitrate or nitrite test kit and ditch the test strips. Do a test with those and see what your numbers are. If you started with live rock and live sand you should be cycled by now.

and for that size of tank how often would you recommend small water changes

 

[zerozero]

From what I've read here Prime Tap water conditioner does nothing useful for salt water tanks. It's great for making tap water safe for fresh waters tanks, but no good for us.

You really don't have to worry about nitrite. So, the best way to reduce nitrate is to do a water change, so long as you are using properly mixed salt water.

What salt water are you using?

 

[taylorb04]

From what I've read here Prime Tap water conditioner does nothing useful for salt water tanks. It's great for making tap water safe for fresh waters tanks, but no good for us.

You really don't have to worry about nitrite. So, the best way to reduce nitrate is to do a water change, so long as you are using properly mixed salt water.

What salt water are you using?

im using the instant ocean salt and mixing it myself with a power head. the prime said it could be used on salt or fresh water. so should i stop using it on the tap water? the water we have here s pretty hard so ive been using that

 

[zerozero]

im using the instant ocean salt and mixing it myself with a power head. the prime said it could be used on salt or fresh water. so should i stop using it on the tap water? the water we have here s pretty hard so ive been using that

Sorry for the delay. We were doing our weekly water change

Yes, "treated" tap water won't do. I use API tap water conditioner for my fresh water tank. It neutralises the chorine and chloramine in my tap water, but nothing else.

You need RODI water to mix your IO salt. Can you buy it from your LFS? Or buy distilled water from a grocery store? Either will work for now.

 

[zerozero]

Another quick question:

How are you measuring the salinity of your water? A refractometer is the best bet when you're starting out.

Salinity is the single most important parameter for a marine tank.

 

[PharmrJohn]

I second (and third) RODI. Tap water (even treated) can lead to issues down the road (even up to a year). And by that time, if something goes sideways, it's all the more difficult to nail down the issue. I used to use just RO water I got from a big box store water dispenser. That being said, my 90g went sideways about 5 years down the road for no apparent reason. Could have been Ick, Velvet, or that water I was using for all that time. I just don't know. So I'm removing that possibility from here on out.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

and for that size of tank how often would you recommend small water changes

I would would say bi-weekly. We have a 30oz tank, don't do any water changes on it, and have never had issues. Also, as others above have stated, don't use tap water. It is filled with harmful chemicals that can nuke your tank, get an RODI and use that for water changes/topping off instead.

 

[taylorb04]

I would grab you a nitrate or nitrite test kit and ditch the test strips. Do a test with those and see what your numbers are. If you started with live rock and live sand you should be cycled by now.

Another quick question:

How are you measuring the salinity of your water? A refractometer is the best bet when you're starting out.

Salinity is the single most important parameter for a marine tank.

Another quick question:

How are you measuring the salinity of your water? A refractometer is the best bet when you're starting out.

Salinity is the single most important parameter for a marine tank.

ive been using a refractometer i got online. has worked wonderfully so far

 

[taylorb04]

I second (and third) RODI. Tap water (even treated) can lead to issues down the road (even up to a year). And by that time, if something goes sideways, it's all the more difficult to nail down the issue. I used to use just RO water I got from a big box store water dispenser. That being said, my 90g went sideways about 5 years down the road for no apparent reason. Could have been Ick, Velvet, or that water I was using for all that time. I just don't know. So I'm removing that possibility from here on if i were =

Sorry for the delay. We were doing our weekly water change

Yes, "treated" tap water won't do. I use API tap water conditioner for my fresh water tank. It neutralises the chorine and chloramine in my tap water, but nothing else.

You need RODI water to mix your IO salt. Can you buy it from your LFS? Or buy distilled water from a grocery store? Either will work for now.

as far as distilled goes, should i mix anything other than salt in with it?

 

[zerozero]

as far as distilled goes, should i mix anything other than salt in with it?

No. The whole idea is that with RODI or distilled water you are using pure water to mix your marine salt. Which means, if you mix your salt water correctly, you know exactly what you're putting in your tank.

 

[zerozero]

Do you have the goby and shrimp in the tank now?

 

[Dburr1014]

ive been using a refractometer i got online. has worked wonderfully so far

The next thing with that, make your own fluid to calibrate it. Do not use distilled or rodi for calibrating.

Reef Aquarium Salinity: DIY Calibration Standards

Reef Aquarium Salinity: DIY Calibration Standards By Randy Holmes-Farley One of the most important issues facing marine aquarists is providing a suitable environment for their aquaria's inhabitants. Among the important properties for a marine...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[taylorb04]

Do you have the goby and shrimp in the tank now?

not yet, i wanted to make sure the water was cycled before adding anything. but now that i know my tank is cycle im ok to add them right?