Hey everyone,
I am brand new to the world of saltwater aquariums, and have a few questions starting out. We got my dad a 29 gallon BioCube for Christmas a few years back. He absolutely loved it, and had it up and running for 2 years. He was diagnosed with cancer about a year and a half ago, and unfortunately lost his battle a few months ago...
Well, I have always loved saltwater tanks and have always wanted one myself. I decided to take the tank, and bring it to my house to get it back up and running. While he was sick, the tank took a toll as he couldn't keep up with it anymore during the last 4 months or so of his fight. It was pretty much completely gone; algae everywhere, and most everything had died except for 3 snails somehow.
I emptied the water from the tank, and just threw out all of the rock and filter media. I got the 3 snails out of there and brought them to the fish store. I did a lot of research on how to jump into the world of saltwater aquariums, and I did the white vinegar clean (spent about 3 days cleaning this thing). I got the tank spotless and started from scratch. I went to the LFS and got 20 pounds of live rock to get started, as well as premixed saltwater. After a couple of days with the tank running, I got 30 pounds of live sand and added it to the tank. I finally gotten the tank all clear after the initial milky mess from adding the sand. I also added a sea snail who had died in the last tank, to help with the cycle.
I tested the water 4 days ago and these were the results:
PH- 8.2
Ammonia- 0
Nitrites- 0
Nitrates- 5.0 PPM
I then added the sand, and then tested the water again today after all of the cloudiness had dissipated, and the results were:
PH- 8.2
Ammonia- 0
Nitrites- 0
Nitrates- 10.0 PPM
I haven't seen any detectable amount of ammonia or nitrites, but am getting readings on nitrates. Is the tank possibly cycling without these being detectable? Could I have missed the spike in ammonia and nitrites in the first 3 days that I didn't test the water? I've had the tank up and running with 20 pounds of live rock in it for just over a week now, and the sand has been in for 3 days.
I've also found a few hitch hikers. Both being brittle stars... Cool little creatures to watch.
Any tips or information is greatly appreciated. I look forward to this tank flourishing in remembrance of my Dad.
Here are a few pictures of what I have as of tonight.
(I could NOT get the build up off the black plastic on the back of the tank)
I am brand new to the world of saltwater aquariums, and have a few questions starting out. We got my dad a 29 gallon BioCube for Christmas a few years back. He absolutely loved it, and had it up and running for 2 years. He was diagnosed with cancer about a year and a half ago, and unfortunately lost his battle a few months ago...
Well, I have always loved saltwater tanks and have always wanted one myself. I decided to take the tank, and bring it to my house to get it back up and running. While he was sick, the tank took a toll as he couldn't keep up with it anymore during the last 4 months or so of his fight. It was pretty much completely gone; algae everywhere, and most everything had died except for 3 snails somehow.
I emptied the water from the tank, and just threw out all of the rock and filter media. I got the 3 snails out of there and brought them to the fish store. I did a lot of research on how to jump into the world of saltwater aquariums, and I did the white vinegar clean (spent about 3 days cleaning this thing). I got the tank spotless and started from scratch. I went to the LFS and got 20 pounds of live rock to get started, as well as premixed saltwater. After a couple of days with the tank running, I got 30 pounds of live sand and added it to the tank. I finally gotten the tank all clear after the initial milky mess from adding the sand. I also added a sea snail who had died in the last tank, to help with the cycle.
I tested the water 4 days ago and these were the results:
PH- 8.2
Ammonia- 0
Nitrites- 0
Nitrates- 5.0 PPM
I then added the sand, and then tested the water again today after all of the cloudiness had dissipated, and the results were:
PH- 8.2
Ammonia- 0
Nitrites- 0
Nitrates- 10.0 PPM
I haven't seen any detectable amount of ammonia or nitrites, but am getting readings on nitrates. Is the tank possibly cycling without these being detectable? Could I have missed the spike in ammonia and nitrites in the first 3 days that I didn't test the water? I've had the tank up and running with 20 pounds of live rock in it for just over a week now, and the sand has been in for 3 days.
I've also found a few hitch hikers. Both being brittle stars... Cool little creatures to watch.
Any tips or information is greatly appreciated. I look forward to this tank flourishing in remembrance of my Dad.
Here are a few pictures of what I have as of tonight.
(I could NOT get the build up off the black plastic on the back of the tank)