too early for crabs and snails ya think?

wasp9166 · #1 06/29/2004, 04:59 PM

my rock has been in the tank only a week and a half,its probably too early but i have diatoms all over the place and i think hair algae is starting, it looks like hair about 1.5 inches high, i added my chaeto today to maybe help control that, i havent done any water changes during cure , i planned on doing one big one in at the end................these are my parameters

temp-83.1

ph-8.29

cal-420

alk-3.71

amm-.25

nitrate-50

nitrite-1

i dont think it would be a good idea to add crabs and snails with those numbers, at what point should i consider cycle done? what numbers should i look for?

rags111875 · #2 06/29/2004, 05:06 PM

i know those numbers dont look optimal (and i know that i am just a newbie on the rise), but i bought my LR from TBS and it had alot of life on/in it. My tank is still cycling and my numbers are far worse than your's, but i havent lost a single invert...yet(at least that i can find). well, except for a couple decapitated mantis

many snails, crabs, hermits, shrimp (damn Mantis!) move around and appear fine as they graze on algae.

wasp9166 · #3 06/30/2004, 03:42 PM

hello?

North Bay 101 · #4 06/30/2004, 03:49 PM

I wouldn't add anything until at least the ammonia is at zero. Are you running lights also? Since your hair algae is fairly long I would start harvesting it. Pull as much as you can. Keep us posted.

wasp9166 · #5 06/30/2004, 05:52 PM

just actinics , bout 11 hours a day, the hair isnt that bad its the diatoms, basically all my rock is dark brown

Abominable Reefer · #6 06/30/2004, 06:00 PM

The advice I got here was to wait until NH4 and NO2 are zero.

wasp9166 · #7 06/30/2004, 06:35 PM

how will nitrates become 0? by themselves? i thought a water change was needed for this

markzfishn1 · #8 06/30/2004, 06:46 PM

The chaeto will help with the trates.

Johnsteph10 · #9 06/30/2004, 07:36 PM

Please let your cycle finish! You'll know it is done when ammonia and nitrite are 0. Your nitrate may be high but you can help get rid of it with a water change/routine water changes until the rest of your tank stabilizes. Even then, it takes a while for you tank to stabilize. I would wait at least a couple of weeks until your cycle is "finished" before adding significant critters. You could add a couple of snails and/or crabs if you want...

Take your time.

Your reef will appreciate it!

John

wasp9166 · #10 07/06/2004, 04:55 PM

this weeks numbers, rock has been in 17 days now

ph-8.29

cal-415

alk-4.00

amm-.25

nitrate-25

nitrite-.2

as you can see the nitrate and nitrite have gone down, but the amm has stayed the same, will it go down on its own or is the only thing going to lower it is a water change? not going to add any cleaners at this point

Scuba Dog · #11 07/06/2004, 05:01 PM

Get a complete cycle first then let it stabilize for a week to be on the safe side....It would kinda suck to go buy 100 bucks of cleaners to have them kick the bucket ........then wait a couple weeks and add some fish...

Scuba Dog · #12 07/06/2004, 05:03 PM

just read the above post...let the ammonia come down naturaly, that will alow more benifical bacteria to colonize and handle the curent ammonia load....think of it this way your raising bacteria right now....the more the better....

wasp9166 · #13 07/06/2004, 06:47 PM

i see, so all numbers should go to zero without a water change, then you should do one correct? and then its ready for cleaners

JENnKerry · #14 07/07/2004, 03:37 PM

After the cycle if your nitrates are pretty high (over 20ppm ) I would do a water change. Your ammonia will come down on its own then your nitrites should go up. I'm also pretty sure that you won't get an accurate nitrate reading until your nitrites spike then come back down. I think once your trites are 0 then you can add your critters.

wasp9166 · #15 07/13/2004, 04:12 PM

this weeks readings, rock been in 4 weeks now

ph-8.33

cal-415

alk-3.71

amm-.25

nitrate-10

nitrite-.1

amm has been .25 for 3 weeks now, is this normal?

bertoni · #16 07/15/2004, 12:01 AM

Personally, I wouldn' t bother with water changes just to reduce nitrate levels because they're not likely hurting anything. A nitrite spike and accuracy of a nitrate test are completely unrelated: the nitrate test should work at any time.

It's a bit odd that the ammonia hasn't changed. Perhaps a second test kit would be useful. I just responded to your thread in the chemistry forum on this issue.