beginner starting again

Z

Zoom

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Hi Guys

I have taken you advise

I have been doing some serious reading.

Question :Once that Tank has completed is cycle and your No2 levels drop to zero. The you NO3 levele start to climb. . How long or how many weeks do i have to wait to get live stock.

Crispin says I need to wait until the end of December until my NO2 Drops but what happen after that . Once No3 starts do grow do you have to wait for it to come down

Does the whole cycle happen again and again or should all the parameters levell:slayer:
 
yeah sort of u will get smaller an smaller spikes every time u add some thing new u will get a spike that is y u should add 1 or 2 fish at a time and wait a week or so at a time and well done on doing some research oh buy the way what happened to your fish and the results from the rock test
 
Zoom, I am so glad that you have decided to keep on going, your initial experience was really a sad one and I was very upset (still am) when I heard about it all.

Anyway, let's get on and get you enjoying this hobby the way it is supposed to be enjoyed.

First off, give us a list of all the equipment you have. I can't remember what tank you had but it doesn't have a sump, is that right?

The cycle in a tank normally takes anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks, during this period you will see the ammonia and nitrite levels rise and then fall, I have attached 2 graphs that will illustrate this, the timeline on these graphs is only an example though, it varies with each tank. No livestock must be added during this time, only water, sand and liverock.

Your nitrate will gradually rise but this is kept in check with waterchanges, sufficient live rock and possibly a DSB if you have one. I would recommend waiting about 1 week after your nitrite and ammonia levels have dropped to 0 before adding livestock. Livestock must be added slowly, start off with some clean up crew (snails and hermits), then a week later add 1 or 2 fish at the most, wait another 2 weeks before adding any other fish. During this time do some reading up on what fish you would like and if they are compatible with the corals you want to keep and the size tank you have. Ask us ANY questions you have, the guys here have a huge amount of knowledge and experience and are more than happy to share it with you and help you.

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it is all dependant on ur system u must wait till no2 no3 and po4 are close to zero untill then no fish
 
Went back to a LFS ....lucky hey and way all sorted at last
Thanks:thumbup:
 
What PO4 I never say that in the book
Only NO2 No3 PH GH KH and Amonia . Have not seen P04
 
Hi Gemini and Viper

Confused so if NO3 is high and then NO2 is zero with no Amonia no live stock can bee added but the graphs show NO3 will be high or will that come down more lots of water changes
 
those are ok for now when u get really in to reefing u will monitor ph ,kh ,nh4 ,no2 ,no3 ,ca ,mg ,po4 and sg but u will get there in time
 
Zoom said:
What PO4 I never say that in the book
Only NO2 No3 PH GH KH and Amonia . Have not seen P04
Click to expand...

gemini9241 said:
phosphate
Click to expand...
Yip, P04 is phosphate, normally introduced into a new tank by using tap water or bad quality live rock, that is why you should always use RO water in a marine tank, excessive levels of phosphate cause very bad algae problems in tanks, ask me I know all about that, as Crispin loves to point out to everyone :p
 
Once your amonia and No2 levels are down. Your tank is ready to be stocked. Should your nitrates be higher than 5 dont add anything until it comes down. Bring it down with water changes. If the Nitrate is higher than 5 as i mentioned and you are going to add livestock, your nitrates will climb even higher.
 
Viper

The algae that you got using tap water how bad was it and how long did it take to grow............I have no algae yet and i bought all my water
 
Zoom said:
Hi Gemini and Viper

Confused so if NO3 is high and then NO2 is zero with no Amonia no live stock can bee added but the graphs show NO3 will be high or will that come down more lots of water changes
Click to expand...
The graphs are a bit misleading with regards to nitrate. If unchecked it can rise to dangerous levels, but with regular waterchanges and good quality live rock and enough live rock, you will be able to keep this in check. Nitrate is quite safe for fish up to about 20, but you do still need to keep an eye on this and keep it as low as possible, so yes, once ammonia and nitrite are 0, you can start adding livestock, even if nitrate is between 0 and 20, but a good waterchange will sort that out.
 
Zoom said:
Viper

The algae that you got using tap water how bad was it and how long did it take to grow............I have no algae yet and i bought all my water
Click to expand...
It was very bad and grew extremely fast, within a very short time I had lost total control of my tank, click here to see some photo's of what I am talking about. Although this was not caused by tapwater as I have never used tapwater, it was caused by problems with my liverock.

Viper's Algae Farm - Marine Aquariums of South Africa
 
If the water i bought from the lfs was tap water :( when i started, ( I forgot to ask ) If all my water changes are ro water and i keep changing my water by 20% will this eventually correct it self. (If I do bi weekly water changes)
 
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