Cycle with no wheels.

[RockingCricket]

I believe my tank is now cycled. Ammonia is at zero, as is nitrite. Nitrate is at 10 - 20. I haven't performed a water change yet, just evaporation top off. The diatom bloom has slowed down but is still obvious. None of the 5 green chromis made it (feel bad - should have used the shrimp method). I'm regularly (twice a week) cleaning the foam and floss etc in the fluval. STILL no live rock but Yamahaguy might have something to change that.

Surprisingly none of the 5 green chromis made it (I feel bad - should have employed the dead shrimp cycling method). The beautiful maroon clown and the 2 engineer gobies made it through.

I have 10 blue legged hermys in there and a measly 10 astrea snails.

Should I wait for my nitrates to reach zero before I do anything else, or will they even ever reach zero?

I'm assuming my next steps should be a 10% water change, then increase the cleanup crew, and as always, get some live rock in?

 

[wayne]

As a note to anyone reading this in the future I'm not especially surprised none of the chromis made it. Sure they're fairly hardy, but they're not bulletproof, and the stress of being mailed, and then a quick ammonia bath will have some dire effects.

Where are you getting your makeup water from - if it has silicates in it, you won't be getting rid of the diatom bloom, though it will likely diminish.

I'm not normally one for book burning, but 'Saltwater for Dummies' should be a candidate

 

[OCCFan023]

I think you should do a water chnage to get those nitrates down, and try to work something out with yamaha.


Try and get as much live rock as you can from yamaha it will really benefit you. Also I dont know if you have a skimmer on your tank but maybe even try and get yamahas.

 

[KahluaZzZ]

Your nitrates won't reach 0 if you don't change water or have good algae to feed on that. Seriously, a ro/di unit is the best way to say byebye to diatoms. Never had diatoms or crap like that since i switched. It's like 30 bucks to change all necessary cartridges every 8 months. Can't get much cheaper for HQ water.
Better get the live rock, i had pretty much nothing last year and had lots of params swings. Also having a good amount of rock help the fishies to hide when they feel threatened, so it reduces the stress and they can set territory.
I have like 87 pounds of rock now in my 55 , my params are always the same..stability is the best way to keep your livestock. My sand is much clearer, tnx to the freebie spagetti worms that came with the live rock. Mhhh ok am i a live rock fan or what ?

 

[KahluaZzZ]

Also i noticed my false percula hunts down my blue green chromis ..looks like he knows that the chromis is also a damselfish. Maybe your maroon wack them..it's an aggressive fish and he can be very big and if your chromis don't have a place to hide...

 

[RockingCricket]

My mistake Wayne, 1 of the Chromis IS still hanging out so 3 were lost in total. What is surprising is the maroon and gobies making it through.

My tap water tests pretty good and so my original 90 gallons were conditioned tap water. To be on the safe side, evaporation top off has been done with RO water from the supermarket. This will be the source of all future water changes. I have added a silica and phosphate removing bag to my filter.

As mentioned before, I do own the 'Saltwater for Dummies' book. I am sure there are many other books out there that are far superior, but as a book that cost me nothing, and as a quick introduction to the hobby, it has certainly sufficed. Again Wayne, instead of being the valuable resource that you could be, seeing as you obviously know your salt, you edge toward being the bearer of bad news. Pity.

Thankyou OCC and Kahlua for taking the time to read and answer my questions. So a water change IS what is needed, and as always, live rock. Thanks guys.

OCC, I am considering buying Yamahas skimmer. I do have a CPR Bak-Pak 2 running but I beleive this is a little small for my tank. The more the better, surely.

Kahlua I haven't seen any aggression from the Maroon. In fact when the Chrmosi were a little mre numberous, it was THEY who if anything, harrassed the Maroon. I have 100lbs of dead coral in my system right now, so everyone has plenty of places to hide.

 

[KahluaZzZ]

oh ok..plenty of rock. Chromis attacking the big bully ? Hehe funny

 

[aresgod]

well the problem with "saltwater for dummies" is that there is alot of inacurate or just plain wrong information in there, there are many other books in the same pricerange that are more informative and much better overall

 

[RockingCricket]

Understood.......the first time Wayne said it.....many threads ago.

 

[aresgod]

well ok then

 

[tammielynz9881]

your local library will have books you can check out for free too,,, salt takes ALOT of reading of ALOT of different books and information,, but i believe in lots of live rock too good luck with all your doing its good we ask questions and not let our tanks suffer from lack of communication,,,, and not to be rude in anyway but i would rather be told bluntly than to misunderstand that is why i come here,, lots of knowledge without the beating around the bush to get it... gosh i really do love this site,, dont you?