I have been cycling my first tank here for a little over two weeks, its a 37g with a 10 gallon sump. I have some questions about plans moving forward here from the cycle. I have determined that my cycle as completed based on my API test kits, Day one i setup the tank with 30 pounds of live sand, 35 pounds of Marco Dry Rock and some Pond Matrix in the sump, I then dosed exactly 2ppm of Ammonia and dumped in a whole bottle of Bio-Spira (fishless cycle) to get the cycle going. Below are my testing results:
Day 1: Ammonia - 2.0 ppm
2: Ammonia - 1-1.5 ppm, Nitrite 1 ppm
3: Ammonia - 0.5 ppm, Nitrite 2 ppm
4: Ammonia - 0.25 ppm, Nitrite 2 ppm, Nitrate - 20-40 ppm
5: Ammonia - 0 ppm, Nitrite - 2 ppm, Nitrate 20-40 ppm
6-8: Ammonia- 0, Nitrite 2 ppm, Nitrate 20-40 ppm
9: Ammonia- 0, Nitrite 0.5 ppm, Nitrate 40ppm
10: Ammonia- 0, Nitrite- 0 ppm, Nitrate 40 ppm (I again dosed 2ppm Ammonia to see how fast it converts the ammonia to Nitrate)
11: Ammonia- 0.25-0.50 ppm, Nitrite 1-1.5 ppm
12: Ammonia- 0 ppm, Nitrite-1ppm
13: Ammonia- 0 ppm, Nitrite- 0 ppm, Nitrate 50-60ppm (converted Ammonia to nitrite to nitrate in about 2 days)
14: Ammonia- 0 ppm, Nitrite 0 ppm, Nitrate 60-80ppm
15: Ammonia- 0 ppm, Nitrite 0 ppm, Nitrate 60-80ppm
Current Parameters: PH: 8.0, Salinity 1.026, Temp: 78-79F
So as you can see I have completed my cycle at just 2 weeks. I have pretty much no algae in the tank other then a little bit on the glass as i have been keeping my Ocean Revive T247's off during the cycle. I plan on getting 2 Clownfish and maybe a small CUC this weekend. My question is how big of a water change should i do today to get those high nitrates down as they are at 60-80ppm. I was thinking 50%? and then a few days down the road before i add my first fish maybe a 20% change to get them down to around 20ppm? Second do you think adding 2 clownfish and a small CUC (some snails, maybe some crabs) would be good? My Bubble Magus Curve 5 is still breaking in but slowly, so i think im going to run it in some Vingear and RODI to cut down the break in time today. What ratio of vinegar to water would you recommend for a skimmer break in? What do you guys think? :bounce3:
Day 1: Ammonia - 2.0 ppm
2: Ammonia - 1-1.5 ppm, Nitrite 1 ppm
3: Ammonia - 0.5 ppm, Nitrite 2 ppm
4: Ammonia - 0.25 ppm, Nitrite 2 ppm, Nitrate - 20-40 ppm
5: Ammonia - 0 ppm, Nitrite - 2 ppm, Nitrate 20-40 ppm
6-8: Ammonia- 0, Nitrite 2 ppm, Nitrate 20-40 ppm
9: Ammonia- 0, Nitrite 0.5 ppm, Nitrate 40ppm
10: Ammonia- 0, Nitrite- 0 ppm, Nitrate 40 ppm (I again dosed 2ppm Ammonia to see how fast it converts the ammonia to Nitrate)
11: Ammonia- 0.25-0.50 ppm, Nitrite 1-1.5 ppm
12: Ammonia- 0 ppm, Nitrite-1ppm
13: Ammonia- 0 ppm, Nitrite- 0 ppm, Nitrate 50-60ppm (converted Ammonia to nitrite to nitrate in about 2 days)
14: Ammonia- 0 ppm, Nitrite 0 ppm, Nitrate 60-80ppm
15: Ammonia- 0 ppm, Nitrite 0 ppm, Nitrate 60-80ppm
Current Parameters: PH: 8.0, Salinity 1.026, Temp: 78-79F
So as you can see I have completed my cycle at just 2 weeks. I have pretty much no algae in the tank other then a little bit on the glass as i have been keeping my Ocean Revive T247's off during the cycle. I plan on getting 2 Clownfish and maybe a small CUC this weekend. My question is how big of a water change should i do today to get those high nitrates down as they are at 60-80ppm. I was thinking 50%? and then a few days down the road before i add my first fish maybe a 20% change to get them down to around 20ppm? Second do you think adding 2 clownfish and a small CUC (some snails, maybe some crabs) would be good? My Bubble Magus Curve 5 is still breaking in but slowly, so i think im going to run it in some Vingear and RODI to cut down the break in time today. What ratio of vinegar to water would you recommend for a skimmer break in? What do you guys think? :bounce3: