Questions about my new reef setup

[Volcmreefer]

Hello RC! Setting up my 75 gallon reef and I had a couple of questions. When adding the sand, I did so at two different times due to the fact that I didn't have enough for a 4-5" DSB the first time. It was only a couple of days apart and I added only 2 bags to the existing (approx. 3.4-4") bed. My question is, there are some bubbles in the sand from the last two bags that I am not sure about. The sand is the same type and diameter (supposedly) but it looks different in the tank. Should I be worried about this (Picture attached)? I don't want to stir up the DSB if possible but I also don't want it to look like crap.

Also, my cycling started about two weeks ago. It is stocked with 60 lbs of pukani rock and a bunch of live sand. I also added some bio-spira to the tank when it first came online. Weird thing is, according to the Red Sea test kit (new), there is ZERO Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate...

Today I added an Ammonia source (fish food) and will see what happens. My thinking is that if the ammonia goes up then the cycle is not done? And if I see Nitrates then it is?

Thanks in advance and Happy Reefing!

-Jon

 

[nvladik]

Hey Jon. You don't need to stir it up, gently moving through the sand will remove the bubbles, no need to go crazy.

If you started a new tank, with no live in it, and just added bio-spira, you are not going to get ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings. You added bacteria, but if the tank is empty there's nothing to source ammonia, and bacteria has nothing to eat, thus no nitrite that then goes into nitrate. Adding fish food should be a good start.

 

[Volcmreefer]

Great, thanks! I thought that some fish food would help. How many days should I add food? Is there an Ammonia reading that I am shooting for?

 

[nvladik]

Great, thanks! I thought that some fish food would help. How many days should I add food? Is there an Ammonia reading that I am shooting for?

If you have no fish in there, 1ppm is good if I remember correctly.

 

[Volcmreefer]

Awesome, just tested again today and evidently I need to keep feeding. I didn't think it would take this much food to raise the Ammonia, but I guess it does. I have heard of people buying pure Ammonia and adding. Any brands out there that work better than others? I heard that if you shake the bottle, no bubbles should be present. Correct?

 

[JMorris271]

Awesome, just tested again today and evidently I need to keep feeding. I didn't think it would take this much food to raise the Ammonia, but I guess it does. I have heard of people buying pure Ammonia and adding. Any brands out there that work better than others? I heard that if you shake the bottle, no bubbles should be present. Correct?

No bubbles when shaken is correct.
Most people get the janitorial kind that Ace Hardware sells. It's pure ammonia

 

[JMorris271]

..`

 

[madweazl]

Awesome, just tested again today and evidently I need to keep feeding. I didn't think it would take this much food to raise the Ammonia, but I guess it does. I have heard of people buying pure Ammonia and adding. Any brands out there that work better than others? I heard that if you shake the bottle, no bubbles should be present. Correct?

It may take a few days for the food to start breaking down before you see ammonia levels rise (dont go adding tons of food).

 

[nvladik]

Awesome, just tested again today and evidently I need to keep feeding. I didn't think it would take this much food to raise the Ammonia, but I guess it does. I have heard of people buying pure Ammonia and adding. Any brands out there that work better than others? I heard that if you shake the bottle, no bubbles should be present. Correct?

The cheaper the ammonia is, the more likely it to be just plain pure ammonia. I think I paid under $2 for a litter bottle in ace hardware.

 

[jam.jo]

You can get ammonia chloride at dr foster smith here http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=24530 I recommend cycling with this versus fish food, then you don't have a bunch of fish food waste breaking down in your tank before adding fish. It will take 4-6 weeks to fully cycle if done properly. Are you using dry pukani rock? Dry rock leaches phosphates for a few months, so if you didn't cure it before putting it in the tank for a few months, I recommend not adding corals until phosphates consistently read 0-0.03 ppm and leaving lights off for a while to prevent any big algae issues. Normally you will have algae in the beginning, but dry rock adding phosphates makes the algae grow more and inhibits any coral growth. Once your tank is reading 0 ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates are 0 ppm then it is safe to add fish. Please note as you add fish, it puts more bioload onto the system, so keep watching the levels.

 

[oldpaddy]

the cheaper the ammonia is, the more likely it to be just plain pure ammonia. I think i paid under $2 for a litter bottle in ace hardware.

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