Tank parameters

[Gaxmode]

Have had my 90 gallon tank running for about a week now. Used ro/di at 1.024. 60 lbs Live sand and 60 lbs of Pukani/20 pounds of live rock. Chaeto in fuge, gfo/carbon reactor installed yesterday. Have been running skimmer 24/7 and lights for 12 hours (24 hours in fuge). Ghost feeding everyday and tiny pieces of shrimp (to try to catch gorilla crab)

Tested at the 5 day mark:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 1.5
Nitrate: 25
PH: 8.0
Phosphorus: .25
Temp: 77.5-78

How is everything looking? At which nitrate level should I do a water change?

 

[CStrickland]

I'd wait til nitrites zero out. Then do a large change to get rid of a good amount of nitrates. Your cycle looks fine, assuming your ammonia spiked and then came down. You may need to be fairly aggressive with the gfo for a while, Pukani rock can carry a lot of phosphate. Is that a typo or are you using a phosphorus test?

 

[Gaxmode]

oops I meant phosphate because of the Pukani rock, thanks for pointing that out.

 

[mcgyvr]

3 more weeks... Don't rush..
(I always recommend no less than 4 weeks).. Heck I don't even waste money on nitrate/nitrite/ammonia tests anymore.. 1 month.. good to go..

and turn the display tank lights off.. no need to promote algae growth.. and no need to run them 24 hours over the cheato either.. you can just run it at an opposite schedule as the display lights if to minimize the ph swing

 

[Gaxmode]

So I should be fine without a water change for the first month?

 

[mcgyvr]

Well yes.. you should do water changes to keep nitrates from getting too high..