Cycling tank

[jonanaz]

5 minutes ago, Azil.HA said:

You can read it both ways. Perpendicular to the chart have to divide the reading by 10. From the top you can take as it is. 

Yes yes. Cycle started. I'm on the same boat as you. Nitrates just shy 50ppm. 

Ahh right! Thank you so much for your comment!! I didn't even know that I was reading it wrongly! Are you cycling your tank during this period too?:)

[Azil.HA]

Yes bro. Been 3 weeks. Tank been cloudy for a week now. Should be algae bloom. Just started running the skimmer 

[R0B]

Thank you for the assurance! But it looks like I've been reading it wrongly for the whole time! I'll need to test it again and read it correctly this time

Hahaha. Now I feel mine must have been really high. Lol. Don't worry I have done that a couple of times forgetting which ones you read from the side and which ones you should read top down. I started writing tiny notes on the inside of the lid (of the test boxes) to remind me.

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[jonanaz]

10 minutes ago, Azil.HA said:

Yes bro. Been 3 weeks. Tank been cloudy for a week now. Should be algae bloom. Just started running the skimmer 

Mine was cloudy for a few days when I added in the beneficial bacteria too! All the best!! May I ask which skimmer you are using? I'm considering whether I should get one after my cycle has ended:)

 

[jonanaz]

Hahaha. Now I feel mine must have been really high. Lol. Don't worry I have done that a couple of times forgetting which ones you read from the side and which ones you should read top down. I started writing tiny notes on the inside of the lid (of the test boxes) to remind me.

 

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That's actually a really good idea! I think I should probably do that too HAHA. Learnt my lesson to read the instructions properly!

 

 

[jonanaz]

Tested the water again using the correct method today nitrates are around maybe 10-25ppm! Just to clarify, Is it possible to just test nitrates to know if my tank has cycled?

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[soggycookies]

Tested the water again using the correct method today nitrates are around maybe 10-25ppm! Just to clarify, Is it possible to just test nitrates to know if my tank has cycled?

 

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that’s great, less to worry about compared to 100ppm hahahah. ime typically once you read nitrates your tank should be cycled. but of course the safest is to test 0 for both ammonia and nitrite with a visible nitrate reading

 

 

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[jonanaz]

that’s great, less to worry about compared to 100ppm hahahah. ime typically once you read nitrates your tank should be cycled. but of course the safest is to test 0 for both ammonia and nitrite with a visible nitrate reading
 
 
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Definitely less worrying I guess now the nitrates are slowly increasing but since it's still awhile before I can livestock, I guess the tank should be fully cycled by then

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[jonanaz]

Tested my nitrates again today and I realised a significant drop to about 10ppm! It was between 50 to 100ppm last week. I also read online that when nitrites spike, the nitrate readings on test kits will show an increase. So was what I was experiencing a NITRITE instead of NITRATE spike last week ?

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[SubzeroLT]

That's right. A bit of nitrite will show up as a lot of nitrate (a false reading of nitrates).

Exciting days ahead

 

[jonanaz]

That's right. A bit of nitrite will show up as a lot of nitrate (a false reading of nitrates).
Exciting days ahead
 

Thank you for the clarification! since I can't add any livestock for probably a month or more, should I wait till nitrates hit around 40ppm to do my first water change ? And should I add in chemical filtration like carbon or GFO after the first water change ? Thank you

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[SubzeroLT]

Water change is simply to reduce the nitrate/phosphate levels proportionally to the amount of water changed. Do a water change several days before adding live stock if needed.

Since there is plenty of time, just leave it & let the nitrate/phosphate be utilized by the bacteria as their population grows. 

 

The need for chemical filtration really depends on the individual set up (eg. feeding habits, livestock, use of macro algae etc). In most cases, GFO is needed to reduce phosphate levels. Best used with a reactor so that the flow rate can be tuned. 

 

There are many schools of thought about using activated carbon. Some believe it adsorbs the some trace elements resulting in an unbalanced situation in the long run. They keep some handy for emergency use. But not used on a regular basis.

 

 

 

 

[jonanaz]

Water change is simply to reduce the nitrate/phosphate levels proportionally to the amount of water changed. Do a water change several days before adding live stock if needed.
Since there is plenty of time, just leave it & let the nitrate/phosphate be utilized by the bacteria as their population grows. 
 
The need for chemical filtration really depends on the individual set up (eg. feeding habits, livestock, use of macro algae etc). In most cases, GFO is needed to reduce phosphate levels. Best used with a reactor so that the flow rate can be tuned. 
 
There are many schools of thought about using activated carbon. Some believe it adsorbs the some trace elements resulting in an unbalanced situation in the long run. They keep some handy for emergency use. But not used on a regular basis.
 
 
 
 

Thanks for the really detailed explanation is it therefore advisable to hold back on the GFO till there is a need for it based on the testing of water chemistry ?

I considered using macroalgae, but given that my tank only has an internal sump compartment, I wasn't sure if the small quantity of macroalgae would help with the nutrients export:( I was also concerned with the potential pests that may come with it. Is there a way to eradicate pests from the macroalgae?

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