How often should I test? Has my tank cycled?

[stevil]

Some questions:

How often should I test my water to catch my spike?

Based on the data below, could I have missed the spike?

Should I be "feeding the tank"? I have some polyps and 3 small mushrooms, maybe a turbo snail or two and some tiny starfish... and some freaking aptasia that I'm injecting w/ vinegar .

 

Here's a brief history of my 90 gallon tank:

11/20 Added 50lbs of cured live rock from an established tank

11/21 Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0

11/25 Added 80 lbs of cured live rock from an established tank

11/28 Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0

12/3 Added several buckets of live sand from an established tank

12/11 Ammonia .2, Nitrite, .2, Nitrate 10

12/12 Just tested Ammonia, got reading of 0, but I may have messed the test up

12/13 Ammonia .2, Nitrite, .2, Nitrate 10

12/14 Ammonia 0, didn't test Nitrite, Nitrate 10

 

Since 11/25 I've had average, stable readings of Temp at 80, SG at 1.023, and pH of 8.03.

 

I plan as a next step to add a cleaner crew (something similar to one or both of the 100 gal packages here), but would also like some recommendations. Would it be OK to do that? I'll be out of town for Christmas for 5 days.

[davelin315]

Your tank probably had a very small spike since you used stuff that had already cycled. The small spikes you saw were most likely due to the fact that when adding old sand, it is full of detritus that is released into the water column when you pour it in. This probably caused the tiny ammonia and nitrite spike, and hence, the nitrate spike as well. My guess is that your tank is cycled already if ammonia has gone down to zero again. I would go ahead and introduce the clean up crew and monitor the water for ammonia and nitrite. I just set up a tank with recycled live rock and sand and it took about a week or two to make it through a mini spike, and then I left it again for another week to make sure it wasn't going through another one. It's now fine and houses fish and corals. The reason for the initial spike itself was because of the detritus that was released into the system by pouring in old sand and also because of the fact that there will inevitably be some die off no matter how well you maintain it before it gets into your tank. Any time spent in a bucket and any turning over of an established sand bed will normally result in some die off.

[davelin315]

Oh, yeah, if that's supposed to be 8.3 you're good on pH, but if it's 8.03 (my guess is it's a type because that's an awfully precise reading) then you need to bring up the pH.

[Caribbean Jake]

regardless if it already cycled, you want to keep testing at least once a month to ensure all parameters are in balance even after adding livestock. It is a preventive approach, and will help down the road.

[ErikS]

I'd wait until after Xmas - reduces the chance of UPS messing up the delivery (they're busy).

 

I'd say you're 90% cycled, by Xmas you should see 0 Amonia & Nitrites, Nitrates require water changes to lower.

 

Once it's completely cycled you won't really need to check Ammonia & Nitrites (unless you add a mass of livestock @ one time, snails don't count )

 

I test -

 

SG, ALK, & PH at least weekly

 

NO3 (nitrates), CA, Mg, and PO4 monthly

 

PH is constantly monitored so everytime I'm near the sump I see that, IMHO it's the most critical test - it's the canary in the coal mine (also livestock, corals especially are usually the earliest victims)

[Lee Stearns]

Just a note- I would not nessesarily add either of the full 100 gallon packages of reef cleaners to the tank- Your tank is so new that there really will be little for them to go after- I would put some red legs (like two) and some nasariths(10) and maybe a couple of cerith snails (4-5)- There will just not be a lot for them to feed on for a while- Expect a brown algea -Diatom bloom followed by a cyno bacteria bloom red algea followed a few weeks later by a green algea bloom as your tank really gets into a more stable state. These critters will eat a bit of each of the algea blooms- but the algea in my opinion just needs to take its course to burn up the major nutrients it feeds on. Once at the green algea stage, critters and very limited feedings of your live stock are the key to balancing out how much is grown and what it will take to keepo it in check.

[Guest alex wlazlak]

ive gotta add, always try to keep your nitrates at a low. mine are sky high and always have been, youve GOT TO do water changes. ive only began doing tiny ones a few weeks ago and my tests are taking slower to turn red, but they are still bright red after the 5 minute waiting time, but i can definitly tell that the nitrates are going down. also, you shouldnt be worried about smaller spikes like that. everything should be okay when the spikes are as small as you said. nitrates are always going to come and they'll only build up over time.