rain February 6, 2015 Share February 6, 2015 Hi everyone. I have a new Coralife 29 biocube. It's been up for a few weeks now cycling with live rock and sand from another larger tank. I'm new to this hobby and am a bit stuck now. I am at 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites but nitrates are high. I already had the big algae bloom too. I did a decent size water change and nitrates went down but now are creeping back up. What should be my next steps? Am I just waiting for nitrates to come down to 0. I appreciate the help!! Also I have the intank media basket with chemi pure elite and purigen. No protein skimmer or fuge yet. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime February 6, 2015 Share February 6, 2015 You don't have to worry about the nitrates to much. What are they at? Do water changes to bring it down, but don't stress out over them. It sounds like your cycle is over, you should have seem nitrite, ammonia, then 0 on both of the prior while seeing nitrates, which is what you're at now. You can wait a little bit longer to make sure, but whatever you do, just stock slowly to increase your bioload. You're not going to be throwing a whole bunch into 29 gallons, so take it easy at first! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rain February 6, 2015 Author Share February 6, 2015 Oh ok... I did get the ammonia spike, then the nitrite spike, and now nitrates. I got nitrates down to around 40 but can't seem to get them any lower so far. I definitely want to go slow. I don't have anything yet. So maybe I could start with a clean up crew? My first fish I'm interested in would be a young pair of the basic ocellaris clowns. Recommendations on what to do first? Thank you!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime February 6, 2015 Share February 6, 2015 Oh ok... I did get the ammonia spike, then the nitrite spike, and now nitrates. I got nitrates down to around 40 but can't seem to get them any lower so far. I definitely want to go slow. I don't have anything yet. So maybe I could start with a clean up crew? My first fish I'm interested in would be a young pair of the basic ocellaris clowns. Recommendations on what to do first? Thank you!! Get your nitrates down with water changes. Do a 25% water change and add a clean up crew. Snails and hermits, or whatever you're going to use will be cheaper than losing the clowns. Keep an eye on it, test, make sure you've got no nitrites and no ammonia, then add your clowns! When I first setup my 14 gallon bc, I watched my clean up crew for weeks before I added stuff, and that was super fun in it's own right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rain February 6, 2015 Author Share February 6, 2015 Awesome! We will be excited to see something in there and yes, I'd rather wait for the clowns to be sure they are safe. Thank you very much!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime February 6, 2015 Share February 6, 2015 Awesome! We will be excited to see something in there and yes, I'd rather wait for the clowns to be sure they are safe. Thank you very much!! No problem. Here is a picture that will help illustrate the nitrogen cycle. While it pictures a fish that probably shouldn't be kept in captivity, and is fairly vague, it gets the point across. When you start the cycle, you obviously used something other than fish waste, usually a dead shrimp, or folks will ghost feed a few pellets to start the organic waste. Export doesn't have to be solely water changes. A lot of hobbyist use more than one waste export, like chaeato & water changes, or GFO and water changes. Look forward to seeing some pictures of your build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rain February 6, 2015 Author Share February 6, 2015 Thanks for sharing!!! Yes I will post some pics. This process is a lot of fun and it's so interesting to learn so much in a new hobby. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rain February 7, 2015 Author Share February 7, 2015 Here is the tank so far :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime February 10, 2015 Share February 10, 2015 Looks nice, you're off to a good start Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FindNem0 February 22, 2016 Share February 22, 2016 I would invest in a Tunze skimmer, also a smart ATO. What kind of water testing kit do you have? I'd go with the Red Sea or salifert. It's the most accurate. API is garbage. I just switched over to Aquaforest Salt and new ocean revive T-247 LED. My corals are blooming!!!!!!! Key to keeping a good tank is alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium. Those are the three major things you need to be testing. You have a small tank so the nitrates will always be there. Also you need to use RODI water, if not you're wasting your time and your money. Key investments are skimmer, RODI, auto top off, and test kit. Also a good wavemaker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rain February 22, 2016 Author Share February 22, 2016 Thanks! This thread was from a year ago so I'm set now. My tank is doing great thankfully. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missjdub February 22, 2016 Share February 22, 2016 Good luck on your cube! I too have a biocube and am learning as I go. A huge mistake I made was with a refractometer. My boyfriend is a homebrewer and I used his refractometer to measure my salinity. However, it wasn't calibrated to measure saltwater. My target being 1.024-1.025 and it actually being about .35 ppm over. Best investment for me, my own refractometer with calibration fluid and an ATO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rain February 28, 2016 Author Share February 28, 2016 Good luck on your cube! I too have a biocube and am learning as I go. A huge mistake I made was with a refractometer. My boyfriend is a homebrewer and I used his refractometer to measure my salinity. However, it wasn't calibrated to measure saltwater. My target being 1.024-1.025 and it actually being about .35 ppm over. Best investment for me, my own refractometer with calibration fluid and an ATO. [/size] Thanks! I've actually now had my tank up over a year and it's doing great. Love the hobby! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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