Nothing Happening

[bch044]

Hello All,

I have started up my 30 almost 4 weeks ago.
It has about 18-20lbs of LR and 7-8lbs of LS from
Todd at Reef Sysytems in it and thats it.
I left the light off for the first 2 weeks. There are a couple of little white bugs/creatures in it that I see on the glass when I first turn on the light. Other than that the tank looks just fine but there has not been any outbreaks of anything and I don't have any test kits other than PH right now(xmas is comming is what the wife tells me). The ph is good and the salinity run 023-025.

Has this thing cycled even though there has not been any outbreaks?

Is it safe to start adding fish and other things to it or should i wait until after xmas for my test kits and go from there?

Thanks
Steve

[Misled]

You can't tell if it's cycled without testing for amonia, trates and trites. The ph doesn't help with this. Algea outbreaks can show up anytime within a year or so on a newly set up tank.


EDIT: I'd wait to stock the tank.

[stingythingy45]

You are cycling a tank without test kits to monitor it?
Whazzz up with that?

[Sk8r]

Possibly it has. You could use another 10 lbs of live rock. Hope what you have is porous. The appearance of copepods [your white bugs] indicates life is going on in there.
Take a jar of water down to the fish store and get them to test for ammonia/nitrate and salinity. Actually, you might spring for a bottle of test strips, Christmas coming or not: they're cheap, and essential: I assure you you will use them up.
YOU will need your cleaning crew: you ought to do a 10% water change, but with no refractometer to test the salinity that is a crap shoot: I'd omit that. Get yourself about 30 critters: I'd recommend a wide range of snails and about 10 micro-hermits, concentrating on scarlets. Nothing bigger. If they survive, and I think they will, you'll be safe to set up a quarantine tank with that 3 g of water you need to pull off to do a water change---drat, you need that refractometer! [bare tank with corner carbon/floss filter, air-driven, and heater] and start your fish's quarantine stay. You don't have to quarantine inverts like snails, but MUST be sure the salinity matches between store water and your water to within .001, or they will be injured, possibly fatally. Get them to tell you what their salinity is before you leave the store. YOu'll know yours from having had them test your water. Figure how much water to drip from your tank to their bag to match up salinity within .001. And then lift them with your bare hand from bag to tank. The less exposure of your tank to bag water the better, and best if you could set up an intermediate saline 'bath' to be sure they wash off any parasite that might be riding in their water.
I trust when you say salinity of 023 you mean 1.023. THe safety zone is 1.024-1.026.
One thing the wife can get you is an autotopoff and a ro/di unit. The autotopoff kit [autotopoff.com] is basic, just a float switch that turns on a pump to jet a teaspoon or so of fresh water into your tank/sump to keep that salinity stable. Ro/di, of course, is the water you're supposed to use to prevent [or at least help prevent] algae outbreaks.
If your tank is pretty sparse in algae, you may have to add a micro bit of fish food for your inverts, but even without algae you need them in there, to keep a healthy balance. If you don't have any bristleworms, talk the store out of a couple to go with your snails: don't touch them with your bare hands---they sting; but they're the best cleaners.

HTH.

[bch044]

Thanks for the replys.