got a test kit last night

[sponger0]

so i decided i need a test kit so i can just do my tests at home so I dont have to go to a LFS.

so here are my parms:
ph 8.2
nitrate 0 ppm
nitrite 0 ppm
amonnia 0 ppm

i have had it cycling for two weeks with a HOB filter and my skimmer running which is pulling very minimal stuff out.

i had bought cultured sand locally that the guy has running in a big bin and some live rock. im planning on picking up more live rock today.

but i was wondering am i safe to add fish? everything seems to look good. and i had some brown stuff forming on the sand but now its starting to clear up to where its almost gone.

currently i have creatures that came with the sand and rock. i have 2 snails, 2 sand sifter crabs, and now a brittle sea star. just wondering if im good to add fish

oh yeah its a 29 gallon

[BCreefmaker]

what condition and how much LR are you planning to add? this could start your cycle all over again.

[MrHarvard]

+1 on the new rock starting a new cycle. Where did you get the first rock you added to your tank? Was it cured? You may not have had much of a cycle at all if the rock was cured or it may not have even started yet! I noticed that your nitrates were 0 as well this is not normal for such a new tank. The brown stuff in your sand was an algae bloom and you have to be careful because when you have a bloom it will give you a false nitrate reading because it will actualy feed on the nitrates in your water and you will have 0 untill the bloom dies off then they will shoot up on you. I did the same as you and got cured rock and sand from an established tank and didnt see much of a cycle and I added fish and corals my first week. I posted picks of my tank at 5 weeks stocked and got alot of flack for it. I was told several differnet opinions (all mixed) about not cycleing a tank for at least 2 months without adding livestock. You have to kind of make a decesion for your self on starting your tank and stocking it. What works for one person may not work for the next. Here is a link to my tank at 5 weeks. You can read what other reefers had to say about stocking a tank early. I can tell you for me I had no problems I didnt lose fish or coral and my tank has been up for over 4 months now and everthing has done very well for me and my corals are growing like crazy. Like I said this JMO...Here is the link:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1647969

[sponger0]

read your thread mrharvard...very interesting to say the least. so how long has the tank been running now and hows it going? any losses?

[MrHarvard]

I have had it up over 4 months now and I have had only one loss. I lost a fish 4 days after I got him. I honestly believe he was sick when I purchased him! Other than that everything you see in those picks has done very well and I have added several other things with no losses. Here are the lastes pics I have. As you can see from the picks I have rearranged somethings.Here ya go.....

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1676714