new member - tank cycling

[Red Eyed Reefer]

Hey everyone,

I already started a thread on my tank:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2394875

But thought I'd put my questions here so that they didn't get lost in lengthy posts.

My tank has been cycling for 28 days, kicked it off with frozen shrimp and a bottle of bio-spira since I was using mostly base rock (I know this is redundant and just introduces more bacteria colonies to the water).

Saw a small peak in ammonia, then nitrites were off the chart (the Marine API test kit chart that is), slowly came down and hit a period of 0/0/0 for NH3/NO3/NO4 respectively.

Moved some rocks around since I added some new pieces and after kicking up a little sand, NO3/NO4 were back up and present.

NO3 at around 1-2 ppm
NO4 at around 20 ppm

Not sure what to do, this is my first saltwater tank, I added 3 snails after the levels were at 0 for a while but now I am concerned about them surviving as the tank is clearly quite still unstable. Also will the live rock in there provide enough food for them? I have been "feeding" the tank with flakes to keep the bacteria alive..

Will get current water params after work today.

Thoughts? Suggestions? All/any are welcome..

Thanks! :beer:

[ThisGuy12]

Snails are very hardy creatures. They should be fine. Keep monitoring the water levels and do visual inspections of your tank daily, I wouldn't stir up the sand if I were you, leave it be. If I were you I would help the process and put in a piece of raw shrimp for a few days to decay and help the bio filters establish further.

You should purchase a couple pieces of live rock, it'll help provide a food source for the snails while helping with the water quality.

What are you using for filtration? Do you have a protein skimmer? If the snails die it's not the end of the world they also help with the cycle.

[Red Eyed Reefer]

Thanks ThisGuy!

I have two pieces of nice purple live rock, loaded with small fan worms, and some jelly like strand things?

I didn't intend to disrupt the sandbed, thankfully this wasn't an old established rotting sandbed of filth that wiped out my entire stocked tank...:thumbsup:

For a skimmer I have a Reef Octo BH-1000 HOB

And as far as the snails, I had the same thought that if they die they will just contribute to the cycle.. I just didn't want to catch a harsh rep as an animal abuser by stating it :rollface:

But if they are as hardy as you say I should be okay, I think my cycle is going good enough - I just fluffed up with the sand.

Wouldn't adding the raw shrimp now potentially expose the snails to high ammonia levels? Or will the bio-filters take care of this before any damage is done?

I suppose that answer depends on how large of a bio-filter is currently established...?

[Sgt Jonny Cat]

Hi, I am a rookie to this hobby, would it make sense for you ro remove the snails for a day and dose your tanlk with pure amonia? Before I added any live stock to my tank, I tested the cycle by dosing with pure amonia up to 2-3 ppm. It was down to 0 in 24 hours, and the diatom plume showed up telling me my tank had cycled...I hope this helps, again I'm very new so good luck

[ThisGuy12]

^ With live rock that has already been cycled at your LFS you probably won't see such an ammonia spike, I know with my tank I was lucky to only see 0.2ppm of ammonia. It just means the bio filter is working properly.

[gone fishin]

I would not sweat it. You most likely upset a delicate balance when you added some more rock.

It takes quite awhile for the a tank to mature and be able to absorb some upsets.

I would just carry on and maybe do a WC.

[Red Eyed Reefer]

Just to update everyone,

I did a 5% water change..

I checked water parameters everyday since this little spike..

NH3 and NO3 are back down to 0
NO4 0/10ppm (need to get those salifert test kits that are easy to read)

I went and picked up a pair of ocellaris clowns yesterday at my LFS :bounce3:

[ThisGuy12]

Did you put the clowns into your QT?

I wouldn't add anything to a display tank not running a bio-filter (sump) for at least 6-8 weeks from startup to ensure the ammonia/nitrites/nitrates are down and levelled out. How is it looking? Any diatoms? How many cleanup crew members do you have now?

Personally I would do a 20% water change if I were you to get that in check.

How are your calc/mag/ph/alk levels? These will all need to be within acceptable range before livestock (fish, corals) go in.

[Red Eyed Reefer]

Probably easier for you to just follow the link above to answer the rest of your questions.