Here is my 90 gal setup.

[Parrothead]

Ya I replaced it .
What a bitch going from store to store trying to match the right color.

The things we do for our reefs

[ChemGuy]

Test this morning showed NH3 going down?? This is not right is it ? after 5 days???
NO2 is maxed darker than my color chart goes.
Other things had a reddish colored rock change to green overnight.
No idea if this means anything.

[twisted]

ill take a crack at this but dont listen unless im confirmed by someone else. red to green..algae outbreak? nh3 dropping...due to outbreak?

[ChemGuy]

This mornings test:
NH3 = 0, NO2 yesterday was so dark it was off my color chart >100 mg/l today it came in between 1 and .5 mg/l , NO3 came in between 10 and 25 mg/l .
So i'm confused, it's only been 6 days these results looks like it's almost done the cycle. But I'm thinking that's not really possible in 6 days.
If someone could shed some light on this I would sleep better.
Thanks

[twisted]

This mornings test:
NH3 = 0, NO2 yesterday was so dark it was off my color chart >100 mg/l today it came in between 1 and .5 mg/l , NO3 came in between 10 and 25 mg/l .
So i'm confused, it's only been 6 days these results looks like it's almost done the cycle. But I'm thinking that's not really possible in 6 days.
If someone could shed some light on this I would sleep better.
Thanks

you are definitly not done your cycle, regardless of the tests. i do know that through the process the tank takes dramatic swings. sometimes it can be the testing...i have times that i test three times and get different results when i firts started. there are actually algae outbreaks that kinda mark which stage of the cycle you are in. as in diatoms,hair,cyano........i cant put them in the right order but i think in the sticky there is a breakdown of the tank cycle process. if i find it ill post it here

[Parrothead]

Hang in there Dude, you ain't cycled, patience wins the race.

[Chasman]

ChemGuy

I had a similar experience with my tank, although it is much smaller. After a week all my basic tests were at zero. Like me, you have a lot of nice live rock that was probably pretty well cured when you put it in your tank. Charlie, on the forum here, said that with high quality rock sometimes that will happen. But he also said to wait it out until things started to look a bit more aged. So I did. After about 4 weeks algae was starting to form, micro pods were everywhere, and the tank had that distinct smell that a healthy tank should have. (I learned the old sniff test from years ago when I had FO tanks) After the 4 weeks I put in a small clean up crew (I don't have a DSB in the DT) and let that perk for a few more and everything seems to be going well so far. I started my tank up in early October. Enjoy your rock watching for a bit longer.

Chasman

[Parrothead]

Good call Chas

ChemGuy, thats what I wanted to check up on was your source for the rock, Since it shipped out of MO, I'd have to say it was vat kept, Cured basically, and that the spike you experienced was partially do to the shipping snafu, I would wait a month before adding cuc, and check your water once or twice week just to be sure, start putting together an idea list of livestock and start scoping out what will go well together and what won'f

[ChemGuy]

Ok thanks very much folks.
I will keep posting if weird things happen
Or when I need some more help.
That won't happen till well .... tomorrow or so hehe.
Seriously I appreciate everyone's input.
Lots of stuff to think about still.

[ChemGuy]

It seems I have a breakout of brown algae .
Hoping this is normal.

[twisted]

sounds like diatoms...yep, its normal

[Parrothead]

+1 twisty

Hang in there, diatoms come with the program, week or so down the road, clean up crew,

Check out the guys at reeftopia, high marks, start getting your cuc thoughts on paper and get in touch with them, let them know what you have and they'll help you out

[ChemGuy]

Ok More question:

1. Cleanup Crew I'm thinking 3-4 diff kinds of snails , unsure about crabs. No idea as to how many.
Most online packages have 100 critters+ with lots of crabs. Not sure that's what I need at this point.
How many would you suggest??

2. Could someone point me to a good article about corals? What is the diff between soft and hard etc.
What sort of corals would my 6 bulb T5 lights support?

3. My skimmer still running very wet and lots of bubbles good/bad??

4. All my water test look fine at the moment, should I be planning or doing partial water changes at this
point?

Thanks

[Deathsmile]

Looks real good man. Very nice rock, makes me jealous lookin at mine

[blennydude]

Chemguy, I would say if your not reading any nitrites, or amonia anymore that you could do a water change and add some snails. They don't have a lot to feed on now so don't overdue it. I would wait on crabs for now even if you decide to get them. I wait til I have a couple fish. You could start w/ a few turbos, margaritas, and astreas. Important, acclimate snails for at least an hour! Don't make the same mistake I did when I started. I drape the bag over the edge of the tank into the water and hold the bag to the top edge w/ a clip so it dosen't sink. I add more tank water about every 15 min then after an hour set them on rocks. I used to just toss them in and most turbos would die after about a week til I read that they should be acclimated. Since then, none have died.

[Parrothead]

+1 Blennydude,

As for the skimmer, if you want to dry it out a bit, raise the collection cup up a bit more with the o-ring, I run mine wet, seems to pull out more goo

[zhenya]

This mornings test:
NH3 = 0, NO2 yesterday was so dark it was off my color chart >100 mg/l today it came in between 1 and .5 mg/l , NO3 came in between 10 and 25 mg/l .
So i'm confused, it's only been 6 days these results looks like it's almost done the cycle. But I'm thinking that's not really possible in 6 days.
If someone could shed some light on this I would sleep better.
Thanks

Hi Chemguy,

Was your live rock raw or somewhat cycled? Did you clean it really good before placement into the tank?
Your test results definitely indicate that your cycling process is almost at the end. Now why that is would be another question.
When I started my 75 gallon tank in 03 I used all live sand and completely cycled rock, about 30lbs of it, I had no cycle at all... I then added another 70lbs of fully cycled rock and had no cycling events whatsoever. I waited one week just in case and transfered animals from my 110g to save their lives from advancing BTA anemones.

Anyway, wait one or two weeks and do a 20% water exchange.Then do your tests again to see if your ammonia and nitrites are at zero ( or a simple trace due to test kits error{noise}). NItrates could be anywhere from 5-10ppm depending on the filtration method used/test kit errors.

And now disclaimer... I have not read your entire thread, so if I missed something about your set up I apologize.

[zhenya]

Ok More question:

1. Cleanup Crew I'm thinking 3-4 diff kinds of snails , unsure about crabs. No idea as to how many.
Most online packages have 100 critters+ with lots of crabs. Not sure that's what I need at this point.
How many would you suggest??

If you have deep sand bed I would get about 5 Nassarius vibex and 5 Cerith spp. snails for it. Try avoiding placing too many hermit crabs in the tank, if you absolutely must have them then 4-5 scarlet variety would be more than enough. I usually get my clean up crew members from LFS just because online vendors try to push too many on you. If your local stores do not have any then I would look somewhere online that sell individual animals not packages.

2. Could someone point me to a good article about corals? What is the diff between soft and hard etc.
What sort of corals would my 6 bulb T5 lights support?

What type of articles exactly are interested about? Lighting, coral biology?
The difference between soft and hard corals (aside from abvious physical appearance) is that soft coral lack skeleton and instead have sclerites in their tissue.
Anyway, I would recommend aquiring a book by Eric Borneman called Aquarium Corals, for more information about corals and their husbandry.
As far as your particular lighting is concern, it is capable of supporting just about any hard or soft coral you desire. Having said that, there is more to keeping corals then just lighting, I am sure you are aware of that. ;)
Let me know about the articals you are interested in and I post some for you, I have zillions of them.

3. My skimmer still running very wet and lots of bubbles good/bad??

Wet or dry is your preference, wet seems to alow for more nutrien removal but then again you loose some more water and need good top off system in place to keep things constant.

4. All my water test look fine at the moment, should I be planning or doing partial water changes at this
point?

Yes, I personlly think it is a good idea to develop cetain schedule from the start, that includes water changes, tests, cleaning and such. It helps to keep things running constant and inhabitants seem to get used to this better.
I usually do monthly 20% exchanges but you can do smaller weekly changes and achieve the same results. Some people change smaller portions daily, especially people who has things set up for it to do this automatically.

[ChemGuy]

Thanks for the book info . I looked it up and ordered it looks like just what I need.
I pretty much am clueless on corals .
Decided to do a water change 10% or so will keep an eye on the water parameters and get some snails in a week or so.
Water looks perfect today.
Thanks

[ChemGuy]

This morning I noticed some green algae and some green hair like stuff. So I did a search on it and got a bunch of horror stories about green hair algae.
Tested the water for PO4 = 0 and NO3 was 50mg/l <=== bad I think.
Started water changes and will keep track of NO3.
Thinking I should order some snails sooner rather than later.
Anything else I can do?

Thanks