[hank]

My tank has been up for 16 days, 72g w/live rock & sand. I have been testing water since 2/28, Ammonia & Nitrite are at 0 and have been from 3/5. The Nitrate seems to vary between 10 and 20. Is that OK? I see life,Bristle worms, small snails and feather dusters but I have not added anything yet.
Hank in SoCal

[melancthon]

Sounds like you may be at the following part of leebca's FOWLR setup:

9. Life should be coming out of the live rock by this point, and hopefully pods and worms will be spreading around the aquarium. (Check at night, too). Start feeding that life. Add frozen fish foods to the aquarium (NOT pellets or flake) at a rate of about 0.5 gram every day or other day per 25 gallons of water. After no less than two weeks OR when readings indicate ammonia level is zero and nitrite levels are below 0.10 ppm and pH is being held steady go on to 10. Add additional pods and worms if you like, at this point.
10. Begin your water change pattern (10+% weekly, 25% every 2 weeks, or 40+% monthly are good choices). Put one or more sponge filters into the display tank (sump) for the quarantine process.
11. When all chemistries and parameters are stable and where they should be, now check alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium. Additions may be needed, but for the most part your water changes will probably keep these controlled unless the artificial salt or source water is a problem.
12. After any adjustments from 11, repeat the tests to make sure the concentrations are where they should be. WAIT 4 more weeks! Now start checking the phosphate concentration.

[leebca]

Thanks melancthon. At least someone's reading it.

hank,
Move on towards controlling parameters and add more benthic creatures (substrate creatures), and pods. Work with the aquarium for 4 weeks and then begin to add more cleanup crew (e.g., snails, worms, etc.). For now, make sure you begin adding organics to the system to not only feed those rock creatures, but to kick off the organic bacterial growth which may take a few more weeks to reach large numbers.