Week 1 Status

[reefgreenhorn]

My 46 Gal. Seaclear II is running with 40Lbls of Live Sand and 40Lbs of LR.

Did my first tests and Here is what i think I have so far:

PH is about 8.0
The Sand is a natural buffer. Am I correct in that It will help keep my PH correct?

Alk is about 5.0

Nitrites are 25 or more - This is normal in a 1 week old tank begining to Cycle correct?

I did not bother with amonia yet as I don't have any critters in the tank yet.

Do I perform water changes during the cycle. I was planning on a 25% Water change in 3 Weeks.

Test Kit question as well. What are the quick and easy to read versions on the market? Do the Strip tests work?

Thanks

 

[WannaBeReefer]

Your LR has plenty of critters that you'll probably want to keep.

Amonnia is the first phase in your cycle and you should always check for that, it is very toxic, more so than Nitrites. It is normal for these to peak in the beginning of your cycle, don't let them get to high or you will run the risk of killing off the neat stuff on the LR.

Depending on what type of sand you use , yes it will help buffer the PH, Aragonite is the best choice.

Can't help with the test kits because I have crap, I have the seachem kits and hate them, they give you this tiny little dish type thing and a tiny tiny stirrer. If you have fat fingers like me its impossible to work with. I liked the Red Sea kits until I heard here that they are some of the most inaccurate on the market.

 

[psiico]

Your substrate will help to buffer your pH, but you still need to test it. Don't worry too much having 8.0 right now, cycling is a slightly acidic process.

I don't know about the nitrites reading, the test kits I used didn't go over 10, but I did get readings that appeared off the scale.

Test your ammonia. The only way I'd do a water change is if it's high. Some will say don't do it because it could prolong your cycle but I'd rather preserve the life on the rock. Otherwise wait until the cycle has finished to do a water change, and then 50% rather then 25%.

A quick and easy test kit are the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals tests. They're a bit hard to read sometimes, the colors don't always match the color bars that well, and I'm not sure how accurate they are, but they are a reasonable price and are fast, 5 minutes each. For pH get a pH pen or probe, it'll pay for itself eventually in what you save on test kits, more accurate, too. The best test kits are probably Salifert, but pricey.

Just my two cents, I'm no expert.