Cloudiness

[paultaylor]

Hi All,

Well after about 6 months I finaly have an aquarium with sea salt and I washed and inserted the sand last night.

The tank is still very cloudy though and I wondered if this is normal ?

I've taken some photos if you want to check it out :
http://chapelle.netculture.net/aquarium/Sand_only_1.jpg
http://chapelle.netculture.net/aquarium/Sand_only_2.jpg
http://chapelle.netculture.net/aquarium/Sand_only_3.jpg

Paul

 

[ufans]

Very normal... Just needs to settle out. It happens from both the sand and the salt. Most of it is calcium.

It really doesn't look that bad and you can start cycling the tank with live rock now. I know it is a large up-front expense but try to get everything at once because adding it later is a hassle to you and your fish/corals/inverts, etc.

Looks like you have been planning this for a while... Nice setup. Keep us up to date as things progress.

 

[paultaylor]

It really doesn't look that bad and you can start cycling the tank with live rock now. I know it is a large up-front expense but try to get everything at once because adding it later is a hassle to you and your fish/corals/inverts, etc.

Looks like you have been planning this for a while... Nice setup. Keep us up to date as things progress.

Yup seems like an age.

Well the live rock arrived today. Again being a beginner I'm not too sure what to look for on the rock but it seems not too bad :

http://chapelle.netculture.net/aquarium/live_rock_1.jpg
http://chapelle.netculture.net/aquarium/live_rock_2.jpg
http://chapelle.netculture.net/aquarium/live_rock_3.jpg

They don't use the term cured and uncured in France. I understand that the rock came from Indonesia (written all over the boxes) and then was conditioned in France (newspaper inside) so I presume it must be cured.

What are the main tests to do and how aften do I need to do them during cycling ?

Paul

 

[ufans]

There really isn't anything that is truely cured unless it was cured in your tank. Transporation (even short ones) will cause decay and will require some amount of curing.

During the curing process you should be testing Ammonia, N02 and N03. Once you see NO3 near zero then you can start adding other inhabitants. I recommend starting with some crabs, snails, and shrimp. Also, before you add them make sure you are testing PH and of course Temp and Salinity.

The other tests such as Calcium, ALK, OPR, etc can be postponed until you get into corals.

PO4 is also a good test if you have algae problems. Especially if you aren't using RO/DI water.

 

[paultaylor]

During the curing process you should be testing Ammonia, N02 and N03. Once you see NO3 near zero then you can start adding other inhabitants. I recommend starting with some crabs, snails, and shrimp. Also, before you add them make sure you are testing PH and of course Temp and Salinity.

The other tests such as Calcium, ALK, OPR, etc can be postponed until you get into corals.

PO4 is also a good test if you have algae problems. Especially if you aren't using RO/DI water.

I think I read somewhere that the rates stay low then suddenly increase and then eventualy reduce again, is this true ? What is the minimum time that the tank will now need before adding the crabs and snails ?

Paul

 

[ufans]

You typically need to wait between 2 to 4 weeks before adding snails and crabs.... and a couple more weeks before any fish are added.

The time it takes the levels to begin to rise totally depends on how much dieing stuff you have in there. If you are adding live rock during the curing process then the rock decay will kick-start the process. If the tank is totally empty other than sand then the process might take a while to start. You need some "wastes" to start the N-cycle.