just a few questions???????

my tank has been running for 15 days
i put some prawns in there to cycle it.
i have been checking the test results everyday.
there was an ammonia spike lasted just over 1 week then it went.
its a 40 gallon with 20kgs of fully cured live rock and 40lbs of live sand.

now my test results are
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 5.0
sg 1.023


also i have been checking my ph are here are my results throughout the day.
8:30 am ph = 8.0

10:30 am ph = 8.0

12:30 am ph = 8.2

5:30 pm ph = 8.2

10:30 pm ph = 8.1
are these ph results ok?

so shall i go ahead and add 2 clowns next week or shall i wait?????

 

That is fine, PH will fluctuate throughout the day and those reading are nothing to be concerned about. Get the clowns!!

 

yay for crystal!!! go ahead and get the clowns...and maybe a few chromis why ur at it

 

Or not I would only add one fish to a cycling tank. Once the tank has completed its cycle then I would think about adding more. That being said, I think that you should wait for your nitrates to drop a bit more before adding fish.

 

well im just gonna get 2 clowns for now then see how it goes after a months time i will be getting them in 2 days time so will post pics

keep your fingers crossed for me

 

You mention "some" prawns...I would think that "a" prawn would have been sufficient for your tank...out of curiousity...just how many did you put in there? Our tank is a 60g with 60lbs LR and 40lbs sand...and we just cycled with our "cured" LR (since it's always going to have some die-off).

Your params look good to me...though you might want to raise the sg a tad (~1.025) if you're going the reef route...if FO/FOWLR then it's fine where you have it. As for the pH, it looks alright too...it's not worth getting concerned over during the cycle and it does take a little time to stabilize shortly thereafter.

As for us, besides our LR and CUC...we just added our first fish a week ago...and our tank is ~2 months old. The little one (royal gramma basslet) is doing great. I'd say take your time and go slow if you can be that patient...but you're probably in the clear to add a hardy fish. I'll let others chime in with more experience than myself about doing this.

 

well im going to be doing a 50% water change before i add anything which will lower the nitrates anyway.

 

That will only lower the nitrates temporarily. You will not speed up the cycle by changing water. Once you add fish, your ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels are going to rise and fall again anyhow. Just let the cycle run its course before you start changing water.

 

i added 2 medium sized prawns

im only going to keep a fowlr tank not reef

will be getting the 2 clowns on saturday so sunday i will give an update on how they are doing.

 

so me putting prawns in there did nothing then?
if you saying it still needs to cycle?