New tank water testing: When is it ready?

I have a new 24g nano, LR, LS, up for 2 weeks. No critters yet.

Salinity/SG = 1.025
Ammonia = 0
Nitrates = 0
Phosphates = 0
Calcium = 440 ppm
KH = 8 dKH/143 ppm
pH= 8.4
temp = 77-78 degrees

Am I missing something I need to test? Mg? Is it time to introduce inverts? I have a small amount of brown algae that is disappearing.

Would love to know if I can proceed or if I still need to wait.

Thanks!!

 

I'd start with 1 small fish like a damsel and keep testing once a week

 

Or start adding a couple critters and a very small amount of food for them to feed on. I added some hermits and snails a month after i started up my first tank.

 

Wondering if you have even started the cycle process yet? if its all new then I would guess it hasn't. Some use cut up shrimp to start it off...some use a Damsel as they the most likely to survive the cycle. All you need is some bacteria to start'er up and git'er going...then the fun begns !! let the rollercoaster ride begin! I loved it !

I spent countless hours reading the forums .....and still do...so much information on this site !! but I learned that I do all the reading I can BEFORE i do anything now ....can't tell you how much time and money it has saved me !! especially with a nano, as your parameters will be even trickier with less water to moniter.

read read read !!

 

Not knowing your history on this...

Two weeks only? Did you ever register a cycle? Did you ever see Ammonia and Nitrites go up? Or have they been 0 all along? A bit concerned your cycle hasn't even started... I don't know your test results record, so I don't know for sure.

Also how much LR, LS do you have?

Assuming it actually has cycled and you've seen Ammonia and Nitrites go up and then back down, you can add the Clean Up Crew (crabs, snails, etc.) and let them get to work.

You need to test for Mg if you're going Coral route. But you don't need to start testing for it until you start planning your corals and purchasing them (I'm saying Mg needs to be squared up before you add corals, ideally).

Your dKH is a little low for my tastes. I keep mine around 12. But 8 is acceptable.

 

All you will need to moniter to start up will be the Ammonia / Nitrites / Nitrates

 

Peredhil, my ammonia and nitrates spiked slightly, but nothing dramatic like I am seeing a lot of people get. I have 25 lbs LR and 25 lbs. LS... I'll work on my dKH.

Thanks!

 

Yeah...I don't think you are done quite yet. The prototypical cycle involves a spike in NH4, then NO2, then NO3. The NO3 will then go down a bit as anaerobic bacteria start to bloom and eat it up, but then the NO3 will start rising again. At that second rise, you are cycled.

Now. That's prototypical. Most tanks follow their own coarse. Mine, for example, had very low ammonia levels. Never had nitrites. Ever. I, still, have never registered nitrites. I did have quite a bit of LR, so that must have been the answer.....the bacteria was there in sufficient amounts to handle the bioload. I never noticed a drop and then a second rise in my NO3. But then again......I was a newb and was not looking for that. I finally just called it good a few months into it.

So while there is a by-the-book answer, I think you are gonna have to play it by ear a little.

As mentioned, I would get a small fish to pop your tank's cycle and maintain the waste it needs to progress. A small damsel or clownfish will do IMO. Just realize that it is going to be hard to get outta there when the time comes, so you may want to choose a life-form that is pleasing to the eye. I am a damsel fan anyway, so for me, it was easy.....

 

+1 to what Pharmr says.


I never have seen nitrites in my tank either. I did see the ammonia bounce around in the beginning and it took months for my nitrates to 0 out.

 

There's a pretty solid indicator above that he DID experience a cycle, in that he's now seeing diatoms. I wouldn't throw a fish in, but I do think it's invert time. Add a couple snails, a couple hermits, and a brittle or serpent star. (say 6,6,1). If you don't experience a mini-cycle from adding that, add 6,6 snails/hermits in 10-14 days, and I think you've got it right for adding a fish every 2-3 weeks up to about 5-6" of MATURE SIZE fish. (gramma and two perc's or similar). Of course, remember to feed your inverts (though not very much.) +1 for doing it right, for asking, and for NOT KILLING ANYTHING BECAUSE YOU WERE IMPATIENT... WAY TO GO! ;D;D;D