Water completed cycle this week, whats next?

[Kenpo guy]

Water parameters came down to zero on everything last night but nitrate which is below 5 ppm. I picked up 4 cerith snails and 2 pepermint shrimp last night to add to my cuc. All are doing great and the snails have made a huge dent in the diatoms. I added a Sicce Voyager Nano (2000 l/h) powerhead for flow. So whats next? I'm hesitant to add fish right now since the water just finished its cycle. Should I just chill for a while? What about filter media. When should I remove the ceramic rings and carbon or should I just leave both in the filter for now. Anything else I should be focused on that I'm missing?

I also picked up an API Phos-zorb packet for the canister to address silicates but haven't used it yet. Diatoms aren't that bad and have really tapered off and the snails are doing a good job on whats in the tank.

[oscarinw]

My recommendation is:
1. Have a large water change performed on the system. As close to 50% as possible or larger. No more than 80%. Make sure to stir up everything really well so you get rid of any detritus that may have come from die off.
2. Good opportunity to clean up and arrange your rocks the way you want it to be. Make sure you bring your flow to where you want it to be.
3. Clean up crew is your best call for a couple of weeks.

Depending on the size of your system I would add 1 fish at a time. A big part of the success in this hobby is knowing the order in which you will add your stock. The more docile/sociable go in first and the feistier/faster go last. Make sure to do your research on the order.

I truly believe patience takes you places in this hobby and lets you respond to situations.

Good luck

[Azedenkae]

Originally Posted by Kenpo guy

Water parameters came down to zero on everything last night but nitrate which is below 5 ppm. I picked up 4 cerith snails and 2 pepermint shrimp last night to add to my cuc. All are doing great and the snails have made a huge dent in the diatoms. I added a Sicce Voyager Nano (2000 l/h) powerhead for flow. So whats next? I'm hesitant to add fish right now since the water just finished its cycle. Should I just chill for a while? What about filter media. When should I remove the ceramic rings and carbon or should I just leave both in the filter for now. Anything else I should be focused on that I'm missing?

I also picked up an API Phos-zorb packet for the canister to address silicates but haven't used it yet. Diatoms aren't that bad and have really tapered off and the snails are doing a good job on whats in the tank.

Since you already added life to the aquarium it's gonna be a bit tricky. :/ Would have recommended testing your filtration capacity first, then you'd know for sure if you're ready for fish and stuff or otherwise. And a few other thing oscarinw already mentioned, though I'd have prefer it happen before addition of live stock.

But anyways, what is done is done.

What you should do now is check your ammonia, and ghostfeed your aquarium to see how well it reacts. Rather than ghostfeed the normally recommended amount, start with just a bit and slowly ramp it up until you are sure the aquarium is ready for fish.

[Kenpo guy]

Great advice, thanks! It was never my intension to add life to the tank at this stage. I bought a live rock that was loaded with hitch hikers and so it began. Unfortuneately some things died but that fuled the tank cycle with a dose of ammonia. Again not the way I intended. I was really bummed the emerald died. Anyway the hermits have done well through the cycle so I decided to add a couple scavengers and something to deal with the diatoms. Thats as far as I want to take it for now until I know what kind of bioload the tank can handle. I like the idea of ghost feeding. Great advice! It will help the shrimp also since there isn't a lot for them to scavenge for right now.

[Saltwaterwill]

what i did when my ammonia and nitrite was zero i immediately did a 25 percent water change, but if i was to go back, i would probably do a fifty percent right away because it took me a two or three water changes to get nitrate from 70 to 40 ppm, and me not being patent i got two clownfish at 40 ppm but they were fine, i got nitrate to go down to 5 ppm in about two weeks after some more water changes, but next time I cycle I'm waiting for low nitrate levels. As far as carbon, i had no carbon running during or after cycle, i completely changed out a filter sponge, but kept same biomedia in tank. Hope this helps

[Azedenkae]

Originally Posted by Kenpo guy

Great advice, thanks! It was never my intension to add life to the tank at this stage. I bought a live rock that was loaded with hitch hikers and so it began. Unfortuneately some things died but that fuled the tank cycle with a dose of ammonia. Again not the way I intended. I was really bummed the emerald died. Anyway the hermits have done well through the cycle so I decided to add a couple scavengers and something to deal with the diatoms. Thats as far as I want to take it for now until I know what kind of bioload the tank can handle. I like the idea of ghost feeding. Great advice! It will help the shrimp also since there isn't a lot for them to scavenge for right now.

Cheers mate. Yeah sometimes things doesn't quite go according to plan, so just gotta adapt as one goes along. Good luck and have fun! Let us know how things play out. And yeah those shrimps would defo appreciate some extra food.