Restart vs Start, questions.

Crossfire · 11/04/2013, 08:14 AM

Hi everyone,

And thank you in advance for taking the time to answer my questions. I've bought a second hand Red Sea Max 250 which had been running for over a year. The tank was emptied completely and I had it up and running with actual sea water (not mixed) and fresh live rocks within one hour.

The tank has been running for 6 days now, I was wondering if I should consider this as a restart or as a normal start. I'd just like to know if I have some advantage in terms of bacteria etc. vs a fresh start.

Also: I have can measure Ammonia (nh4 1mg/l) and No3: 30mg/l but No2: 0,0. Can someone explain why No2 is 0.0?

klwheat · 11/04/2013, 08:16 AM

You're still cycling. Let it be, and be patient :-)

Crossfire · 11/04/2013, 08:20 AM

Oh it's not that I want to rush things and run to the fish store

I'm just trying to understand more about the process, no2/no3 cycle etc.

klwheat · 11/04/2013, 08:24 AM

One quick point of clarification... what are you using to measure?

Crossfire · 11/04/2013, 08:34 AM

Salifert droptests

thegrun · 11/04/2013, 08:49 PM

Most likely your tank hasn't developed the bacteria that convert ammonia to nitrites yet, so they are at zero. After the bacteria that convert the ammonia to nitrites are established your levels of nitrites should start to rise (at the same time your ammonia should start to drop back to zero. Then the bacteria that convert nitrites to nitrates will develop and your nitrite levels will zero out. The nitrates already in the water are most likely left over from old die-offs leaching out of the rock.

11/04/2013, 08:14 AM	#1
Crossfire Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 5	Restart vs Start, questions. Hi everyone, And thank you in advance for taking the time to answer my questions. I've bought a second hand Red Sea Max 250 which had been running for over a year. The tank was emptied completely and I had it up and running with actual sea water (not mixed) and fresh live rocks within one hour. The tank has been running for 6 days now, I was wondering if I should consider this as a restart or as a normal start. I'd just like to know if I have some advantage in terms of bacteria etc. vs a fresh start. Also: I have can measure Ammonia (nh4 1mg/l) and No3: 30mg/l but No2: 0,0. Can someone explain why No2 is 0.0?

11/04/2013, 08:16 AM	#2
klwheat Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 676	You're still cycling. Let it be, and be patient :-) __________________ 180 Gallon Mixed reef President/Co-founder Running4Trisomy A Butterfly's Touch

11/04/2013, 08:24 AM	#4
klwheat Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 676	One quick point of clarification... what are you using to measure? __________________ 180 Gallon Mixed reef President/Co-founder Running4Trisomy A Butterfly's Touch

11/04/2013, 08:20 AM	#3
Crossfire Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 5	Oh it's not that I want to rush things and run to the fish store I'm just trying to understand more about the process, no2/no3 cycle etc.

11/04/2013, 08:34 AM	#5
Crossfire Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 5	Salifert droptests

11/04/2013, 08:49 PM	#6
thegrun Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Garden Grove, Ca Posts: 17,023	Most likely your tank hasn't developed the bacteria that convert ammonia to nitrites yet, so they are at zero. After the bacteria that convert the ammonia to nitrites are established your levels of nitrites should start to rise (at the same time your ammonia should start to drop back to zero. Then the bacteria that convert nitrites to nitrates will develop and your nitrite levels will zero out. The nitrates already in the water are most likely left over from old die-offs leaching out of the rock.