Moving tanks. New dry sand and water. Mini cycle? help please

clarityreef · 03/19/2015, 05:08 AM

Ive upgraded my tank from an 8 gal to a 25gal with 10 gal sump.
I have mixed a new batch of red sea water and added to dry sand to the tank. I think i may be going through a mini cycle or full cycle. But not sure. Last time I upgraded tanks I didnt have a cycle and ammonia remained at 0.

Currently the new tank
Tank: mraqua 12x12 25gal drilled
Sump: 10 gal DIY
Skimmer: reef octopus bh 90
light: currently using old light micmol aqua, new light coming illumagic blaze
other: TLF phosban reactor (still needs to be hooked up)

Levels:
Ammonia 0.5
Nitrite 0
nitrate 0
phosphates 0
ph 8.2 (may be high, is this normal for rea sea?)
salinity 1.024

The water used was mixed and also my first time mixing following the instructions from red sea and reading salinity levels.

I have all my live stock sitting in a tub for the last week and half.

Not sure what to do now. Skimmer is going crazy with lots of white froth going.
Should I wait a few days?
Help please

Azedenkae · 03/19/2015, 05:30 AM

Sounds like everything is going great actually... what is the problem again?

clarityreef · 03/19/2015, 05:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azedenkae

Sounds like everything is going great actually... what is the problem again?

Im really not sure when I can add my livestock back in!
Just to confirm: this is a small cycle?

Azedenkae · 03/19/2015, 06:09 AM

Oh. Hmmmm don't seem so. Sure the skimmer is pulling out a lot of stuff but... That could perhaps be because either the move stirred up a lot of detritus somewhere, or it isn't set up quite like before.

Maybe just test your filtrative capacity and see if it is as good as before?

clarityreef · 03/19/2015, 06:23 AM

Hmmm. Ok. The sand has settled for a few hours now, so I dont think there is much stirring going on.

I will test my filtrative capacity and see what happens tomorrow when I test again. Although my old tank didnt have a sump and nitrates was crazy.

Will a water change help?
Only thing I did different this time was use red sea salt mix.

julie180 · 03/19/2015, 07:08 AM

If you have ammonia, your tank is not ready for livestock. Do you have any live rock? If you only have new saltwater and dry sand, you need a source of bacteria break down the ammonia.

clarityreef · 03/19/2015, 07:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by julie180

If you have ammonia, your tank is not ready for livestock. Do you have any live rock? If you only have new saltwater and dry sand, you need a source of bacteria break down the ammonia.

I have 2 small pieces of live rock that I kept from my old tank (rest was sold with the old tank). Do I just add this to the tank? Wont this cause the inhabitants in the LV to die?

03/19/2015, 05:08 AM	#1
clarityreef Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Sydney, AUS Posts: 94	Moving tanks. New dry sand and water. Mini cycle? help please Ive upgraded my tank from an 8 gal to a 25gal with 10 gal sump. I have mixed a new batch of red sea water and added to dry sand to the tank. I think i may be going through a mini cycle or full cycle. But not sure. Last time I upgraded tanks I didnt have a cycle and ammonia remained at 0. Currently the new tank Tank: mraqua 12x12 25gal drilled Sump: 10 gal DIY Skimmer: reef octopus bh 90 light: currently using old light micmol aqua, new light coming illumagic blaze other: TLF phosban reactor (still needs to be hooked up) Levels: Ammonia 0.5 Nitrite 0 nitrate 0 phosphates 0 ph 8.2 (may be high, is this normal for rea sea?) salinity 1.024 The water used was mixed and also my first time mixing following the instructions from red sea and reading salinity levels. I have all my live stock sitting in a tub for the last week and half. Not sure what to do now. Skimmer is going crazy with lots of white froth going. Should I wait a few days? Help please

03/19/2015, 05:30 AM	#2
Azedenkae Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 1,196	Sounds like everything is going great actually... what is the problem again?

03/19/2015, 06:09 AM	#4
Azedenkae Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 1,196	Oh. Hmmmm don't seem so. Sure the skimmer is pulling out a lot of stuff but... That could perhaps be because either the move stirred up a lot of detritus somewhere, or it isn't set up quite like before. Maybe just test your filtrative capacity and see if it is as good as before?

03/19/2015, 06:23 AM	#5
clarityreef Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Sydney, AUS Posts: 94	Hmmm. Ok. The sand has settled for a few hours now, so I dont think there is much stirring going on. I will test my filtrative capacity and see what happens tomorrow when I test again. Although my old tank didnt have a sump and nitrates was crazy. Will a water change help? Only thing I did different this time was use red sea salt mix.

03/19/2015, 07:08 AM	#6
julie180 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Raymore, MO Posts: 2,556	If you have ammonia, your tank is not ready for livestock. Do you have any live rock? If you only have new saltwater and dry sand, you need a source of bacteria break down the ammonia.