Am I ready to ad livestock?

Smeagle · 11/16/2016, 12:31 AM

Im pretty sure everything is good and I can ad coral/a goby, but I thought it best to run my perimeters and setup past people with more experience before I do.

Tank:
5.5 gallon
reused liverock with lots of dead stuff thats gone now
lots of fuzzy algae
carbon and phosban in hob

Perimeters:
79 degrees
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 0
ph hard to tell but seems normal

To test my cycle I brought the ammonia up to .5ppm and it was gone by morning along with zero nitrates as well.

Smeagle · 11/16/2016, 12:33 AM

Also should I worry about using a bunch of phosban once I get livestock, whenever I replace it (about once a week) it makes the tank all cloudy. I have no idea what my phosphates are but I thought it a good idea because it was old rock and I have algae. I could just take it out and I would probably be fine.

scooter31707 · 11/16/2016, 01:18 PM

Ammonia needs to come up to 2ppm and has to be gone within 24hrs. Did you test during the cycle? How did you jump start the cycle?

Smeagle · 11/16/2016, 04:29 PM

I just brought it up to .5ppm as advised by someone on the forum. If its really important please tell me cuz im planning to go to get a fish today. I jump started the cycle with bottled bacteria and dead matter on the rock along with ghost feeding.

Sk8r · 11/16/2016, 04:52 PM

There's trouble in this thread. Phosban should be in a reactor: it shouldn't be 'making the tank cloudy.' Follow the instructions. I don't think you're ready. You can get your fish for a non-cycled qt with a daily filter/water change, but your parameters are incomplete. Alkalinity should be 8.3, and 'normal' worries me. We don't know salinity; we don't know what this 'cloudiness' is.

Smeagle · 11/16/2016, 05:19 PM

Excuse me I meant phosguard, which is suitable for a reactor bag. From what I understand cloudiness after adding new media is normal and it goes away within about 30 minutes. By normal PH I meant from what ive read ph can vary and test kits arnt very accurate, its around 8.4.

Smeagle · 11/16/2016, 05:21 PM

The tank water is very clear, salinity is 1.024...
I was just talking about right after I change media it goes away quickly, just curous about wether for safety's sake I should stop using it altogether to reduce things that could go wrong

scooter31707 · 11/17/2016, 02:01 PM

any GFO or phosguard needs to be rinse prior to using.

11/16/2016, 12:31 AM	#1
Smeagle Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2016 Posts: 16	Am I ready to ad livestock? Im pretty sure everything is good and I can ad coral/a goby, but I thought it best to run my perimeters and setup past people with more experience before I do. Tank: 5.5 gallon reused liverock with lots of dead stuff thats gone now lots of fuzzy algae carbon and phosban in hob Perimeters: 79 degrees ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 0 ph hard to tell but seems normal To test my cycle I brought the ammonia up to .5ppm and it was gone by morning along with zero nitrates as well.

11/16/2016, 04:52 PM	#5
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	There's trouble in this thread. Phosban should be in a reactor: it shouldn't be 'making the tank cloudy.' Follow the instructions. I don't think you're ready. You can get your fish for a non-cycled qt with a daily filter/water change, but your parameters are incomplete. Alkalinity should be 8.3, and 'normal' worries me. We don't know salinity; we don't know what this 'cloudiness' is. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

11/16/2016, 12:33 AM	#2
Smeagle Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2016 Posts: 16	Also should I worry about using a bunch of phosban once I get livestock, whenever I replace it (about once a week) it makes the tank all cloudy. I have no idea what my phosphates are but I thought it a good idea because it was old rock and I have algae. I could just take it out and I would probably be fine.

11/16/2016, 01:18 PM	#3
scooter31707 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Virginia Posts: 4,971	Ammonia needs to come up to 2ppm and has to be gone within 24hrs. Did you test during the cycle? How did you jump start the cycle?

11/16/2016, 04:29 PM	#4
Smeagle Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2016 Posts: 16	I just brought it up to .5ppm as advised by someone on the forum. If its really important please tell me cuz im planning to go to get a fish today. I jump started the cycle with bottled bacteria and dead matter on the rock along with ghost feeding.

11/16/2016, 05:19 PM	#6
Smeagle Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2016 Posts: 16	Excuse me I meant phosguard, which is suitable for a reactor bag. From what I understand cloudiness after adding new media is normal and it goes away within about 30 minutes. By normal PH I meant from what ive read ph can vary and test kits arnt very accurate, its around 8.4.

11/16/2016, 05:21 PM	#7
Smeagle Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2016 Posts: 16	The tank water is very clear, salinity is 1.024... I was just talking about right after I change media it goes away quickly, just curous about wether for safety's sake I should stop using it altogether to reduce things that could go wrong

11/17/2016, 02:01 PM	#8
scooter31707 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Virginia Posts: 4,971	any GFO or phosguard needs to be rinse prior to using.