# Cycle progress in 14g



## jeremyan7 (Nov 30, 2017)

Hi folks. Today is tank day 5 with these params:

Specific Grav = 1.025
Temp = 77
Ammonia came down from (above test limit of 8ppm) to 0.5ppm
Nitrite still at 5ppm or more
Nitrate at 10ppm
PH fell (not sure why) from 8.2 to 7.8


Any thoughts or comments ?


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## jeremyan7 (Nov 30, 2017)

*14g tank update*

So I added 2 small Percula fish and some Zoanthids and mushrooms.

Ammonia is 0 Nitrite is still coming down, but the tank is producing Nitrate, so it's close to the end of cycle. (nitrates about 10) 
I will begin doing 20% water changes weekly now that there are fish and won't add any more "live stuff" till the nitrites are near 0.

I will also keep the light cycle to bare minimum to avoid algae bloom.


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## Crayon (Apr 13, 2014)

jeremyan7 said:


> So I added 2 small Percula fish and some Zoanthids and mushrooms.
> 
> Ammonia is 0 Nitrite is still coming down, but the tank is producing Nitrate, so it's close to the end of cycle. (nitrates about 10)
> I will begin doing 20% water changes weekly now that there are fish and won't add any more "live stuff" till the nitrites are near 0.
> ...


Your mushrooms and zoas need light. Keep the light level low, use blues only if you have them (some people swear by blue light only, but that's another story) and have some light for a few hours each day. Otherwise your corals won't be happy.


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## jeremyan7 (Nov 30, 2017)

*Tank update*

Hi, thanks for the great feedback. Yes, I plan to keep a low light cycle meaning blue lights at 40% for a few hours plus blue and white at 40% for a couple hours to keep the new polyps happy..

I did notice that ALL the zoas open nicely and look as they did in the store, but the mushrooms (4 different types) looks green at home when they looked blue and red in the store.. hmm..


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## WiseGuyPhil (Jun 15, 2011)

Glad things are coming together. Corals can look different depending on the spectrum of the bulbs/leds.

Just continue to monitor parameters and look for any spikes. Keep us updated.


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## jeremyan7 (Nov 30, 2017)

*Diatoms! DAMN!*

So, I had to go out of town for 2 days to a funeral, and i left the tank on cruise control, but left the light with whites OFF and blue at 20% (pretty low) ... that was enough to allow a diatom bloom on the top of the highest rocks..

All the zoanthids are CLOSED as are the mushrooms.

I used a toothbrush to brush off most of the diatoms hoping it will get scooped up in the skimmer.

thoughts? 
(Fish are alive, both Nemo and Finn)


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## jeremyan7 (Nov 30, 2017)

*turning lights off for a couple days*

in order to slow / stop the diatoms.


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## jeremyan7 (Nov 30, 2017)

*Update on water params...*

I just tested.. interesting result:

Ammonia at or near 0
Nitrite fell (from above highest level) to .75 ppm which is great... (not perfect) 
and very low nitrates.


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## jeremyan7 (Nov 30, 2017)

*Tank update*

It's been 6 weeks in now.
The stats are Amm=0, No2=0 No3=5 PH 8.2 spgv=1.027 Alk = 12 dkh

There is some diatom growth everyday during the light cycle (which is kept very short still (a few hours) which to me indicates that there is ACTUALLY still some nitrites / nitrates being taken up by the red diatoms (indicating that the cycle is still in its final stages).

I had a fire shrimp (along with a few corals and 2 small fish. )
The fish seem fine. The corals are ok, but the Zoanthids stopped opening.. 
The shrimp died suddenly after 10 days. (was eating)

Any thoughts ?


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## jeremyan7 (Nov 30, 2017)

*Red Cyano/diatom*

A little update: not a big surprise in a young tank to see some red diatoms correlating to light cycle (more light, more red) but... I measured my chems and it seems to be related to PO2 not the nitro cycle. So I wonder where the PO2 came from. Tank is too new for many culprits.. It's not my water (I make RODI). But a friend let me know that recently cured / curing rocks can put some in the water...
I measured it as 1.0 ppm which is moderate, but a good food source for the diatoms. I introduced a Phosphate absorbing pad as the problem may be short lived and relatively small..
I'll update in a few days.
Other chems AMM=0 no2=0 no3=5, alk=11, ph =8.1 temp =78 spcgrv=1.027


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## Crayon (Apr 13, 2014)

Hey, 
It’s hard to say what may be causing the PO2 and diatoms in such a young tank. A couple questions. Was the rock in your Tank previously used or new live rock or dry rock? Do you have a sand bed?
In a 14 gallon tank what are you using for filtering? If no filter or skimmer that’s fine, but consider doing larger water changes weekly. I know someone who kept a 10 gallon and did weekly 75% water changes.
What kind of PO2 absorbing pad are you using? Chemiclean?


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## jeremyan7 (Nov 30, 2017)

*Response*

Hi. I have a skimmer.. which is working. I have LR which was "new" so I cured it in my tank before anything else went in for a couple weeks. The LR kicked off the cycle. I also have LS. I have been doing about 20% water changes weekly with RODI saltwater. I don't think larger changes would be warranted as none of my params are "crazy" just noting a small amount of PO (maybe from the curing process). as for the green PO pad SeaPora PhosPad
Wondering how long / how much pad needed.



Crayon said:


> Hey,
> It's hard to say what may be causing the PO2 and diatoms in such a young tank. A couple questions. Was the rock in your Tank previously used or new live rock or dry rock? Do you have a sand bed?
> In a 14 gallon tank what are you using for filtering? If no filter or skimmer that's fine, but consider doing larger water changes weekly. I know someone who kept a 10 gallon and did weekly 75% water changes.
> What kind of PO2 absorbing pad are you using? Chemiclean?


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