10 gallong Saltwater Noob

sftydude

Thanks, I will look them up. What does "LR" stand for?

sftydude

This is the tank with the other live rocks that were added. I have a feeling I will be conducting a water change within the next day or so. I haven't read the levels yet because I just got home. I am about to jump in the shower but wanted to shoot these pictures on here real quick.



Looking at this rock makes me feel like I will be doing a water change. Can you guys see what is growing on the rock already? Can someone enlighten me, or do you need the readings first?



I know I was saying we got crabs, but looking at these things, I believe we got snails.



and there is the perppermint shrimp, just hanging out.

EDIT: I thought the pictures would be bigger, my apologies, I took them on my iPhone 4S

sftydude

Alright Gentlemen, sorry for the double post.

Here are my readings

Salinity: 1.025
High Range PH: 7.8
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Ammonia: 0.25 ppm
Nitrate: 5.0 ppm

So, what does this tell you guys?

Reefing Madness

Looks good there. Snails yup. YOu may end up with a few dead ones, you may not, with your tank going through the Nitrogen Cycle
Here is a rough idea of the Cycle your looking at.
http://www.petco.com/caresheets/fish/NitrogenCycle.pdf

LR stands for Live Rock.

sftydude

Thanks for that info! What can you tell me about my readings? My ammonia and nitrates seem to be a bit high
Posted via Mobile Device

Reefing Madness

Your tank is still in cycle. Those numbers can jump all over the place in a 6 weeks time span. After that, your Ammonia and Nitrites will read 0 and your safe to add fish and other critters when your Nitrates get under 40.

wake49

How deep is that sandbed? If it is 4" - 6", you will form a layer of anaerobic bacteria that will actually complete the Nitrogen cycle and turn those Nitrates into Nitrogen Gas (which leaves the system naturally). This is a good thing and if you grab a powerhead or two you can get rid of that filter also. Filters do the opposite of what we are trying to achieve in a Marine Aquarium, they build up excess Nitrates. There is no area on a filter that anaerobic bacteria can grow and therefore no way for the Nitrogen Cycle to change Nitrates to Nitrogen Gas.

Here is an illustration of a system that utilizes anaerobic bacteria:
a_654_AquaNitrogenCycle.jpg