Started My 1st of 2 Tanks

Can I say that my tank is "born" today???

I bought a 10 gallon tank with heater and HOB filter and it had 4 gal. of salt water and the live sand in it from the previous owner who used the LR from it for his new larger tank. I got RO/ UV sterilized water and made the rest of the water for the tank. Nitrates are somewhere between 20-40 colors are hard to read. Nitrates are at zero, zero chlorine, KH (alkalinity is somewhere between 180-300, closer to 300 though) PH is 8.4. Forgot to get the test kit for ammonia though, will do tomorrow.

I'm hoping to get some LR tomorrow and I have a 6-7 lb base rock I plan on adding in order to seed it and make it live for my 46g bow front to be made later.

How long do you think it'll take for this tank to cycle?

 

It's impossible to say how long a cycle will take. It depends entirely on how much organic stuff is on the rock you get and how nasty the sand bed is. Count on at least 3-4 weeks to be safe. Take your time.

If it were me I would ditch all the sand and water and start with clean sand and water, it will probably cost less than $20-30 and you won't have all of the garbage in the sandbed from the previous owner and no risk of any chemicals etc being left in the sandbed. I hate inheriting other people's mistakes.

 

Good point on inheriting other peoples' mistakes.
Didn't think about that.

 

Very sound advice. Not to mention that you don't want to start out having that high of nitrates. A proper cycle should end with the big three at zero.

 

RO/UV water?

 

Yeah, I can get RO water at the grocery store ...is like a vending machine and they also use UV to sterilize the water (to kill off any bugs that may be there and missed) ...I haven't found a source for RO/DI water yet. May have to invest in a system if I can get one that isn't permanently hooked up since I'm only renting my house.

Will be getting new sand and LR today;D. Found a source that is inexpensive especially since I will probably be getting mostly smaller pieces. Will make some DIY rock too so I can get some cool structures that will be stable but have a sm footprint.

 

You can purchase a ro/di unit and install it without damaging the pipes. You will need to buy a tee for you cold water line underneath one of your sinks. Just don't use the saddle to eliminate your waste water, just buy some extra 1/4" line and loop it up to the sink drain whenever you make water.

 

Ohh ....has anyone heard of Pukani live rock?

 

Good info....thanks k+ for you;D

 

Good news for me.... I found a LFS that gives RO/DI water away for free...Yippeeee gotta love the price. But will save and get my own unit eventually, lugging heavy water jugs doesn't sound like too much fun. Besides for a few months may not be possible (as I'll be getting surgery on my foot/ankle for a torn ligament). So gotta go and stock up before then.