Who Gives A Fish Forums

hey, just a quick question - my tank's been running for a week and a half now, parameters seem stable after adding some cuc.

ammonia's at 0, nitrite's 0, nitrate's 25 (bit high, but waiting for my chaeto to arrive) and i'm doing weekly water changes.
pH's at 8.5, SG's 1025, temp's at 26C and phosphate's 0.1.

thinking of adding my first fish now, just a sebae clown to start with, then maybe another one 3 weeks later. want to take things slow.

Yeah, your parameters look good, you're clear to add that first fish, I'd say go for it with the sebae clown.

all good to go, your parameters are stable, and you're taking it slow, which is great.

What's the tank size, btw? I'd suggest doing a 100% water change with matched parameters before introducing fish, just to clear out those nitrates. It's a quicker fix than relying on weekly changes.

Thanks for the input Skifletch, but your 100% water change idea's got me a bit concerned - aren't those a bit extreme? Also, just to clarify, are you certain that nitrate test kit's giving you accurate readings?

yeah it's accurate, tested my RO water that goes into the tank and it's at 10, that's what I'm aiming for in the tank too.

I'm using Bio-Nitraclear, it's live bacteria that starves algae-forming bacteria and helps lower nitrates - it works, just really slowly, 60ml per week and it's a gradual process.

do I need some algae on the glass and substrate for my snails, limpets, and crabs to graze on? I've got some coralline on the rocks but the glass is spotless.

Honestly, I think you're throwing your cash down the drain. As one aquarist to another, ditch that product. It just doesn't add up - there's no such thing as "algae-causing bacteria." You've got two separate things: algae and bacteria. The product claims it gets rid of algae, which in turn gets rid of nitrates, but that's not how it works. Algae actually helps lower nitrates.