cycle

[sh4n]

Hi, i'm cycling my new tank at the moment 6x2.5x2.5ft
18/9 added saltwater (ro)
24/9 added a few dead prawns
25/9 removed prawns and added 40kg live rock
30/9 added another 40kg live rock
I have been away with work so havent been able to test everyday.
Today:
Ammonia/NitRATE = o
NitrITE = .25
salinity - 1.025
ph - 8.2
when my nitrITE goes to 0 will i be ready to add a fish?
I also have corals in my established tank, can they be added also?
It looks like im starting to get Diatoms
thanks

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by SH4N http:///t/388366/cycle#post_3424745
Hi, i'm cycling my new tank at the moment 6x2.5x2.5ft
18/9 added saltwater (ro)
24/9 added a few dead prawns
25/9 removed prawns and added 40kg live rock
30/9 added another 40kg live rock
I have been away with work so havent been able to test everyday.
Today:
Ammonia/NitRATE = o
NitrITE = .25
salinity - 1.025
ph - 8.2
when my nitrITE goes to 0 will i be ready to add a fish?
I also have corals in my established tank, can they be added also?
It looks like im starting to get Diatoms
thanks
Hi,
You are in the middle of a cycle, after the nitrITES go to 0...wait one week and retest to be sure. If still 0 for ammonia and nitrITES you will be ready, but go very slow only a single fish or two coral at a time. A quarantine tank would be very uesful at this stage (get it started now)...when you are adding stuff you really don't want to introduce a problem.
If you have diatoms already then the first thing to add will be the CUC (clean up crew) snails are your best choice.
Nassarius
Turbo
cirith
nerite
some serpent stars

 

[sh4n]

will a cuc crew be ok to add now while im in a cycle or shall i wait till its over?

 

[meleerock]

Quote:
Originally Posted by SH4N http:///t/388366/cycle#post_3424975
will a cuc crew be ok to add now while im in a cycle or shall i wait till its over?
You are going to want to wait on the clean up crew also. For now you could try to remove the diatoms yourself, but be careful not to stir the tank up too much.

 

[flower]

Sorry to disagree, if the tank isn't cycled just leave it alone....don't go stirring anything or removing anything. Once the tank has finished cycling.... and your sure by double testing within the week, then add the CUC. Ugly never killed a thing.
The only reason we tell people to wait on a CUC is because they have nothing to eat until the algae/diatom bloom since you have something for the CUC to eat add them first.

 

[florida joe]

Just out of curiosity how did you establish your coral tank
Quote:
I also have corals in my established tank, can they be added also?

 

[sh4n]

the guy at my old lfs talked me into starting my new tank as a saltwater 1 year ago, i had no knowledge at all didnt even realize there was such an important cycle. i just followed his directions, added filter media from his tank and bought water in for him to test. i didnt buy any fish/inverts or anything until he said my water was ready, it was a bit over a month. the cycle always confuses me i google it and so many similar but different results come up.

 

[mr. limpid]

Did you ever have high reading on your ammonia? If you answer is yes, than you are almost threw with cycling. So you are correct when your nitrite reaches 0 your cycle is complete. Do you have a QT set up? Good time to cycle one and ghost feed your DT.

 

[sh4n]

as i said above i was unable to check readings daily and i havent seen my ammonia go up

 

[sh4n]

my nitRITES/nitRATES and ammonia are now at 0!
am i now safe to add fish or coral?

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by SH4N http:///t/388366/cycle#post_3425632
my nitRITES/nitRATES and ammonia are now at 0!
am i now safe to add fish or coral?
Not yet...WAIT 1 week and then retest, and if it is still 0 you can add ONE fish. You will save yourself some grief if you use a quarantine tank....that will allow you the right time between purchases and assure a healthy inviroment for your new friends. You can also at that time add a coral while the fish waits in a QT.
If you don't want to wait a whole week...add some food in the tank and retest for two days, if no ammonia spike then you have enough bacteria built up to be able to handle a fish/coral.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Once ammonia drops to zero, I've always just added one fish like a clown or a couple chromis. You could wait a few extra days just to be sure. I recommend ghost feeding and testing the water after a couple of days.
Very hardy corals such as zoas, palys, mushrooms, xenia, and anthelia can be added to the tank at the 3 month maturity mark. During that time, make sure you understand the relationships between calcium, alkalinity, magnesium, pH, temp, and flow rates. You should also try to get your nitrate and phosphate readings as near zero as possible. Xenia and anthelia do like some nitrate in the system, that's why they are really hardy.
Good luck! I'll try to stay in touch.

 

[reeferchief]

Man I have to say I started out new and everything on everyones tank is different. I bought live rick and live sand let is cycle for a week then added a skimmer for whatever reason (probably from too much reading) and after about 2 weeks I added a bottle of turbo start.... 10 margarita snails, 10 blue leg hermits, 2 coral banded shrimps, 1 blood shrimp and a skunk shrimp.
4 months later they are all with me still minus the 2 coral banded shrimps, which were mean anyways, so no biggie.
I also had a tang that got ich about a month ago and peopel told me not to add anything for month at the very minimum.. I was doing biweekly water changes of about 15-20 gallons on a 65G and almost one month passed and I have another clown and a kole tang in there doing just fine...
Basically what I'm saying is to me there appears to be no right or wrong or set rules to go buy...each tank is different in every way possible so different results for different folks... However I do respect the much more knowledgeable members and expert advice that is given here..

 

[sh4n]

thanks for all your feedback. i do currently have another tank running with my fish, blue tang, red corris wrasse, 2 clown fish. im not planning on adding "new" fish until a long time. i will follow what you said flower and snake blitz about waiting a week, feeding and testing. ill let you know how i go thanks