Adding Fish Help

[torontofishlove]

Hi There,
Don't know if anyone remembers me, but I was posting quite a while ago, just talking about planning for my tank...
Anyway, after waiting for my stand to be built, my tank is finally up!
It is a 55 gallon saltwater tank, and I plan tot hold corals.
It has a skimmer (rated for 110 gallon tank), filter, UV sterilizer, ATO, Heater, Pumps, etc...
I bucket cycled my tank (25 gallon buckets, with live rock in it) when I was waiting for my stand, so I could save time.
My tank is not set up, and I put the cycled water in it. I then waited about 5 days, and put my first fish in (a pair of clownfish).
My question is: How long do I have to wait in between putting fish in?
Can I go to my LFS and buy the rest of the fish I plan to put in the tank, and put them in all at once?
Do I have to space out putting my fish in? How long in between putting the fish in? Also, how many do I add at a time?
I am not putting in any aggressive fish, and my filtration is extremely good for the size of tank.
Many Thanks.

 

[mjtech12]

Hi,
welcome to the obsession
I don't know what you mean by bucket cycled please elaborate also total list of whats in the tank filtration, rock , sand ect: also where did you get your clowns from cause it sounds like you didn't get them from the LFS regardless you maybe shouldn't have started with clowns the tank still wont be setup for those types of fish they are hardy but I don't believe your tank is cycled enough as of yet a lot of people here are torn as to cycling fishless or damsels its your choice mine was with damsels and I returned them to the local fish store after I cycled my tank some will disagree as to the method but its what has worked for me for over 20 years once the tank is reading 0 after about 6-8 weeks then you can add 1-2 fish every 3-4 weeks its a process that cant be rushed if you want a tank for the long haul be patient most people aren't but its key to the success of the hobby good luck feel free to ask lots of questions were here to help

 

[torontofishlove]

Hi There,
Thanks for responding, I have to admit though, I find it difficult to read your reply (especially since it is all in 1 large paragraph)!
I cycled my tank water in 25 gallon buckets, with live rock, a heater, and a powerhead.
It cycled for 1 month, when I was waiting for my stand to be made.
Once my stand was made, I put all the water that I had cycled in the bucket, into my tank, and diluted it with RODI water. I also, got some water from an "old", established tank to help quicken the process.
I have sand, and 45 pounds of live rock.
After my tank was set up, I waited 5 days (for the sand and everything to settle), and then I put a pair of clowns in, That I got from my LFS.
Since, I cycled my water in the bucket, when I put the clowns in, my tank was already cycled.
Hope this helps.
Even with the above mentioned filtration, you think I need to way 3-4 WEEKS even for just adding 1 fish?
In some videos I have seen them add all the fish at once!
Thanks!

 

[mjtech12]

I would Wait all those videos are for demonstrating purposes just like that show Tanked
plus most of those tanks are huge maybe some your size where it will take longer for stuff to happen yours is a 55 right?
definitely add only 1 or 2 at a time with 3-4 weeks in between like I said be patient don't rush

 

[geridoc]

I'm confused. How did you cycle the material in the buckets - with fish, ammonium chloride or ghost feeding? Also, be aware that you really cycled the rock and the walls of the buckets, so just adding the water from "cycled" buckets did not result in a cycled tank. The bacteria necessary for nitrogen processing all require a solid substrate, and do not grow in the water column. There would have been some bacteria on the rock, but you seem to be focused on the cycled water, which does not exist. Also, what did you mean by "diluting the cycled water with RODI"? Was the cycling water in the bucket not already at the appropriate salinity? If not, you probably don't have any viable bacteria in your system. Just looking for some clarity so that you get off to a good start.