Am I ready to start adding my clean up crew?

[disco bay jn]

I've had 100#'s of LS in my 180g tank for the last 2 weeks. I put 140 pounds of LR in it last week. I've been checking my levels for the last week or so. My Nitrate is at 0, Nitirite is 0 and my Amonia is also 0. I'm going to add 60 more pounds of LR this weekend. Should I wait till after I add the last of the LR to add my clean up crew? I also would like to know when I should do a water change. Thanks in advance!

 

[disco bay jn]

Anyone?

 

[ruaround]

how long has your tank been runnin??? typically after about the 3rd or 4th week you can add a clean up crew...

 

[xcdennisx]

has your ammonia or trates spiked yet?

 

[disco bay jn]

I started testing the water a week into the cycle, and the amonia last week was a constant .25. Today all read zero. My tank has been up and running for 3 weeks now.

 

[earlybird]

What are your nitrates?

 

[renogaw]

trates arent all that big of a deal for fish, but after you add live rock you probably need to wait a week to see if you ahve any die off.
i second adding the clean up crew--you're going to start your algae blooms soon

 

[myrtle beach]

I would wait until you see something growing for them to eat. Otherwise you may be picking out dead snails or have to add food for crabs. I would wait until you have added some cheap or simple fish, a month or so. If you see algae growing before then... ***)

 

[earlybird]

Originally Posted by earlybird
What are your nitrates?
Just wanted to see if he was getting a reading on them as he only posted his amm and trite levels at zero. Double checking that he is done with his cycle. If so, do a water change and add your crew.

 

[disco bay jn]

My Nitrate is at 0, Nitirite is 0 and my Amonia is at 0

 

[renogaw]

there's going to be enough on the rock that still going to die off, plus he can feed a little. i added my cleaning crew within a week of my cycle--just add a couple at first, then add more as needed.