any advice????

scottgotts

scottgotts

Member
i am starting my first saltwater tank tomorrow (29 gallon) and i think i know what i am doing but not sure. what i want to do is put in some white sand, live rock and let my filter run for a few days and then maybe put some temperary damsels in to cycle it- then down the road i want to add some cleaner shrimp and maybe some starfish but i have no idea how how many fish i can add and which ones i can add to a 29 gallon. right now i have fresh water fish in the tank which i will miss but i have wanted a saltwater tank too long, so i am open to any advice and suggestions anyone has
 
sw65galma

sw65galma

Active Member
Yes click onthe search above and type in cycling..
There is a Cycle you MUST go through unless you'd like to kill all your fish.
The damsel method is an old outdated way the Pet store got impatient people to buy fish that usually died or ended up killing other fish...all making the Pet stores MORE $$$$ It also tortures the fish during the process...very mean thing to do.
There is many new ways which don't require any fish to cycle your tank..
Tank Cycles take anywhere form 2-6weeks...You need A LOT OR PATIENCE in this hobby.
The ocean wasn't built over night..niether will you tank.
As far as fish...Look on this site and it will tell you the size tanks required.
Stay away from Tangs, Angels, Triggers.
If you get smaller fish you'll be able to have more..
keep in mind you can't stock a 29 like you can in Freshwater
 
jjlittle

jjlittle

Member
You need to let the cycle process take place then ad fish if you wish to get cycle going use a dead shimp from seafood market. You should also ad Live sand which has bacteria to give you head start. I will also say the smaller the tank the harder they are in saltwater so your tank is concidered small so evertyhing needs to be done slowly or it will crash.
 
scottgotts

scottgotts

Member
Originally Posted by jjlittle
You need to let the cycle process take place then ad fish if you wish to get cycle going use a dead shimp from seafood market.

so just put a cocktail shrimp in and let it rot for a few weeks then i should be good????
 
lennon

lennon

Member
not to mention that you really should put your new fish in a QT for a few weeks to make sure they are disease free. Otherwise they can develop in the tank and mess everything up. I also agree..why torture the damsels.
There are great books out there that tell you exactly how to cycle. I read about 10 books first. And Patience is key.
Good luck!
 
fuax

fuax

Member
Scottgotts here is a basic process that happens in your tank when it cycles
Your tank goes through a 4 to 6 week cycle if you are starting from scratch. It goes through 4 phases; a serile enviorment, then your ammonia will spike and come down (this is caused by the fish defecating and uneaten food decaying / the living bacteria you are growing in your filter/rocks/gravelbed are the cause of the cycle) , then your nitrite will spike and come down (for the same reason as above the bacteria are eating these and converting them), after the last phase you are left with nitrate.
You then control the nitrate with carbon, water changes, live rock, and plants or algea.
Get some books for your local library or buy them from your local book store the more research you do the better off you will be.
 
sw65galma

sw65galma

Active Member
Originally Posted by scottgotts
so just put a cocktail shrimp in and let it rot for a few weeks then i should be good????
There are tons of ways..
The other thing you can do is just toss food in there as if you were feeding the fish...and let it rot....
Eitherway...I like the cocktail shrimp idea because you can take it out...opposed to fish food you can't.
 
fishmamma

fishmamma

Active Member
I am going to go read Bang Guys cycling method, see what he has to say since he always knows his stuff. That aside.....
Personally, I never did the shrimp cycle thing. I started off with a sand bed, seeded it with a couple of pounds of live sand from LFS's tank, and added a minimum of one pound per gallon of live rock. Then I got a handful of hermits and fed the tank fish food pellets. I did this for about 2 weeks which caused a small cycle. Then I SLOWLY stocked the tank. I had minimal ammonia levels for a day or two after adding new fish and would do a small water change during those first couple of days. I also usually add two fish at once, may not have gotten any ammonia if not adding a pair. Then I would wait 4 more weeks before adding any more stock. Many people do not like this method but if you do it right and have pre-cured rock it works. IMO a protein skimmer will be your best friend in a tank that size, I have the Aqua C remora on my 16 and 29 gallon tanks. Good luck to you, please do not use damsels to cycle.
 
fishmamma

fishmamma

Active Member
Forgot to mention fish.....you will quite a few options. A great way to to decide on your fish plan is to pick your favorite fish/invert and then stock around it or stock according to tank levels. For example you could get a shrimp/goby pair or jawfish to dwell on the bottom of the tank. Then you could aquascape lots of nooks and caves and get a rock loving fish such as a royal gramma, bi-color blenny or firefish. Next you can add a swimmer. Also you will want to decide if you want corals down the road as not all fish and inverts are reef safe. If you want a star the chocolate chip star is a good pick but is not reef safe. Most stars will not survive in a 29 gallon tank. Also you could consider a serpent or brittle star but that probably isn't what you are interested in.
Just to give you an idea I have an occelaris clown, a pygmy angel, bi-color blenny and a shrimp-goby pair in my tank along with a pair of cleaner shrimp. I am pushing by bio-load with this stock but it was done over 5 months and I do frequent water changes and run a skimmer. The shrimp and goby were added first, then the clown and angel, and lastly the bi-color.
 
sw65galma

sw65galma

Active Member
Originally Posted by fishmamma
I am going to go read Bang Guys cycling method, see what he has to say since he always knows his stuff. That aside.....
Personally, I never did the shrimp cycle thing. I started off with a sand bed, seeded it with a couple of pounds of live sand from LFS's tank, and added a minimum of one pound per gallon of live rock. Then I got a handful of hermits and fed the tank fish food pellets. I did this for about 2 weeks which caused a small cycle. Then I SLOWLY stocked the tank. I had minimal ammonia levels for a day or two after adding new fish and would do a small water change during those first couple of days. I also usually add two fish at once, may not have gotten any ammonia if not adding a pair. Then I would wait 4 more weeks before adding any more stock. Many people do not like this method but if you do it right and have pre-cured rock it works. IMO a protein skimmer will be your best friend in a tank that size, I have the Aqua C remora on my 16 and 29 gallon tanks. Good luck to you, please do not use damsels to cycle.

So you tortured Hermits in stead of Damsels? :notsure: hows that better?
 
fishmamma

fishmamma

Active Member
If I cycled as Bang suggests- using uncured rock I would not add hermits in the beggining. With my cured rock from LFS's my ammonia levels stayed around .025, the spike was 0.1. Both LFS's advised adding some hermits with the rock more as starter clean up crew than anything. It was the live rock and food that caused the small cycle.
 
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