Bad Situation Please Help

[brendac]

I really need some help on how to maintain my aquarium... Im sorry it seems like I do post alot lately but Im new to this saltwater thing and need some help. We started out with a 30g FOWLR and after about 1 month my husband wanted a 125g FOWLR... So with his bright idea went and bought one 1 week ago knowing that I would need to ask alot of questions here. First off we filled the whole thing with RO water... have a cascade canister on it and using the spray bar instead of the straight flow... One Maxi-Jet 1200 powerhead and he is getting another one like this one... putting one on each end of that aquarium. I get very upset and afraid that this thing will turn cloudy on me sooner or later if I dont learn fast. Right now it is clear and I dont think it has even started a cycle yet(nothing in it so I dont believe my readings are gonna go hay wire) I know this much and a few other things but how in the world can I get an empty aquarium to start a cycle?? I heard to feed an empty aquarium and live rock, not sure if I have enough live rock to get it started. So how can I get it going? It was all filled as of last night and the thing is clear. If its food I need to cycle it with... how many times aday should I do this and can I cycle it with Tropical Flakes? Also please list what all my test kit readings should be when its all done cycling(cycling is the spooky part) While its cycling I dont think I should add any chemicals to it to help with the readings... Just let it go right? I know when its done there will be no ammonia and no nitrite and no nitrate and my PH should be 8.0 to 8.4 I just dont know how to start the cycle without adding fish and I will not go killing fish like that. How many days about after a tank has been running does it take to start the cycle? Maybe it has not been long enough... today is only the 2nd day it has been running. anyways I appreciate everyones help. And please list the test kits and readings I should have at the end of all this. How long should the cycle last?? Oh the Cascade Filter is for up to 200 gallons. I have spent most of my time on the Net reading and trying to grasp ahold of this Aquarium stuff.

 

[seasalt101]

to start the cycle just throw a shrimp in there the kind you get at the seafood counter at your local grocery this will start your cycle you can add live rock in there and that will help the cycle your amonia will spike first then your nitrites and then your nitrates when all read 0 your cycle is complete this can take some time 4,5 or 6 weeks or it could go in a couple weeks test your water every 2 or 3 days and keep a journal of your progress this will help you till you know what is going on. and always use ro water

 

[beth]

You don't have sand or live rock in this tank? Have you made any decisions about what exactly you want to do with it, reef, fish-only with live rock?
Do you have any good reference books, such as Robert Fernner's, "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist"?

 

[brendac]

I have live rock in there(well he does) and for the bottom is coral stone. All I have is the Internet for Information so far. A Live Shrimp arent they big? No thats Lobster. If I ever get through this Im gonna be lucky

 

[brendac]

Fish only with live rock... Im too new to think about reef or anything like that

 

[mikeyjer]

Originally Posted by BrendaC
I have live rock in there(well he does) and for the bottom is coral stone. All I have is the Internet for Information so far. A Live Shrimp arent they big? No thats Lobster. If I ever get through this Im gonna be lucky
So you have live rock in there with crush coral bottom? I would switch the substrate to sand before anything else....But if you keep the Crushed Coral less then 1" depth, you would be fine as well. Just remember to siphon it everytime you do a water change. If you already have live rocks in there(cured or uncured?) your cycling should be starting. IF it's well cured live rock, the cycling time is short if you have enough live rocks to support everything. I would just feed the tank flakes daily to keep the bacteria alive. It's uncured live rock, the cycling time can take up to a month or more. Good Luck! :happyfish

 

[sinner's girl]

not a live shrimp, a fresh, raw dead shrimp...
just add some fish food, yes those flacks will work fine.
Also, after the cycle you will see nitrates, your nitrates WILL NOT be zero, ammonia and nitrites will be zero, you'll have do a water change to lower your nitrates....
in general, 4-6 weeks for a cycle...
I would switch the substrate to sand before anything else....But if you keep the Crushed Coral less then 1" depth, you would be fine as well. Just remember to siphon it everytime you do a water change.
ditto, though even then cc can be a problem, you can't siphon under or behind lr...I would go with sand since you haven't added anything to the tank yet....just get sand and a little live sand or use live rock to seed the sand.
read this link, it'll help you get started...Read Me!
Good luck

 

[italianwjt]

if your worried about killing a fish, then go to the fish store...not *****, or petmart, but a real saltwater fish store and buy some "bio-spira" it cycles your tank the same way it would if u threw a shrimp in or bought 20 damsels....or you can go one step better if you have the money and buy aqualive sand, its taken from the ocean, purified, and packaged with water in it, so all you have to do is add the sand, add the saltwater and your good to go...you can start adding hardy fish in the tank.

 

[murph]

First off I agree that if this tank has a crushed coral substrate it should be switched to argonite sand before progressing. In this case I would just get enough tubs to siphon the water out of the tank (save as much water as possible) and remove the CC by hand. Thoroughly rinsed the LFS argonite sand and place it in the bottom of the tank. About three 15 pound bags will suffice for a shallow sand bed of no more than two inches and then replace the water by pouring it in over the top of a dinner plate placed on the bottom of the tank to avoid kicking up a sand storm.
Just toss your rock in any old way (it will have to be moved around again) and head down to the LFS and purchase one bottle of Amquel+ (about ten bucks), one ammonia sensor (about ten bucks) and one bag of poly filter also ten bucks or so.
Now assuming water, rock and sand substrate is in tank (it might be cloudy don't worry) remove all filter media in your canister filter and run it with just the poly filter. Any cloudiness should be gone by next morning.
Now the important part IMO. Please! Pretty please with sugar on top, do not spike the bejeezus out of the ammonia levels in this tank by adding rotting flesh or food to the tank. First off this will spike the ammonia level well beyond what is necessary to cycle the tank and lead to a substantial die off of your live rock. Not a good start for a tank IMO.
Instead treat the tank with Amquel+ per bottle instructions and hang the ammonia sensor on the inside of the tank. There is good info on seachems website on how these work. Now as long as this sensor indicates zero for free ammonia you are good. Head down to the LFS and purchase two blue damsels, acclimate properly and add them to the tank.
Now keep an eye on the ammonia sensor and if it indicates the presence of free ammonia an additional amquel dose is necessary (it is not likely this will happen). Also Use a chemical test kit to test for total ammonia levels in your tank. This will most likely go up to the .25/.50 range but as long as your sensor is indicating zero for free ammonia the damsels are fine.
The damsels in the tank will provide a natural reoccurring source of ammonia for the tank without raising those levels off the chart and leading to a substantial production of nitrates at the end of your cycle.
Ammonia levels tested with your chemical test kit should drop to zero around the eight day mark at which point you will start testing positive for nitrites which will fall to zero in approximately half the time it took the ammonia. About a twelve day cycle.
At this point net out the damsels to return them to the LFS (here is whre some rock moveing can come into play), they have done there job and head down to the LFS to add a few fish on your wish list that mirrors the bio load you had on the tank with your damsels. This usually means a pair of small clowns in most cases.
Good luck with your tank.

 

[murph]

Info on ammonia sensor copied from seachem site. The word "prime" here is simply seachems equivalant to amquel and either product can be used.
Q: I have another test kit that showed positive for ammonia but the Ammonia Alert™never changed color. Is it still good?
A: Most likely the other test kit was testing for total ammonia. Total ammonia includes both free (NH3) and ionic (NH4+) ammonia. The Ammonia Alert™only measure free ammonia because that is the harmful form. Ionic ammonia cannot harm your fish. However, as pH rises, a greater and greater percentage of the total ammonia will be converted from ionic ammonia to free ammonia, so knowledge of total ammonia is also important.
Q: Does Ammonia Alert properly detect toxic ammonia in the presence of Prime?
A: If the Prime has not complexed with the ammonia yet it will detect it, but it won't detect it if the Prime has already complexed it (which makes sense because when Prime has complexed with the ammonia it is no longer toxic). If you want to know the total ammonia level (free, ionized and complexed) you would need to run a Total Ammonia Test (like with our MultiTest: Free & Total Ammonia.