copepods? check anyways.

[swingsett]

so, about a week ago i bought two pieces of live rock, and live sand (in the bag) from my lfs. ive heard about seeing animals sifting through the sand, and seeing animals on your live rock. this is whats happened so far:
when i put the rock in i could see some small snails, tiny featherdusters (maybe?) and bristle worms. now i cant see bristle worms ever, even when the lights are out. whats the chance of them dying? would they be included in the 'die off' stage? also, wont my tank be full of brittle stars and worms and such anyways in a while? maybe im expecting too much to fast, but its awesome to see those little creatures all the time.
oh, and i see some SUPER tiny white specs, everywhere on my glass. im guessing copepods? if this is the case, good god im going to have a lot. how long does it take to start seeing these things swimming around? and how long does it usually take to start seeing your lr population grow again?
i have a 55gallon, and am seeding a bunch of base rock with the new lr. idea on how long this will take? i have roughly 40 lbs now, with like two lbs lr. this is a fowlr, and i have only a single 75 watt bulb. are there any special lighting requirements for the betterment of your liverock? or pods?

 

[swingsett]

40 views and no replies? hows that even possible?
for anyone wondering, heres my tan specs.
ammonia .25
nitrite 0
nitrate 20 ppm
ph 8.4
so is this the cycle coming to an end from the liverock/sand i put in?

 

[geridoc]

Originally Posted by swingsett
http:///forum/post/2710605
40 views and no replies? hows that even possible?
for anyone wondering, heres my tan specs.
ammonia .25
nitrite 0
nitrate 20 ppm
ph 8.4
so is this the cycle coming to an end from the liverock/sand i put in?
Take a water sample to a lfs and ask them to test for ammonia. With nitrates so high, ammonia should be zero, so your test kit may be inaccurate. It does look like your cycle is complete, judging from the nitrite and nitrate levels. Don't obsess about the changing population on your live rock. Various species will appear and disappear for a long time as things settle down. In one of my tanks, up for 3 years, I still occasionally see an organism that I had never seen before. That's the fun of these types of tanks. Relax, and be patient!

 

[mr_x]

hi. some things will live through the cycle and some will die. the things that will live will breed and you'll have plenty of life eventually. the ammonia stage is the most toxic of the cycle. after the cycle is over, your base rock will have alot of bacteria on it, which will make it "live" in a few months, all of the rock in the tank will be utilized. as for the live rock, there are no special requirements. i wouldn't run the lights at all during the cycle. the light in the room is enough. there will be alot of nutrients in the tank, and lighting it during the cycle can trigger some heavy algae blooms.
alot of the life you see now, won't be as visible later. the little white dots are most likely pods. pretty soon you should see some white flatworms- they'll be eating those little white dots, and then when the little white dots are all gone, the flatworms will disappear too.
your cycle has just begun. when the ammonia reads zero, and nitrate also reads zero, then the cycle will be nearly done.

 

[swingsett]

thanks for the replies. this isnt the initial cycle, i just put some liverock/sand in to seed mine. im going to call ammonia zero, im using a 'color chart' test kit so its sometimes hard to distinguish the chart in changing ambient light.

 

[srgvigil]

Originally Posted by Mr_X
http:///forum/post/2710682
your cycle has just begun. when the ammonia reads zero, and nitrate also reads zero, then the cycle will be nearly done.
Do you mean nitrite or nitrate? Cause aren't nitrates the end of the process?

 

[swingsett]

yea i think he got it backwards. im pretty sure you always want 0 amm 0 trites and under 20ppm trates?

 

[stdreb27]

Ideally you'd want zero's across the board, however anything below 20 is fine usually. I wouldn't worry about the life in your liverock, I doubt they died they are just really good at hiding.

 

[mr_x]

i meant nitrites. when nitrites read zero, your cycle is mostly done. all you have to wait for is the nitrates to come to an acceptable level.
if you have noticable ammonia, and nitrates, i'd wait it out...wait till the ammonia is converted to nitrite, then nitrite is undetectable.
you posted having ammonia, and nitrate. what i meant by all of this was that if you see nitrate, don't think it's over. you still have ammonia to process.