Cycle?????????

[donm]

I've been up and running for about three weeks now. I have a 45 gallon tank with 20 lbs of live sand in the bottom. I currently have a small puffer, clown, manderine and a naso tang. I have been experiencing a high nitrite level along with a minimal nitrate level. My amonia is 0. Could my tank be going through a cycle even though I have live sand? If anyone has any info please let me know.... Thanks........

 

[beth]

I don't even know where to begin with this, donm....these creatures you have in your new tank are--well.....doomed. Please make quick arrangements to move these animals to another well-established, healthy tank. Ask your LFS to take them back...even if you have to give them to the lfs.
These fish are not fish you can cycle a tank with. Please, new hobbyst, do extensive readings or posting on this BB before beginning in this hobby.
Get those fish out of there NOW. Then let your tank cycle.
This is why I would like to see a "Newbie Hobbyst" forum added to our BB.
[ April 21, 2001: Message edited by: Beth ]

 

[nm reef]

Makes a newbie like me wanna vent....but I'm not experienced enough to even vent correctly....man...I thought I had problems gettin up and goin.....sounds to me like your cycle is NOT near complete and the creatures you have in there are not able to handle a cycle...please listen to beth...and others here that can and more importnatly WILL help.............sorry if I was rude.....

 

[tonka]

It's so sad that some large chain LFS stores give the wrong info. I was at a ***CO the other day and I overheard a salesperson tell a customer that if you ad LS you can ad fish the same day. Any type of fish. There is no need to cycle your tank. The sand is already cycled. I was there to catch this customer as she walked out. And told her the truth. We do need some form of training for the LFS's.

 

[bluto]

What everyone's getting at is...just because you have LS doesn't mean you don't have to cycle your tank. It can speed up the process (my tank just finished cycling in 2wks with LS, LR, & raw shrimp)...but it still has to cycle. If those fish go thru the cycle...they'll die.
Nobody means to be harsh (I don't think), but as a fellow newbie one of the first things you'll learn about this board is that the welfare of the fish comes first. As far as I'm concerned...that's how it should be.
Hope this helps.
Bluto

 

[cchung718]

I don't think you should have other fishes but I believe you can cycle a tank with a puffer. That's what my friend did, cycle a tank with a puffer. You should do something about the other fishes though... your tank is not ready for all that fish (especially the less hardy ones). Good Luck

 

[bluto]

I guess part of it comes down to your feelings on the whole cycling process. There's a school of thought that says cycling with fish (i.e. damsels, etc.) is cruel in and of itself. In other words the fish go thru so much stress and adversity that it's really not fair considering there are other ways of doing it. So maybe whether the fish survive or not isn't the entire issue??
I'm not an expert...just thought I'd throw that out there.
Bluto
"Mr Blutarski...zero point zero."

 

[donm]

Sorry to create such an uproar!! Yeah the guy at the fish store told me that I can skip the whole cycle phase if I use live sand. He said I could add any fish right away. That's the last time I listen to him, I'm going to stay glued to this message board from now on.
Well my nitrites are at 5 and my nitrates are between 20 and 40. I've noticed that my nitrates have gone up quite a bit since yesterday. Do you guys think I still need to take drastic action right away? Fish look ok, no different then any other day.
Thank you all for your help and concern. I feel really bad about the whole scene. The last thing I want to do is mistreat these fish. Thanks again....

 

[fixitdude2001]

I would say set up a hospital tank and get the fish out until it cycles I will use raw shrimp on next setup, This is the reason why I donot shop at our local store BAD ADVICE from day one. for the hospital tank I would put in hiding places and do frequent water changes until main tank is cycled then add fish slowly...

 

[caymanlovers]

Your tank is about half way to the nitrite peak. Your fish MIGHT make it because they are acclimating to the rising level but you are probably going to lose most of them. As far as doing anything drastic "right away" - if you don't do it now there may well be no need to do it at all because your tank will have cycled but killed most, if not all, of your fish.
Your choice, but I know what I would do, get the fish out, do about a 50% water change and introduce some damsels. I like to call them "pioneer fish" since they lead the way.
What do the others feel about the water change, needed or not?

 

[donm]

Another thing I should have added was that I never detected any amonia at all the whole time.
Tomorrow I may get a small tank and try to save these guys. Can the puffer stay and help cycle the tank?

 

[fantomkoala]

If you are going to leave any fish in their, go with the clown. They are from the same family as damsels and are probably the hardiest of those fish. A lot of people talk about cycling with clowns, which seems a bad Idea to me, but this is the first I have ever head of anyone suggesting a puffer was a good idea. I think its probably best to stick with only LR to cycle your tank. If you get some uncured live rock, you have no need to put fish through any stress as all the die off from the rock will cycle the tank.
Fantom+K

 

[tacks]

donm,
You probably figured this out by now but Never take advice from someone trying to make money off you. I'm not saying all lfs stores are crooked. You just have to be careful who you take advice from. Do your homework and visit this board often. There are a whole lot of intelligent people on this board who are not making money off you.