thewolfman777
Member
I read somewhere that when you cycle a new SW tank that you can add 2 - 5 " of fish per 10 gallons of water. Is this recommended?
Cycling a new SW tank
- Thread starter thewolfman777
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ocellaris_keeper
Active Member
Wolfman:
Thebest way to cycle a tank is to use frozen brine shrimp (food you will want to have on hand for your fish anyway). Drop a cube in the tank and this will cause the nitrogen cycle to start. You ammonia will spike, followed by nitrite spike (this is where you should remove the shrimp) and when they both resume 0 add some clown fish (NOT DAMSELS). Damsels are too hard to remove.
Thebest way to cycle a tank is to use frozen brine shrimp (food you will want to have on hand for your fish anyway). Drop a cube in the tank and this will cause the nitrogen cycle to start. You ammonia will spike, followed by nitrite spike (this is where you should remove the shrimp) and when they both resume 0 add some clown fish (NOT DAMSELS). Damsels are too hard to remove.
dathem
Member
Hello,
There is another way to cycle a tank. You can buy Nature's Ocean live sand in 10 or 20 pound bags. You can add a few hardy fish as soon as the water clears and you won't have to worry about any ammonia or nitrites. I have done this 4 different times and never any problem as long as you don't try to fill the fish quota of your tank right away. You still need to let the tank mature to add Angels, Tangs and other less hardy fish/ inverts. You can also use Freshwater molllies and adjust them to the salt water to cycle a tank. I have had them give birth in the saltwater tank. I caught as many as I could and grew them on in a 20 gal saltwater tank and sold them to a pet store.
PS: The N. O. live sand is just full of the needed different types of bacteria in a dormant like state. They come to life quickly ready to go to work on the fish wastes. If you go for the "old method" of cycling a tank you will have to endure a long period (possible several months)of nothing much in your tank and you will need LOTS of patience. There is now no reason to do that as many pet stores carry this live sand as well as online!
There is another way to cycle a tank. You can buy Nature's Ocean live sand in 10 or 20 pound bags. You can add a few hardy fish as soon as the water clears and you won't have to worry about any ammonia or nitrites. I have done this 4 different times and never any problem as long as you don't try to fill the fish quota of your tank right away. You still need to let the tank mature to add Angels, Tangs and other less hardy fish/ inverts. You can also use Freshwater molllies and adjust them to the salt water to cycle a tank. I have had them give birth in the saltwater tank. I caught as many as I could and grew them on in a 20 gal saltwater tank and sold them to a pet store.
PS: The N. O. live sand is just full of the needed different types of bacteria in a dormant like state. They come to life quickly ready to go to work on the fish wastes. If you go for the "old method" of cycling a tank you will have to endure a long period (possible several months)of nothing much in your tank and you will need LOTS of patience. There is now no reason to do that as many pet stores carry this live sand as well as online!
mojo.
Member
wolfman, I started my 125 gl. tank the ol fashion way. C.C., l/r, 4 power heads , a wet/dry , 4 Damselles, I still have the Damselles. plus - Tomatoe clown, pygmy angel,+ 8 other Damselles. These fish have been in aq. 4 yrs., so if you want a good fish , try the Damsielles!! Not everyone likes them but they are hardy lil fish. Mary
thefishpimp
New Member
Hey... i was wonderin if any of you guys had ever tried biogical supplements to rapidly mature your tank within 1-2 weeks easily??? I use cycle (double dosage) and started my 150 with exotic fish the 2nd day i had it...... (blue tang and various corals) and everything has done EXCELLENT from the day ive had my aqurium!!!
aczmey
Member
I was cycling my tank with damsels and they are very hard to catch when you want something else. I had to take my life rock out in order to remove them. I would had kept them but they are very fast eaters and if you put slow eating fish with them it may starve. My next tank I will cycle with clowns, it should be better and only a fraction more expensive. 
karlas
Member
cycling with fish is very hard on them and a lot of them die when this is done and if they live there is a possibility of long term affects of gill damage that can be done with this. it is better if cycled with lr, ls or the table shrimp method. iv'e tried the cycling suppliments before save your money and use it for something else you would need the best thing to do is wait it out, i know its hard (my tank sat 1 1/2 months w/o any fish )but patience is very important with this hobby if you end up rushing it, it will cost u a lot more than if u waited
thewolfman777
Member
for the question about cycling with supplements. i started a sw tank a couple of weeks ago and used products like biozyme, cycle, and stresszyme. i already have 3 damsels in the tank and they are doing just fine, thus far. what i am afraid of is that these products might be delaying the natural process. my tank has held a steady 8.2 ph, 0 nitrites, 0 nitrates, and I have just seen a change in ammonia for the first time from a steady 0 to barely 0.25. i am actually anxious to see a spike in ammonia so i know something is finally going on in the tank. some people like them and some people dont. so i guess i'll sit back and see what happens.
fshhub
Active Member
suppliments: (as mentioned) are quick fixes, and like any other does not correct the prob, only set it back(this does NOT apply to vitamins or medications at all)
for the most part, IMHO, the only people i have seen(90% of em anyway), that really like the stuff and go thru the trouble to push it is someone who stands to profit, i am sure there are some others(but not a lot),my lfs loved the stuff, until he sold it to me, it did not do near what it was supposed to(in his words), costing him @300$
because not only did he accept full responsibility(at the advice of his marine biologist& breeders) but his breeder where he got the fishes from declined
responsibility needless to say, try and find a bottle on his shelf today
the stuff may HELP(but i could use my money elsewhere in a new tank), but it only helps
it does not always happen that way, but you cannot stock a tank fully or beyond capacity in 2 days, no matter how you do it, you still must go slow, this stuff may help to kickstart your bio filter, but will not grow it large enough for a lot of fish you still need to go slow, lr and a dsb has a faster recovery rate(after adding fish) once it is established
for the most part, IMHO, the only people i have seen(90% of em anyway), that really like the stuff and go thru the trouble to push it is someone who stands to profit, i am sure there are some others(but not a lot),my lfs loved the stuff, until he sold it to me, it did not do near what it was supposed to(in his words), costing him @300$
because not only did he accept full responsibility(at the advice of his marine biologist& breeders) but his breeder where he got the fishes from declined
responsibility needless to say, try and find a bottle on his shelf today
the stuff may HELP(but i could use my money elsewhere in a new tank), but it only helps
it does not always happen that way, but you cannot stock a tank fully or beyond capacity in 2 days, no matter how you do it, you still must go slow, this stuff may help to kickstart your bio filter, but will not grow it large enough for a lot of fish you still need to go slow, lr and a dsb has a faster recovery rate(after adding fish) once it is established
fshhub
Active Member
the sand and shrimp, IMO would be the best kick start, ls, is great, and will help to accelerate your cycle, by itself, some say only days, i know ours sped up a lot after we added it, we started our cycle in our 1st tank, then i about 4 or 5 days, we added ls and then in a couple of more days, it was done(that was a FO, no lr at that time), if you have not bought the bacteria yet, i'd use the aragalive, it already has a load of bacteria in it