Cycling question

[reefman316]

I just added 3 Damsels to my tank last night and want to know how long my tank should cycle for? I've been told 2 to 4 weeks but I want to be for sure before I fill my quarantine tank and get it ready for my next fish taht I plan on adding.Any answers on this will help me out a great deal thanks.

 

[livesandlover]

I let my tank cycle for about 1 month with mollies in it then i added some damsels, followed by live rock and a lunare wrasse

 

[jim672]

reefman,
Each tank is different but average cycle time is 4 to 6 weeks. The real answer is: when your ammonia, 'trites and 'trates are "0", your cycle is complete.
Just curious......why did you add 3 damsels, risking their death when you could have put a cocktail shrimp or two in to start your cycle?
Jim

 

[wilman]

i did the same thing as you, I put 4 damsels in my tank 3 days after filling it with tap water. not the smartest thing to do, i know but i am not the most patient person either. all four damsels are still with me and very happy, i even named them. they have broken the tank in nicely and were fun to watch to.

 

[indy mike]

I cycled mine with un-cured live rock and it took 4 weeks. just keep checking the levels and when they are 0 then add stuff slowly.

 

[teatime]

I cycled with 4 damsles they are still with me 2 months later. I just added some xenia last week and the largest and meanest has been nipping at it.

 

[broomer5]

reefman316,
I've cycled with damsels before and have never lost a fish in the process.
I've also cycle tanks with live rock and raw shrimp.
Any source of ammonia will do the trick.
I'll say this - the larger the tank to damsel ratio, the better chance they have of making it through the cycle. Big tank - couple few damsels you should be fine.
Small tank with 3 damsels could be harder on them. They are pretty hardy fish as I'm sure you know.
If you are planning to keep the damsels, continue on. If not - now's as good a time to return them ( or after tank cycles ).
What size tank are you cycling ?
I agree with Jeff - you can go ahead and set up your QT now - and get it cycling.
Raw shrimp from the grocery store works well, again the number required to do the job may depend on the size of the QT.
What size QT ?

 

[reefman316]

All the advice is great and helpful thank you.Here is a list of what I'm running on my display tank:
20 gallon long glass aquarium
1 20 watt 10000K fluorscent bulb
1 50/50 6000K daylight,actinic 03 blue fluorscent
bulb 20 watts
1 standard heater
2 powerheads for circulation
1 aquaclear 200 hang on the back filter
1 aquaclear 150 hang on the back filter
1 fluval 204 canister filter
15 lbs reef sand
5 lbs live sand
20 lbs live rock

 

[bosco0633]

I used raw shrimp from the local grocery store. I put in three dead shrimp and the amonia spike to 3.5 in 24 hours. I couldnt believe it. The amonia took about three days to go down to zero, so i put in 75lbs of premium cured figi rock. The amonia spike to 2.5ppm and by the end of the week amonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 10. I am now in week number four and now have fish. I would not add fish unless you check your levels in your tank. It just doesnt seem right, we are in this hobby for the buty of it and here we are potentially killing these poor fish in terrible conditions. I know damsels are hardy, but the best advice that I got was to take my time dont rush it. Thats what keeps this hobby fun. Anyways you will wind up taking them out of the tank anyways once you start finding the fish that you really want, so i agree take them back to the LFS and then drive to the grocery store, spend 2 dollars on dead shrimp and let the cycle begin. Good luck to you

 

[lrswls]

I cycled my tank with live rock also.took about 3 1/2 weeks
what do I do about the die off from the rock that is in the tank? do I take the rock out and shake it in other saltwater??If I fan it while in the tank alot of stuff comes off, don't want it to smother the rock.
any suggestions

 

[jim672]

lrswls,
I don't think it will hurt anything to just leave it alone. Over time, with good water parameters, you'll have lots of new growth on the lr.
Of course, if you're concerned about aesthetics, you can siphon it out during a water change.....
Jim

 

[reefman316]

On my first attempt I ran into an Ick problem and the few fish that I had died unfortunatly a few days into the treating in my 10 gallon hospitol tank.I was told in the fourm after I did over a 3/4 water change to let my tank go for about a month and I did that.My test kit is limited to only testing for ph ammonia and nitrites.I have no way for testing nitrates right at this moment until I can afford to buy a better test kit.Right now I'm in the process of making out my plan for fish and corals that I want to put into my tank.
This is what I would like to keep and stop after I get them into my tank.I'm going to keep the damsels because I like them,I had a royal gramma and it did good til the ick came up,also a six line wrasse,finally a coral beauty angelfish(bought last).All pf these fish will be bought very small if I can find them that way and if not my plan will change.As for corals I need to know what types I can keep with 40 watts of light in my tank and do I quarantine them before I put them in my display tank?Any more thoughts or advice is greatly taken in mind.