cycling

[deelucky]

hey.im new to the saltwater hobby,though i onced work for petland discount my involvement with the salt water was just acclimating.anyway i just started in a 29 gallon fish tank and my cycling seems to be going haywire im not sure if i might have done something wrong but the ammonia,nitrite and nitrate are almost in the same range.all i have is live sand,live rock ,one damsel (lost two).any advice would be great thanks.

 

[jerth6932]

Originally Posted by deelucky
hey.im new to the saltwater hobby,though i onced work for petland discount my involvement with the salt water was just acclimating.anyway i just started in a 29 gallon fish tank and my cycling seems to be going haywire im not sure if i might have done something wrong but the ammonia,nitrite and nitrate are almost in the same range.all i have is live sand,live rock ,one damsel (lost two).any advice would be great thanks.
Well to start this off right....... Welcome to the hobby and we how you have an enjoyable time with it!!! We need to know the basics.... how long have you had your tank up and running for? What is haywire? Exact levels of the amonia, nitrates, and nitrites! And this will be said by someone so I will say it from the beginng.... you should of cycled with raw shrimp, not damsels! You should try to catch the damsel and take it back to the LFS where you bought him and get a credit... so you dont have a loss of 3 fish..... Once your levels start to level out..... 0's across the bord, you can add a clean up crew.... then after they have been there for a week or two, then add fish!

 

[grmreefer2]

sorry, this doesnt help you, but I was just wondering exactly how the petland that you worked at acclimated?? the procedure they use i mean.

 

[deelucky]

Originally Posted by Jerth6932
Well to start this off right....... Welcome to the hobby and we how you have an enjoyable time with it!!! We need to know the basics.... how long have you had your tank up and running for? What is haywire? Exact levels of the amonia, nitrates, and nitrites! And this will be said by someone so I will say it from the beginng.... you should of cycled with raw shrimp, not damsels! You should try to catch the damsel and take it back to the LFS where you bought him and get a credit... so you dont have a loss of 3 fish..... Once your levels start to level out..... 0's across the bord, you can add a clean up crew.... then after they have been there for a week or two, then add fish!
my ammonia is 0.50,nitrite0.50 and nitrate is a 10.the tank has now been running for two weeks and i will send back that last damsel before he goes too.

 

[deelucky]

Originally Posted by grmreefer2
sorry, this doesnt help you, but I was just wondering exactly how the petland that you worked at acclimated?? the procedure they use i mean.
well it was a short and simple thing once we got the fish we let the bag sit for 15 min then add about 1/4 cup every five mins.

 

[mikeyjer]

Originally Posted by deelucky
well it was a short and simple thing once we got the fish we let the bag sit for 15 min then add about 1/4 cup every five mins.
Those process works with some fish, some don't like that process. I've used that process many times when I'm getting fish from LFS. But if I ship it in, I do the drip acclimating procedure. Unless I'm getting stars from LFS or ship, STILL the drip method because they're picky. The drip method is simple and easy. It should be used for any acclimating procedure. But yours works fine though. :happyfish

 

[jerth6932]

Originally Posted by deelucky
my ammonia is 0.50,nitrite0.50 and nitrate is a 10.the tank has now been running for two weeks and i will send back that last damsel before he goes too.
Yep.... you are dead smack dab in the middle of your Cycle.... That is a smart move to send back the damsel, caus if you do not you could be using him to cycle just the same a a raw/dead shrimp. Once you have him out, grab 3-4 cocktail eating shrimp, toss them in there for about 3-4 days..... Or really you could just allow the waste that was collected by the damsels cycle your tank now, cause you should have a good amount of waste in there. How much LR and LS do you currently have in the tank? The more of the two you have "usually" means that you have a shorter cycling time......(see the word that is "") LR you should have between 1- 1 1/2 LBS per gallon. I hope this helps ya... and with in a couple of weeks you will have nice 0's across the board!!!!!!! Good luck!!!!

 

[deelucky]

Originally Posted by Jerth6932
Yep.... you are dead smack dab in the middle of your Cycle.... That is a smart move to send back the damsel, caus if you do not you could be using him to cycle just the same a a raw/dead shrimp. Once you have him out, grab 3-4 cocktail eating shrimp, toss them in there for about 3-4 days..... Or really you could just allow the waste that was collected by the damsels cycle your tank now, cause you should have a good amount of waste in there. How much LR and LS do you currently have in the tank? The more of the two you have "usually" means that you have a shorter cycling time......(see the word that is "") LR you should have between 1- 1 1/2 LBS per gallon. I hope this helps ya... and with in a couple of weeks you will have nice 0's across the board!!!!!!! Good luck!!!!
thanks for the info i just got nervous when everything was within the same range.its not good on the nerves when you starting something that is so fun to have you just end up getting as stressed as my poor damsel.

 

[jerth6932]

Originally Posted by deelucky
thanks for the info i just got nervous when everything was within the same range.its not good on the nerves when you starting something that is so fun to have you just end up getting as stressed as my poor damsel.
Understood.... I did the same think when I started..... :scared: <

[hr]
that was me then.......LOL ...... I am more like this now

:hilarious

But yeah they can all go to around the same levels when you have a huge bioload in there such as a fish!