Cycling???????

[fgcu14]

Ok I know I have to cycle my tank and it will take aprox. 4-6 weeks to do so. How do I get the cycle started? I've heard something about shrimp and another technique with damsels. Could someone give me a discription of how cycling works and what the shrip and damsels do? Thanks in advance for the advice. :thinking:

 

[hot883]

The shrimp rots, nitrates and ammonia go really high and create nitrites I believe is the order. But basically they create a bacteria in the sand, rock, tank etc. that brakes down the harmful chemicals.
Excess food and fish poop works the same way, however the toxic levels burns the gills of the fish. Damsels are cheap so people use them. Some will die some will live. 2 problems here:
1. super cruel as it burns gills as I said and many do not live through it.
2. damsels get really mean when they get bigger and are super hard to catch after you get the rock in the tank.
The cycle can be accomplished with live rock too as it gets shipped it will have die off in it.
The cycle will take 4-6 weeks and CANNOT be rushed....

 

[starkissed]

you are right cycleing can be done many ways.... The tough part is being patient. My tank busted a seam so I have everything shoved in a little tank till my new one cycles. I would deff plan on having a QT tank (hospital tank) for sick fish or emerganceys. To start your cycle you can use damsels but it is a lot of stress on a perfectly healthy fish. He may live but he may not. What I do when I set up a tank after 4-6 weeks after I am pretty sure the cycle is over I add a damsel for a week or two just to make sure all is good. If I am going to lose something I would rather lose a cheap fish. But I never use them to actually cycle the tank. You can also use a shrimp but I have heard the smell is just terriable. I have not tried it. I add bacteria in my tank. I buy a product call Cycle. It is basically a bottle of bacteria. I am cycleing my first tank without it. I wish I woiuld have added it cause I am just not happy cycleing without it. I did however cycle the tank I have now with water and sand from my old tank which did add bacteria to start the cycle. So there are many ways to do this.

 

[anonome]

Originally Posted by hot883
The shrimp rots, nitrates and ammonia go really high and create nitrites I believe is the order. But basically they create a bacteria in the sand, rock, tank etc. that brakes down the harmful chemicals.
Excess food and fish poop works the same way, however the toxic levels burns the gills of the fish. Damsels are cheap so people use them. Some will die some will live. 2 problems here:
1. super cruel as it burns gills as I said and many do not live through it.
2. damsels get really mean when they get bigger and are super hard to catch after you get the rock in the tank.
The cycle can be accomplished with live rock too as it gets shipped it will have die off in it.
The cycle will take 4-6 weeks and CANNOT be rushed....

Please don't use fish, even the poor damsels that are very inexpensive. This is just cruel.
If you were going to use any new rock--place it now, let this cycle your tank.
The old saying---Nothing good comes fast with saltwater tanks. Please be patient.

 

[fgcu14]

so i can either use live rock or throw a shrimp into the tank to rott? what kind of shrimp?

 

[cgrant]

cocktail shrimp would work, you could buy those at most grocery stores.
You can cycle with damsels also but thats not the most friendly method, stresses the fish.
so live rock or a shrimp would work well for you, a shrimp should also give you a real good ammonia spike which is what you want.
Just dont leave it sitting in the tank for like 6 weeks, once you get a good spike pull it out or else it will really start to stink. :scared:

 

[deeze]

I usually just put a cube or two of food in the tank and let that rot. You can also but a product called Cycle... I had pretty good luck with that.

 

[shogun323]

I am a newbie myself and my tank is in its second week of its cycle. I recommend cycling with a shrimp based on my own experience. I found it to be quite entertaining trying to explain to every person at the grocery store why I was only buying 18 cents worth of shrimp.