Got my 20 gallon set up...

[bknow]

when can i start adding a cleaning crew?? i got 20lbs live sand 12lbs cured live rock...hot mag filter runnin carbon...aquaclear power head...been running since sunday...dropped in a raw shrimp also...checked the nitrite its 0...pH is like 8...can i put stuff in now!?? i cant wait nomore!!

 

[mes1]

do not add anything until your cycle is complete. it should take about 3-5 weeks to cycle. please just be patient. you dont need to test for ph just yet just focus on the ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. when you see your ammonia spike take the shrimp out and let ALL (ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates) of your levels level out to ZERO. then you could add a cleaning crew. dont add to many things at once because everything you add will start a "mini cycle" including live rock and live sand. wait a couple weeks after the cleaning crew then add a fish. then wait a couple weeks and then add another... etc etc. do not add any shrimp untill your tank is 6 months old. this hobby is all about PATIENCE. post the specs of your tank so i could help you further. glad to see you asked before you acted. if your confused about something just ask and i will help you the best i could.
oh and add a bit more live rock before your cycle ends so you dont have to go through the trouble of curing it and such...

 

[bknow]

all my sand and rocks are already cured...i added the raw shrimp just yesterday...what other stuff do i need to check my water (i already have nitrite and pH...my nitrite was ZERO) and what stuff do i need to add in my water like calciums and all that stuff?? and yeah im confused on how long to wait haha...i dont wanna mess this up on my first try
thanks for your help!!

 

[mes1]

it'll be a while till you cycle is done. alright bro heres what you need right now. ammonia, and nitrate test kits. once you get those test your water for ammonia every 2-4 days. take the shrimp out friday (it should smell pretty rank). you should have ammonia reading by then. keep testing. when your ammonia level starts dropping start testing for nitrite and nitrate. it should be a couple weeks. use this time for research, research and some more research but once your ammonia, nitrite levels are at 0 you should have a bit of nitrate left. do a 10% water change and it should take care of it. after that you have finished your cycle. at this point you could add a cleaning crew. wait about 2 weeks then add the first fish. do you already know what you are putting in the tank? test for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate after everything you add because everything you add will start a "mini" cycle. you dont need to add anything to the water just keep it simple. dont dose with any chemicals. i would suggest some more live rock. even though the live rock you bought was cured almost everything on it will die do to your cycle. so take this oppertunity and go buy the cheaper uncured live rock and add it before your cycle is done. if i messed up on anything someone else should come and correct me. i have only gone through one cycle before and i did mine wrong so yeah anything else you need help one just ask. post your specs once you get those test kits! peace...

 

[rbaldino]

Originally Posted by Mes1
it'll be a while till you cycle is done. alright bro heres what you need right now. ammonia, and nitrate test kits. once you get those test your water for ammonia every 2-4 days. take the shrimp out friday (it should smell pretty rank). you should have ammonia reading by then. keep testing. when your ammonia level starts dropping start testing for nitrite and nitrate. it should be a couple weeks. use this time for research, research and some more research but once your ammonia, nitrite levels are at 0 you should have a bit of nitrate left. do a 10% water change and it should take care of it. after that you have finished your cycle. at this point you could add a cleaning crew. wait about 2 weeks then add the first fish. do you already know what you are putting in the tank? test for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate after everything you add because everything you add will start a "mini" cycle. you dont need to add anything to the water just keep it simple. dont dose with any chemicals. i would suggest some more live rock. even though the live rock you bought was cured almost everything on it will die do to your cycle. so take this oppertunity and go buy the cheaper uncured live rock and add it before your cycle is done. if i messed up on anything someone else should come and correct me. i have only gone through one cycle before and i did mine wrong so yeah anything else you need help one just ask. post your specs once you get those test kits! peace...
I can't believe how misinformed so many people on this site are about cured live rock. When you add cured live rock to a tank, there is no need to cycle. The purpose of cycling is to establish a colony of nitrifying bacteria. When you add cured live rock, the bacteria are already there, waiting to go to work. Also, I find the idea of a "mini-cycle" quite dubious.
That said, you can start adding fish, but go slow. I'd get one fish, then try to add to your live rock; I'd aim for at least 1 pound per gallon. At most with that tank, you can probably have four small fish if you set up a good system and keep up with water changes. Good luck.

 

[mes1]

Originally Posted by rbaldino
I can't believe how misinformed so many people on this site are about cured live rock. When you add cured live rock to a tank, there is no need to cycle. The purpose of cycling is to establish a colony of nitrifying bacteria. When you add cured live rock, the bacteria are already there, waiting to go to work. Also, I find the idea of a "mini-cycle" quite dubious.
That said, you can start adding fish, but go slow. I'd get one fish, then try to add to your live rock; I'd aim for at least 1 pound per gallon. At most with that tank, you can probably have four small fish if you set up a good system and keep up with water changes. Good luck.
:notsure: uhh wtf? realy?

 

[rbaldino]

Originally Posted by Mes1
:notsure: uhh wtf? realy?
What confuses you? Honestly, I think there are a lot of people on here who don't understand the nitrogen cycle and what it is that live rock (more specifically, the bacteria living in it) really does.
Everything you described about adding a dead shrimp or whatever is what you do if you have some sort of man-made biomedia in a filter of some sort (like a wet-dry or HOB) and you're trying to establish a colony of nitrifying bacteria in a new tank. When you use cured live rock, none of that is necessary. I'll give you an example. I used to have a 30 gallon fish only tank. Within a year or so I bought a 50 gallon tank and 30 or so pounds of cured live rock. I set up the tank, dropped in the rock, and immediately moved my four fish in. There was no need for a cycle and nothing bad happened. In addition, just recently I replaced all the live rock in my 29 gallon with new, cured live rock. The four fish that were in there at the time are all still in there and all still alive.

 

[mes1]

the only way i would see you wont have a cycle is if you transfer everything from an established tank to a brand new tank including some water.... and out of curiosity why did you swap out your old rock with new rock?

 

[mes1]

Originally Posted by rbaldino
you can probably have four small fish.
doesnt that sound like too much? i would suggest 2... and maybe after it has established go with a 3rd.. maybe

 

[rbaldino]

Originally Posted by Mes1
the only way i would see you wont have a cycle is if you transfer everything from an established tank to a brand new tank including some water.... and out of curiosity why did you swap out your old rock with new rock?
Well, I dropped newly purchased rock into a newly established tank and like I said, I didn't have any problems. Again, the cycle is to establish the bacteria colony. Cured live rock already has the bacteria.
Why did I swap out my rock? I had a rockscape made up mostly of smaller pieces and decided that I wanted to replace them with fewer, bigger pieces. This was after about 10 years of looking at pretty much the same rocks. I also occassionaly replace rock when I find a new piece or two that I really like. If you want to do something very specific with your rockscape, it's unlikely that you'll find all the right pieces at the same time, especially if you need a lot of pieces.

 

[rbaldino]

Originally Posted by Mes1
doesnt that sound like too much? i would suggest 2... and maybe after it has established go with a 3rd.. maybe
I said small fish, and he does have to be careful not to add them all at once. I had a false perc, a four-stripe damsel, and two yellow-tail damsels in a 20 for quite a while. This is doable if you've got a good setup with a skimmer and stay on top of the water changes, say 10-20 percent weekly.

 

[mes1]

Originally Posted by rbaldino
Why did I swap out my rock? I had a rockscape made up mostly of smaller pieces and decided that I wanted to replace them with fewer, bigger pieces. This was after about 10 years of looking at pretty much the same rocks. I also occassionaly replace rock when I find a new piece or two that I really like. If you want to do something very specific with your rockscape, it's unlikely that you'll find all the right pieces at the same time, especially if you need a lot of pieces.
...gotcha
im just not too sure about 4 small fish though. and damsels are aggresive and teritorial and they get worse with time and are a pain in the a*s to get out. i would suggest a pair of clowns and a jawfish. or 1 firefish 1 royal gramma and a yellow watchmen goby.

 

[mes1]

listen man you could listen to either of us.. all i am going to say is i myself recomend the method i gave you. others might disagree but in the end its your choice. just what ever you end up doing make sure you take it slow. and when i say slow i mean take it s l o w. just read some more on these forums and buy yourself a book. both will help alot. good luck

 

[bknow]

oh yeh i forgot to mention...my friend gave me like 5 gallons of his water from his tank when i set it up already...haha...so yeh i'll just take out the shrimp on friday and get the ammonia and nitrate test kits and test the water...if everythings OK then im going to add some clean up crew...sounds good?? everything in my tank was already bought cured! so i dont need to cycle it nomore right or do a 10% water change?? tell me if im wrong...thanks

 

[mes1]

you still need to cycle... trust me. once you get the test kits post up your specs.

 

[rbaldino]

Originally Posted by bknow
oh yeh i forgot to mention...my friend gave me like 5 gallons of his water from his tank when i set it up already...haha...so yeh i'll just take out the shrimp on friday and get the ammonia and nitrate test kits and test the water...if everythings OK then im going to add some clean up crew...sounds good?? everything in my tank was already bought cured! so i dont need to cycle it nomore right or do a 10% water change?? tell me if im wrong...thanks
Since you used the shrimp method, you should do a water change before adding any fish.

 

[rbaldino]

Originally Posted by Mes1
...gotcha
im just not too sure about 4 small fish though. and damsels are aggresive and teritorial and they get worse with time and are a pain in the a*s to get out. i would suggest a pair of clowns and a jawfish. or 1 firefish 1 royal gramma and a yellow watchmen goby.
I didn't say he should get damsels, I was just describing what I had. As for your choices, the royal gramma is likely to harass a firefish.

 

[bknow]

OK i tested the water...pH-8.0...nitrite-0...nitrate-80...carbonate hardness-240...shrimps still in there taking it out on friday...hopefully i could add cleaning crew by monday when my light comes in =)
here's the pix

 

[rbaldino]

Nitrate's high, so you definitely want to do a water change before adding anything. I'd say 25 percent. You can probably take the shrimp out now, and get your CUC whenever you want. Just make sure you acclimate them properly. Snails in particular don't take new-tank shock very well.

 

[bknow]

So what should my nitrates be at?? I'm going to do a water change this weekend probably and get some snails and hermit crabs