Has my tank already cylced?

[shr00m]

you guys are RETARDED , all of you. if you've added l/r why in the heck are you going to add something that is going to make the tank spike so freaking bad that your going to kill most of the life on the rock.... there is a bio-load on the rock, you can easily cycle a tank with cured l/r, there really usually isnt much of a cycle... just add a small fish after a few weeks and watch your levels, 9 times out of 10 the tank will be cycled already, you will always experience a mini-cycle when adding anything, l/r, fish, anything living. what is the point of buyig cured l/r if your just gonna kill all the life on it?

 

[ross]

you can easily cycle a tank with cured l/r
I disagree. Cured live rock will not start a cycle because there is nothing dead on it so spike the ammonia. It can help speed up the cycle because it has good bacteria, but it won't start one.
you will always experience a mini-cycle when adding anything, l/r, fish, anything living.
I disagree. You will not have a mini-cycle if you add cured live rock because like i said there is nothing dead to spike the ammonia. Fish can spike the ammonia, that is why you add one at a time. Inverts will not spike the ammonia. They don't add to the bioload.

 

[bang guy]

Originally posted by shr00m
you guys are RETARDED
Welcome. I see you're here to share knowledge.
you will always experience a mini-cycle when adding anything, l/r, fish, anything living.
Perhaps YOU experience a mini-cycle when YOU add something, I don't. Any properly cycled tank will not.

 

[elfdoctors]

Originally posted by shr00m
if you've added l/r why in the heck are you going to add something that is going to make the tank spike?
Live Rock will serve as the backbone for biological filtration but bacteria have to colonize many other parts of his tank. His southdown is practically sterile and will need to be seeded. His filtration system probably also needs to have bacterial seeding. If you properly cycle a tank there should not be any cycles in the future unless he adds too many fish at one time.
With fully cured live rock his cycle should be a smaller cycle than with uncured rock. It should not be excessive to kill all the beneficial life in his rock.
Welcome to Saltwaterfish.com! You will find that there will be a difference of opinions on many grey areas that some people consider black and white.

 

[dcel22]

Originally posted by shr00m
if you've added l/r why in the heck are you going to add something that is going to make the tank spike so freaking bad that your going to kill most of the life on the rock....
Is this possible???

 

[elfdoctors]

IMO, No.
You have enough live rock that you should have plenty of bacteria already to prevent a spike that bad. Many people get spikes that are high enough to make the air stink around the tank and yet the life on the rock survives. This often happens with uncured live rock. Much of the life dies off during the curing process (most often because it has been out of water for shipping) but not all. Before long you have good quality live rock again. You should have a milder ammonia spike because you are at least starting with a presumably healthy population which you are encouraging to increase before adding fish.
Particularly if the freshwater food had additives to prevent it from breaking down quickly (and therefore clouding the water), the ammonia level should only build up gradually; the bacteria you have already will break some it down immediately - the rest will serve as a food source to stimulate extra beneficial bacterial growth. You would have to add a bottle of ammonia before I would be concerned about a complete dieoff.

 

[dcel22]

I added a cocktail shrimp the other day and just now removed it. It was in there for 30 hours. My tank should be fine right?? I will try to get my ammonia levels to you guys also.

 

[elfdoctors]

Did you also suction out the excess food?
Did the shrimp seem to be rotting?
As long as you get detectable ammonia you will get your tank cycled properly.
Isn't it great when YOU have to make the final decision and everyone else is arguing? I was taught the following at several family medicine conferences - "When the experts disagree, the ignorant must choose"
Good Luck choosing! I think you are off to a great start.

 

[dcel22]

I removed the shrimp after it was there for roughly a day or so. I removed maybe 1/4 or the food also. My ammonia is somewhere between 3 and 5. So it definately spiked. I am assuming I will be fine now. I will try to snap a few pics for you guys.
Thanks,
Joe

 

[dcel22]

Here is a pic...water is a little cloudy because I was washing the sides and mixed the sand a little...

 

[bang guy]

Love the aquascape!
I would suggest you remove the venturi on the powerhead though. I would think all of those bubbles would be making a big mess around the top of the tank.

 

[dcel22]

what is the venturi??
Is that just the piece that angles the flow up on an angle???
That is also close to full air flow for the powerhead, does it matter if I decrease the air flow a lot, to decrease the noise?
Thanks Bang Guy

 

[bang guy]

The venturi is the device on the nossle of the powerhead that sucks in the air to produce bubbles. I usually don't attach the hose and glue the venturi hole closed. You don't really need nor want those bubbles in your tank.

 

[dcel22]

oh...I am glad I posted a pic then. I thought that I wanted the bubbles in there so I have had the air flow cranked up. What kind of glue should I use, will ordinary super glue be fine?

 

[dcel22]

I forgot to ask also, what do you mean by a mess when you speak about all the bubbles at the top of the tank?
Thanks.

 

[scotts]

D22,
Please do not take this as flaming, but it sounds like you started your tank the same way that I did. Just kind of jumped in and listened to the lfs for advice. So rather than sound like I am preaching to you let me tell you what I have found. My lfs had a $20 bottle for every problem that I had. Then I found this site and my problems seemed to go away, after awhile. I learned about stuff on this board that I did not even know to ask about. I would highly recommend to you to spend an hour or two and just read all of the posts that you can. Sure people will tell you that will not teach you everyting but at least you will have more knowledge about this hobby. Also you will learn that there are people on this board that you want to listen to and people that you don't want to listen to. Bang guy is definitely one of those people that you want to listen to.
As far as the bubbles in your tank you do not want them for a couple of reasons. One is that they will get all over your rock and just look bad. Another is that they will cause the salt to build up on your glass, or if you do not have glass on top of you tank then the salt will build up on your lights.
And yes super glue is fine in your tank. The gel kind seems to work out better because it does not get all over the place.
Well sorry it does sound like I was preaching.
BTW I like your tank. You have some great coralline on that one rock that should spread to the toher rocks.
Good luck
Scott

 

[bang guy]

Originally posted by dcel22
oh...I am glad I posted a pic then. I thought that I wanted the bubbles in there so I have had the air flow cranked up. What kind of glue should I use, will ordinary super glue be fine?
Super Glue Gel should work. I dab a gob of Aquarium safe silicone and let it cure 24 hours. Turn off the powerhead and take it out of the water to glue it.
* * this is NOT required * * It's just something I do to prevent something live from getting stuck on the venturi.

 

[dcel22]

Originally posted by Scotts
D22,
Please do not take this as flaming, but it sounds like you started your tank the same way that I did. Just kind of jumped in and listened to the lfs for advice. So rather than sound like I am preaching to you let me tell you what I have found. My lfs had a $20 bottle for every problem that I had. Then I found this site and my problems seemed to go away, after awhile. I learned about stuff on this board that I did not even know to ask about. I would highly recommend to you to spend an hour or two and just read all of the posts that you can. Sure people will tell you that will not teach you everyting but at least you will have more knowledge about this hobby. Also you will learn that there are people on this board that you want to listen to and people that you don't want to listen to. Bang guy is definitely one of those people that you want to listen to.
As far as the bubbles in your tank you do not want them for a couple of reasons. One is that they will get all over your rock and just look bad. Another is that they will cause the salt to build up on your glass, or if you do not have glass on top of you tank then the salt will build up on your lights.
And yes super glue is fine in your tank. The gel kind seems to work out better because it does not get all over the place.
Well sorry it does sound like I was preaching.
BTW I like your tank. You have some great coralline on that one rock that should spread to the toher rocks.
Good luck
Scott
It's cool. I have only been to 3 different pet stores to get various info from a few sources. Plus I have been reading tons on this board for about 3 weeks now. And actually mostly everything that I have learned so far is from people on this board. I have been very careful not to just run out and waste my money. I have done a lot of research. The tank and lighting is my brother's so I saved there and all 32 pounds of that rock I got for 60 bucks. I already know of a few people on this board that have good advice. I have noticed bang guy help out a lot of others and myself. And not to just point him out but there are also other's that I have noticed. I do appreciate your input too though. If this post makes me seem like "i know it all" or I have done "all" the research there is to be researched please don't look at it like that. For example you just clued me in on the bubbles and now I know not to have them since I have already noticed salt build up at the top on the tank and on the glass. Anyway thanks a lot for the help.

 

[dcel22]

I think the big thing that confused me so far with this tank was that I bought this rock from a guy who lives near me and well I usually found posts about how you will have die off and that will start your cycle. Well I don't think I had any die off because he lives so close and we kept the rock moist and all my levels were at 0. So I didn't know that I had to give it an ammonia spike, I just figured it was good.

 

[shr00m]

dont take it as a flame... there are MANY people who cycle tanks with l/r only. Yes there does need to be some nutrient in order for bacteria to spread from the l/r to the sand BUT, if you've added the proper amount of CURED l/r it isnt going to hurt to wait about 2 weeks and add a fish. there will plenty of filtration with the cured l/r to handle 1 fish, but i would never do it sooner than 2 to 3 weeks down the road after adding the l/r. maybe the cycle actually happens with the fish, BUT this is nothing like throwing a damsel in a tank without any l/r and just letting it cycle, BTW if you add a 1/4 cup of food in a empty tank every day I really believe this is going to be detrimental to the l/r. sure maybe not all the life will die, but this just cannot be a good idea, sorry for the flame i didnt mean it to seem that way.