is this ok?

rcdude1990

rcdude1990

Active Member
i went to my local fish stroe and they said to set up my tank
so i set up a
45 gallon tank
10 gallon wet/dry wit protien skimmer
40 lbs. of LS
and Salt
now i put the stuff in my water and waited 2 days
so yesturday i went to my lfs to pick up a light for my tank and the man that told me to put the stuff in my tank asked how my tank was doin
i said it is lookin very nice, the water is crystal clear
so i asked the man wat i should do next
he said if u want, buy a few damsels, and have them in the tank for two weeks
he said if the fish survive for the two weeks then ur ready to get other, better lookin fish
but in my mind i said to myself that i didnt even cycle the tank
so i said to him shouldnt i cycle the tank?
he said no there is no need because everythin in the tank is brand new
i asked him about LR and he said LR is mainly for makin the tank look nice and if u want corals u put them on LR
but i told him im new to this so i might wait a few months then get some coral
so i went home wit two free damsels
i acclimated them
durin acclimation i decided to test my water
i was very shocked to c that everythin was ok
ph=8.2
nitrate=0
nitrite=0
ammonia=0
and salanity at 1.019-1.020
but is it ok to get better fish after 2 weeks?
plz help
also another thing my lfs has 4 70 gallon tanks that they sell fish in (like the tank has fish in it and u pick witch one u like and they sell it to u)
i have been goin to this fish store for a long time to get my freshwater fish but i always use to go and c wats up wit SW fish
i notice that they have had about 10 fish in each tank that r really expensive and they cant seem to sell them
but the tank only has one piece of LR in it maybe about 6 inches long and like 8 inches high (not exact) but the fish seem to b living well in the tank
if i set up my tank like that will everythin b ok??? because to me it looks kinda better wit out LR
 
sign guy

sign guy

Active Member
I would wait at least a month, your paramiters could still flux. you dont have to have lr but it helps alot (imo) Just don't get to exited and add too many fish
 
travis89

travis89

Active Member
No it will not be ok to get better fish in two weeks. You have to cycle first, I would take the damsels back so you don't make them suffer through it, then put a raw cocktail shrimp in it for a few days to get bacteria growing, If you want to(I don't recommend it, it's cruel to the fish) you can leave the damsels in there to cycle your tank instead of the cocktail shrimp. Then wait for the ammonia to spike and drop, the nitrite to spike then drop, then the nitrates to go up and your cyle is over and you do water changes to bring the nitrates down to 5-10. Like 2 weeks after the cycle is over you can put a hardy fish(i.e. clown) in and see how it does, then every 2-3 weeks you can add another fish until you have all the fish you want. You can set a tank up without LR but the LR is a good source of natural filtration. Hope that makes sense.If you want corals it will be best if not a must to have the LR. If you have any questions just ask.
PS- more expereinced members please correct me if something is incorrect.
 
lion_crazz

lion_crazz

Active Member
I would definitely recommend live rock. Your tank's levels will be fluctuating a lot if you do not have live rock in the tank.
The guy at the LFS does not have a clue. I would stop listening to him immediately. I would also take the damsels back to the LFS before they die. Your tank did not cycle yet, and when the ammonia jumps up, the damsels gills will be severly burnt.
 
rcdude1990

rcdude1990

Active Member
ok i might take them out and do wat u said about the cocktail but as of LR
do i need a lot of LR or can i get like 10 LBS of LR?
since im kinda on a short budgt at the time can i put 10 lbs of LR in one week and then next week get another 10 lbs?
so basically once the LR goes in and thge shrimp cocktail goes in the cycle starts?
also lets say i put the LR and the cocktail in, wen should i do tests? like once every 2 days or something?
also durin the cycle should i do water changes?
and one more questions (srry for all of them) the raw shrimp i get at like the seafood section of like walbaums?
 
rcdude1990

rcdude1990

Active Member
wat if i took the damsels out of the tank and put them in a 5 gallon bucket? the damsels r very small and ill put a small filter and heater in?
cause if i give them back to the store there goin to say y and i gotta make up a story
 
travis89

travis89

Active Member
Yes you can do like 10 pounds each week, a lot of people do it because of cost. Yes once you get LR and a shrimp in there the cycle will start. For testing, every other day would be fine, just so you can see when the levels go up and down. During the cycle there is no reason to do water changes. yes the raw shrimp is the stuff you would get at the grocery store. Just take the damsels back.
 
sign guy

sign guy

Active Member
Tell them y. uh well mr lfs owner you dont know jack and I dont want to kill em. You can add lr as you want but wait till you get all the lr you want before you add the shrimp. this work great but try to do it when you dont have guest planning to come oner. It stinks for a week Dont change the water thill every thing has spiked. and you probably wont take the shrimp out they rot in the tank till they are gone I hve a lb of lr for every gal
 
travis89

travis89

Active Member
Originally Posted by sign guy
Tell them y. uh well mr lfs owner you dont know jack and I dont want to kill em. You can add lr as you want but wait till you get all the lr you want before you add the shrimp. this work great but try to do it when you dont have guest planning to come oner. It stinks for a week Dont change the water thill every thing has spiked. and you probably wont take the shrimp out they rot in the tank till they are gone I hve a lb of lr for every gal
You don't have to have all the LR before you start your cycle. My tank has been set up for a year and is fully stocked with fish and some corals and I'm still adding LR.
 
travis89

travis89

Active Member
Originally Posted by sign guy
But what if your lr is not cured. you dont want nother spike
It has to be cured before it's put in, if he's getting it from an LFS it is probably cured and will be fine.
 
rcdude1990

rcdude1990

Active Member
ok so i think i got ima go to the store and get 15 lbs of LR
ima go to the grocery store and get one raw shrimp
ima put the LR in first then wait 10 min. and throw the shrimp in? (wen should i take it out?)
and then ill do tests every other day
and im not goin to do water changes
but wat if water evaporates should i jus add fresh water?
now about LR
wat should i get, wat should i b lookin for
i saw my LFSA sold LR for 4.00 a lb
but it has a lot of agea on it (i think)
ima get the LR cause thats the cheapest ive seen
wen i bring it home wat should i do
can i clean it?
 
sign guy

sign guy

Active Member
dont clean with tap water youll kill it buy some kent rock prep and dont take the shrimp out the pod will eat it
 
travis89

travis89

Active Member
Take the shrimp out after a few days(you see the ammonia spike). Yes, you just replace evorated water with fresh water. When you get the LR home just put it in the tank like it is, you may not even have to put a shrimp in because the LR will have bacteria on it to start a cycle, but you could put it in to be sure.
 
sign guy

sign guy

Active Member
the shrimp will help biuld a larger bio load pulling it out to early will prevent a large spike the larger the better
 
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