Just came from LFS I have questions??

lessthanlethal

lessthanlethal

Member
Hello,
I just came from LFS and told me some things I want to run by everyone here.
I have a tank that is still in the cycle with some LR and LS I have been doing 2 week 5% water changes The LFS said I should not do any water changes during cycle period is this correct? the other thing Is since I have wasted 3weeks he said I could add this TLC stuff to tank and it will help my tank cycle is this true? you never know with the LFS. My ph is low 7.8 he sold me some marine buffer and said I will need to do this every so often is this true? I dont know. thanks for the help
I will not put anything in my tank with out help.
B
 
kingsmith

kingsmith

Member
U can wait till the end 0f the cycle t0 d0 water changes as far as stuff they will sell u at the st0re as l0ng as u had ur am0nia spike u d0nt need t0 add anything
 
blayz77

blayz77

Member
there are products out there to help eat up ammonia and nitrates and stuff. basically a bacteria that you pur into your water and if somethign spikes it will help nutralize it faster.
and i dont think you need to do a waterchange during cycling, ive read a lot of people saying not to change it others say its ok. basically up to you. just wait till your done cycling and do a decent waterchange.
 
U

usirchchris

Guest
Originally Posted by lessthanlethal
http:///forum/post/2972224
Hello,
I just came from LFS and told me some things I want to run by everyone here.
I have a tank that is still in the cycle with some LR and LS I have been doing 2 week 5% water changes The LFS said I should not do any water changes during cycle period is this correct? the other thing Is since I have wasted 3weeks he said I could add this TLC stuff to tank and it will help my tank cycle is this true? you never know with the LFS. My ph is low 7.8 he sold me some marine buffer and said I will need to do this every so often is this true? I dont know. thanks for the help
I will not put anything in my tank with out help.
B
I am a bit confused...How did you start your cycle? 5% water change at two week intervals should not have had much of any effect, if any, on the cycle. Bacteria does not colonize in the water column. People often do water changes during the cycle to keep the ammonia level down. Have you been testing your water to see what stage in the cycle you are at? How long have you been cycling...with live rock and sand you may not have had much of a cycle to begin with. What are you current water parameters? Why do they think you wasted 3 weeks? You should not have to buffer your PH if you are doing regular water changes, but it is not uncommon for people to buffer their PH.
Additives for cycling are a waste of money IMO...All it takes is a piece of something rotten to start it, and it is a particular waste if you already have live rock and sand.
 
pezenfuego

pezenfuego

Active Member
Originally Posted by Blayz77
http:///forum/post/2972253
there are products out there to help eat up ammonia and nitrates and stuff. basically a bacteria that you pur into your water and if somethign spikes it will help nutralize it faster.
and i dont think you need to do a waterchange during cycling, ive read a lot of people saying not to change it others say its ok. basically up to you. just wait till your done cycling and do a decent waterchange.
Ah. Yes. It depends on how you cycle the tank my friend. I cycle tanks with cured live rock, not uncured. I get this for really cheap from a big lfs. I'm just lucky I guess. I do however recommend using uncured live rock because it is cheaper. There is barely an ammonia spike with the cured live rock, so I wait until after to do a water change...and not a very big one. However, with uncured live rock in a new tank, you should do water changes. This will keep the live rock alive. My 2 cents fwiw.
 
lessthanlethal

lessthanlethal

Member
My rock was cured not much of a spike on the ammonia.
water is 0 ammonia o nitrite & nitrate Ph is 7.8 I am starting to hate the fish stores! so the buffer is ok. I am lost now Is the tank ok for a first fish? or I may wait again.
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by lessthanlethal
http:///forum/post/2972461
My rock was cured not much of a spike on the ammonia.
water is 0 ammonia o nitrite & nitrate Ph is 7.8 I am starting to hate the fish stores! so the buffer is ok. I am lost now Is the tank ok for a first fish? or I may wait again.

It is very frustrating to hear one bit of info from the LFS and another bit from here. I know it is. Please understand that no one here is trying to sell you anything. We are all here to share experiences. Many, not all LFSs, do not give the best advice. That could be because they want you to spend money, or they just may not now better. For example, I tried to order vitamins from my LFS. They told me that saltwater fish will not eat foods with vitamins on it. Meanwhile, my fish had been thriving for over a year and couldn't be healthier thanks to the vitamins that I add to their food. I shrugged it off, ordered the vitamins from elsewhere, and still go to that LFS for stock. That was a simple case of not knowing any better.
What sized tank do you have? How much rock did you buy? How long has the rock been in there? Have you noticed any spike at all? How often do you test? No, your tank is not ready for fish yet. Be patient.
 
pezenfuego

pezenfuego

Active Member
2 things in this hobby that have helped me and many others...
Dilution is the best solution to pollution...and my favorite:
When in doubt, wait it out.
 
lessthanlethal

lessthanlethal

Member
90gal and I have some nice rock not enough for htat tank yet. 10-20 lbs 3nice size. Yes the spike was from .25 to 0. The store close to me at any day any time has at least 1 dead fish in their tanks always different fish and different tanks. O well. I have been testing every 3 days. I do have some brown algae growing in spots is that good? and on my rock.
 
pezenfuego

pezenfuego

Active Member
Originally Posted by lessthanlethal
http:///forum/post/2972519
90gal and I have some nice rock not enough for htat tank yet. 10-20 lbs 3nice size. Yes the spike was from .25 to 0. The store close to me at any day any time has at least 1 dead fish in their tanks always different fish and different tanks. O well. I have been testing every 3 days. I do have some brown algae growing in spots is that good? and on my rock.
Brown algae. Not good...but normal. Not anything to worry about. Diatoms. They will go away.
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by lessthanlethal
http:///forum/post/2972519
90gal and I have some nice rock not enough for htat tank yet. 10-20 lbs 3nice size. Yes the spike was from .25 to 0. The store close to me at any day any time has at least 1 dead fish in their tanks always different fish and different tanks. O well. I have been testing every 3 days. I do have some brown algae growing in spots is that good? and on my rock.
10 to 20 lbs in a 90 would take awhile to show ammonia even if die off was present. What are you looking to do now? I would add more rock before worrying about adding live stock. Once live stock is in then you have to quarantine new rock in a separate container. Add more now before anything else is in there. You won't have to worry about quarantining, or being positive that the rock is cured. Your tank has many stages to go through yet and will be unstable for awhile anyway. Now is the time to add more rock, live or base.
 
pezenfuego

pezenfuego

Active Member
Originally Posted by lessthanlethal
http:///forum/post/2972598
Okay thank you everyone. I will just shop for rock not fish What about the ph? 7.8 not to worry yet? will rock help with that?
What kind of sand and how much do you have? What kind of salt? What test kit?
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by PEZenfuego
http:///forum/post/2972619
What kind of sand and how much do you have? What kind of salt? What test kit?
The answers to this will help us find out why your PH is low. What are you using to measure SG? What is your SG now? Do not use a buffer yet.
 
nanomantis

nanomantis

Member
Originally Posted by lessthanlethal
http:///forum/post/2972224
Hello,
I just came from LFS and told me some things I want to run by everyone here.
I have a tank that is still in the cycle with some LR and LS I have been doing 2 week 5% water changes The LFS said I should not do any water changes during cycle period is this correct? the other thing Is since I have wasted 3weeks he said I could add this TLC stuff to tank and it will help my tank cycle is this true? you never know with the LFS. My ph is low 7.8 he sold me some marine buffer and said I will need to do this every so often is this true? I dont know. thanks for the help
I will not put anything in my tank with out help.
B

With <20 lbs of LR in your tank you won't have enough of a bioload to start a cycle. Get more LR or get some Damsels.
Don't do water changes, you want the tank to get dirty. It will build up the bacteria population in the tank to break down the fish waste later on. Thats the logic behind that. If you remove the Nitrogenous wastes, you won't develop sufficient bacteria and you will instead cycle when you start adding fish.
I wouldn't buy the bottled bacteria, I prefer to wait it out. All Natural
Some people get impatient and its good for them though.
pH buffer is very good to add, I would definetly get on a schedule with dosing. I dose once a week or whenever I add freshwater to the tank for topoff.
 
pezenfuego

pezenfuego

Active Member
Originally Posted by NanoMantis
http:///forum/post/2972714
With <20 lbs of LR in your tank you won't have enough of a bioload to start a cycle. Get more LR or get some Damsels.
Don't do water changes, you want the tank to get dirty. It will build up the bacteria population in the tank to break down the fish waste later on. Thats the logic behind that. If you remove the Nitrogenous wastes, you won't develop sufficient bacteria and you will instead cycle when you start adding fish.
I wouldn't buy the bottled bacteria, I prefer to wait it out. All Natural
Some people get impatient and its good for them though.
pH buffer is very good to add, I would definetly get on a schedule with dosing. I dose once a week or whenever I add freshwater to the tank for topoff.

Lessthanlethal...I like your attitude. Researching before putting something in your tank will get you far in the hobby.
Don't add damsels...if you need ammonia for some reason, add a shrimp from the supermarket.
As for the don't do water changes argument, I respectively disagree. Live rock is more than just rock with bacteria on it. There are other living organisms on it that can't stand for the water to get "dirty" as you put it. pH buffer does not fix pH, it simply raises or lowers the alkalinity, which will in fact put the pH at the right level...but what goes up must come down. The pH will swing right back to the original number really fast. By using a buffer, you will cause a pH swing. I bet you can't guess what is worse than a low pH: A pH that is completely inconsistent. This will stress out the fish.
I feel like a spokesperson for Bang guy's signiture.

You know what I mean?
 
nanomantis

nanomantis

Member
Why do you not like using damsels?
Good sir, I do not buy the "its harmful to the damsels or creepy crawlies on the LR arguement" if that is your reasoning.
They are cycle fish. They are experimental fish. That is their niche in this hobby. Just like we all used to use danios in our freshwater systems.
(outside of species such as the azure or garibaldi which are actually good community fish).
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by NanoMantis
http:///forum/post/2972722
Why do you not like using damsels?
Good sir, I do not buy the "its harmful to the damsels or creepy crawlies on the LR arguement" if that is your reasoning.
They are cycle fish. They are experimental fish. That is their niche in this hobby. Just like we all used to use danios in our freshwater systems.
(outside of species such as the azure or garibaldi which are actually good community fish).
Realy? Please show me on a scientific chart where these vibrant fish are toss away, experimental, beings just meant for torture. I don't recall their being a sub section of life that is meant for experimental purposes. Damsels are one of the most intriguing fish. They are dominant, bold, and most certainly have a personality. They can be terrors or awesome fish in a Semi-aggressive set up. Some people have damsel only tanks.
 
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