Originally Posted by caribbeannie
I've been at this for a week: a LAS is guiding me along. How long did it take for your tank to cycle, or did it? I used live rock, just about the same amount that you did: it never really had that significant ammonia spike.All of the pH, ammonia, and nitrate/nitrites read great. I've added a clean up crew like yours, and today added a clown and coral. When I fed the fish (not much) brine shrimp, it seemed to clog up the filter: do you turn yours off when you feed? Any advice is appreciated!
Hi Carribbeannie,
I started my tank up on a Saturday afternoon and by Sunday evening I had 2 fish in it. Now, before I go on some people will tell you that this was not the ideal way to go. However, I followed a specific set of guidlines so that I could put fish in within 24 hrs. I set my tank up, all the sand I wanted and a few pc's of LR got all the water in made sure eveything looked good and then started it up. I let it run for about an hour to see if everything worked properly and then, I put in Biospira which cycles your tank inside of 24 hours. Actually you need to put fish in your tank within the first 24 hours of using biospira or else all the bacteria that it provides to your tank dies, because there are no fish in there to keep the cycle going.
I honestly have never seen any "spikes" in my amonia levels when i have cycled my tanks all of them. All fresh water, this being my 1st SW, I know that it happens so they tell you to use a real hardy fish during the cycling process. Damsels seem to be the one of choice, and a few people have said clowns too. Me personaly pushed the envelope and bought a Royal Gramma and a Scooter Blenny. The Gramma was IMO a perfect choice however the bleeny was sold to me by someone who was more concerned in making $ than the welfare of the fish. I had no idea being new to SW that he needed a more established tank, unfortunatly I lost him before i learned of his needs. The gramma thrives and loves her tank and also has an insatable appetite.
As for adding any live stock? I added the fish and then I let 2 weeks pass before adding anything else. Remember anything you add to the tank adds to your bioload. You dont want to add too much too quickly. Inverts, Corals, and Anenomies dont add nearly as much as fish but, Corals and Anomies need a stable environment. I didnt put my first coral in till the tank was running for about a month, same with the anenomie.
Feeding: Be carful do not over feed, if you are putting enough food in to cloud your tank or clog your filter IMO you are over feeding. You only have one fish in there, when I just had the Gramma I literally used 1 small cube of Formula 1 food (frozen) that lasted me a whole month. No joke 1 month just enough food that the fish can consume in about 20 sec (BTW The cube is no bigger than your thumb nail), I would shave off 1 sliver and chop it up into little bit size pieces for my fish. The're are particles that will not be eatin and your cleaning crew and your filter will pick up that slack. Also if you have a coral in there (dont know which you have), you will need to feed it too. Phytoplankton is common but there are various types. Check your LFS see what they say or ask here. The type of coral you have will determine what and how often to feed it.
Your choice of food is good but IMO not the best, I use Formula 1 frozen. My fish love it, and it has tons of other essential nutrients in it for them. I also add a very very small amount of brine and believe it or not the LTA loves it. Its basically for it, but the clowns will take some bites. All in all my tank is crystal clear no particulates floating around in about 45 sec after I feed. No, I do not turn off my filters when i feed I never saw that they were taking food away from the fish at feeding time.
** Keep checking your levels if there is enough food in your tank to clog your filters keep a close eye on everything. If all is good, then good, if not do a water change IMO 15% RO/DI water. Im not assuming you did over feed but like I said any amount of food more than what the fish can eat inside of 20 to 30 secs is too much, so enought to clog a filter is IMO too much too.
Cleaning crews are important, make sure you have enough in there to do the work they are intended to do. I have about 20 hermits, 6 various sm snails, 2 crabs (emerald greens), 3 Turbo snails 1 is a Mexican turbo. Occasionally i have seen my hermits snacking on a snail. I dont know if that is common or not but i have read posts where it does happen. So, every now and then I plop a coule more in there. Hope this helps, feel free with any more questions. I will answer what i can as I too am new at this. :jumping:
