New member, hello all

willlovesfish

willlovesfish

Member
Hi there, name is Will. I have just setup my first saltwater tank about a week ago now. It's a Oceanic 22 gallon tank with about 11 pounds of live rock, no live sand though.
Any tips on how long I should wait before adding fish...?
Here is a pic of my tank, enjoy
 
willlovesfish

willlovesfish

Member
Originally Posted by mie
https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/showthread.php?t=148610
Heres a link with most of the answers you need.
BTW welcome.

Thanks for the warm welcome. I will take the advice on the plants and remove them, thanks!
mie, I checked out the thread you linked for me, read just about the whole thing but saw no advice on when to add fish for the first time...? Learned a lot about filtration and what not though, so all is not lost, thanks for the info ;)
Anyone else want to chime in here and give me some tips, thanks!
 
alix2.0

alix2.0

Active Member
what are you ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph parameters? if you only set the tank up a week ago and you have live rock in your tank is probably cycling.
 
willlovesfish

willlovesfish

Member
Originally Posted by alix2.0
what are you ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph parameters? if you only set the tank up a week ago and you have live rock in your tank is probably cycling.
Unfortunately I don't have a test kit yet, all I have is some test strips, which I hear are very unreliable :( The test strips show the Nitrites and Nitrates at 0, and PH looks good. From what I understand about cycling the tank will spike in Nitrites and Nitrates and then come down to 0, at this point I can add fish. Am I right here...?
Thanks for the help, much appreciated.
 
bigarn

bigarn

Active Member
the ammonia and nitrites will spike and then come down. as far as nitrates any reading under 40 is good IMO.
 
alix2.0

alix2.0

Active Member
how old are the strips, and are you sure they are for SW? you are right they are very unreliable. salifert makes a good SW test kit, which you will be able to get from your LFS.
i doubt your tank could have cycled after a week, if you have not experienced an ammonia spike yet toss a raw cocktail shrimp into the tank, let it get all fuzzy, and then take it out. keep testing your ammonia untill it is at 0. no matter what your LFS tells you do not buy a damsel to cycle the tank. when the ammonia is at 0 then you can add inverts such as snails and hermits, etc, and fish. a lot of hobbyists start out with clowns, because they are cute, cardy, and lively.
are you using crushed coral for your substrate? most SWFers would reccomend taking it out and replacing it with live sand before the CC starts causing you problems (nitrates).
 
kclester

kclester

Active Member
if they are reading 0 then it prob hasnt started to cycle yet...you need a soirce of ammonia such as a raw shrimp just add it in the tank and leave it until u see the spikes take out the shrimp and watch as nitrites rise and fall and then you nitrates will rise and fall after this happens i would still wait an additional 2 weeks then add a clean up crew
 
kclester

kclester

Active Member
also if you plan on adding anymore LR i would do it now b4 your tank starts its cycle.......i messed up by adding a little at a time and my tank recycled which sucked but welcome and good luck...the key thing is PATIENCE
 
toeknee

toeknee

Member
you could always pee in your tank

if you bring a sample of your water the LFS should be able to test it for you.
 
alix2.0

alix2.0

Active Member
Originally Posted by Toeknee
you could always pee in your tank

i wonder if that would work... not that im going to try it...

interesting.
 
kclester

kclester

Active Member
i would also suggest you get 2 powerheads 1 for you tnak and one to mix new saltwater...i think 1 rated at around 200 gph should be enough for your tank
 
mie

mie

Active Member
Cycle takes on average about three weeks. Ammonia must be at zero.
Decent test kit about 35 dollars.
 
toeknee

toeknee

Member
Originally Posted by alix2.0
i wonder if that would work... not that im going to try it...

interesting.
Def would work.
But imagine getting caught peeing in a tank hahah
explain that one!
 
willlovesfish

willlovesfish

Member
Wow, lots of info, thanks to all of you, very helpful!
The test strips I am using are new with the tank and are for sure use with Saltwater, but as I am finding out they are unreliable. Anyway, looks like I will get a test kit for sure, thanks for the advice alix2.0. Also, I am not totally sure what I am using for my substrate, I don't think it's crushed coral. I think it's just plain old crushed up rock, it does have tiny little sea shells though. I will have to check the bag out at the store and get back to you. Guess I will think about going to live sand if it is crushed coral, thanks for the tip!
I will go ahead and add more live rock now as well, along with another power head as suggested. So all in all looks like it will be about 3-4 more weeks before I add fish etc.
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
As mentioned, you have to add an ammonia source to start the cycle. You can add a few pieces of uncured rock or a raw coctail shrimp. You will definately need a liquid master test kit. Welcome to the boards

Sorry, I posted at the same time that you did. Yes, it will be a few more weeks.
 
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