newbie

dmoore504

dmoore504

Member
i just setup a 20 saltwater tank. 24 hours after i set it up a threw a hermit carb in there and its been about 3 days. what i wanna know is can i put other fish in there now or wait 6 weeks. and if i can now what kind of fish should i start off with , i really like clown fish and i would like 2 put clams, starfish etc in. So any sugestions.
 
E

exile415

Guest
did you cycle ?? you should cycle before putting anything in at ALL. how did you put in the sand,water,lr ?
 
reefman22

reefman22

Member
you should get a test kit, or take your water to your lfs to get it tested, after about 2-4 weeks your water will be cycled. sometimes it takes longer to cycle, sometimes shorter, i would definately wait on fish until it is cycled. After it is cycled, and you test the water and the levels are all good, wait about 5 days and test it again, if they are still ok, your good to put fish, inverts, etc. in. untill then, you can add live sand, rock (if you havent already) other than that, all you can add is your patience. Have fun. Thats the number one rule. Good Luck!
 
reefman22

reefman22

Member
well if it is only 3 days old, the tank hasnt cycled yet. test the water every 3 days or so until the amonia, nitrates, and nitrites spike then come down. once they have all returned to about 0, test it like 3 days later and if they are still good, your good for additions.
 
reefman22

reefman22

Member
he might not make it but theres no sense in taking him out. just leave him in but dont get too attached because with all the levels spiking, theres a good chance that he wont make it. hate to tell you.
 
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exile415

Guest
i don't think so. if you still didn't cycle. you can save him catch him and bring him back.
 
dmoore504

dmoore504

Member
see the - the lfs told me 24 hrs then the next day a customer told me it will take a week or 2, some say 6 week some say a month and a half. Now that i think about it the book even told me after 24 hrs i can and dansels or hermit crab. :notsure:
 
reefman22

reefman22

Member
i hate to break it to you but your LFS is not completely truthful (at least every one ive ever heard of hasnt been) so its always good to research your subject or even better, put a thread on here about it to get real opinions about it before buying somethings. hope that helped
 
tim_12

tim_12

Member
If you dont have any live rock (LR) now is a good time to add it, as you wont need to worry about curing it. The LR will help cycle your tank and provide a surface for beneficial bacteria to grow on. If you're not planning on adding rock, throw a cocktail shrimp or two in your tank. This will kick start your ammonia spike. You can always do both aswell. If you dont do either of these, that one hermit crab wont create enough waste to cause a significant ammonia spike, which in turn wont leave you with enough beneficial bacteria to support a large enough bio load, if any at all. Those Damsels you read about can also be used to cycle your tank, as they are a very hardy fish. I would reccomend the shrimp though. Remember to plan ahead, take your time and do your research! There are loads of threads with valuble information on these boards. Good luck!
 
puffer32

puffer32

Active Member
Yep, put the cocktail shrimp in now, and start buying afew pieces of LR, cured or uncured, but once your tank is cycled, you want to put only cured LR in your tank or you could start another cycle.
 
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