saltwater cylce

[dustinwebb]

I need a little bit of help please. I am new to the hobby and so far and enjoying it. I have a 55g tank and stand, with a 60g wet/dry sealife system filter. 50lbs of LS, and right now only about 10lbs of live rock. Also got for my cycling process 6 damsels. I have had my tank going for about 2 weeks now, no problems, and my water tests show perfect. What can i do to speed up the cycling add more LR? The store where i got my setup and water tested said that my tank for some strange reason is ready to add new fish, that my cycling is done, is that possible? I just want some opinions on this, i am ready to get rid of the damsels and go for some percula clowns. Good idea??
thanks

 

[ntvflgirl]

Well, I doubt that your cycle is completed in only 2 weeks...sounds like your lfs is trying to sell you some things for your tank. Do you have a test kit? First you will see Ammonia rise. Then nitrites, then nitrates. Have you seen any of these spike yet? If not, then you are just beginning. If you want to get rid of the damsels...DO IT NOW!!! They are horrible little creatures, and very domineering, so good luck with that. If you want to speed your cycle up, you technically could add more live rock. In actuality, it will START your cycle faster, but there is just no telling how long it will take. Mine took 2 months. If you want to get things started really quickly, then take the damsels back to the lfs for credit, go to the grocery store and get a couple of raw shrimp from the seafood dept., and throw them in. Wait for the ammonia to spike, take them out, and just sit back and watch. Not very fun to look at, but will definately get the ball rolling. But no, this is not a good time to add the clowns. Sorry to burst your bubble, but one thing to remeber is to never listen to the guy at the lfs...UNLESS what he tells you is the same as what you've heard on this board FROM SEVERAL MEMBERS!! Good Luck, and Welcome.

 

[fshhub]

It is possible, if it was LS and cured LR, yes.
as for the LFS's readings, I would still do my own tests, many of them think low is a good place to start, but it MUST be ZERO.(ammonia and nitrite anyway)
The clowns are nto a bad idea, esp if the tank has cycled. They are fairly hearty, in fact some people use the to cycle with instead of your everyday damsels, I say this, bc clowns technically are damsel tooo.
best place to start is to get YOURSELF a good test kit and start taking charge yourself, instead of relying upon somebody else to tell you that you can add fish(esp somebody who's goal is to sell you these fishes) Besides, my feelings on LFS's are not very high in general, so not figuring that their goal is to make money, I still don't trust their readings. Howver I do refer to them from time to tiem, jsut to be sure taht my tests are accurate is all(compare resultes)

 

[fshhub]

PS, welcome aboard

 

[pmauro]

I would play it safe and test more over the next couple of weeks to be sure, if you are going to cycle you should see something in that time. Better safe than sorry IMO.

 

[jakob4001]

seems like most of what has been suggested should lead you in the right direction...2 weeks does seem kind of quick for a cycle to have completed even w/ LS and small amount of LR and handful of damsel fish added though...so investing in a good test kit would probably be your next best step...there are many to choose from...you could use the search feature here for "test kits" & see what others use & say about them...you can also have ***** (hears the shuttering occurring) to test your water as well to compare results w/ your other LFS results...also, what type of tank are you planning on keeping & what kind of fish other than clowns? different fish & tank set ups demand different water qualities; other words certain livestock may/may not tolerate certain amounts of various chemicals in the water cause from waiste,cycling, or other source of chemicals...

 

[ocellaris_keeper]

If you already have Live Rock and Live sand in your tank - you cycled it right away and
The damsels finished the process - Since your LPS wants to sell you some fish soo badly take your damsels back (All of them) and trade them for some clowns (their damsels too but way better tank fellows (TRUST ME))
Wait another few weeks (like 4 before adding more fish) Add soime hermit crabs and snails to your tank and take it slow.
welcome and enjoy!!