sorry another cycling question?

brewski4u1

brewski4u1

Member
:thinking: ok so i have been on these boards for a few monthes reading up on everything from types of fish and tanks and way to cycle and everything i thougth i was totaly ready to get my tank! i have been buying everything a little at a time tank being the last thing so i have everything ready to go when it gets here ! except live sand and Lr !
my question is recently i have come apon a few post sayin that if you buy LR that is cured you dont have to go thru that full cycle process w/ the shrimp and what not? and you migth just have a mini cycle!? so whats the deal there are way to may posts and way to many opions ! i have read 2 books and nothing really helped in them ! thats why i'm asking here and i' will be ordering my tank this fri!
on the cured live rock i live 10 min from the LFS and i have plenty of buckets to transport rock in so i should have Minamal die off if any ! so someone please help me out !
thank you so much
-ryan
 
reefkprz

reefkprz

Active Member
ok this is an often debated subject.
your going to expirience a time lag of when you put all the stuff in the tank to the time the mini ecosystem in your tank acheives a balance. using all cured LR and live sand can reduce cycle time, but there is no instant cycle. there are many factors that need to balance themselves within the tank not just the nitrogen cycle, people who claim the instant cycle worked arent factoring in ceartain things. like its going to take weeks for the bacteria to form on the other surfaces like filters, glass, and powerheads, whatever micro critters come into the equation need to acheive a balance too. thats why new tanks have pod blooms, lots of pods, then die off, as the system acheives a sustainable population, its the same way for all microfauna.
There is no instant balance. just short cuts to make the nitrogen cycle go quicker.
 
bigjuan

bigjuan

Member
I feel your pain man. I have a 30 gallon tank with no live sand and no live rock. I have one clown fish, four damsels, one yellow tang, and one scooter. They are all living just well together in the tank. I also want to put Live Rock and Live Sand in the tank but i don't know anything about that cycle stuff. I usually just set up the tank wait a couple of days then put the fish in.
 
aztec reef

aztec reef

Active Member
Originally Posted by BigJuan
I feel your pain man. I have a 30 gallon tank with no live sand and no live rock. I have one clown fish, four damsels, one yellow tang, and one scooter. They are all living just well together in the tank. I also want to put Live Rock and Live Sand in the tank but i don't know anything about that cycle stuff. I usually just set up the tank wait a couple of days then put the fish in.
you might wanna get that tang out asap(even do it looks happy it's not). that cycle stuff should be taking seriously, take it slow.
get about 1-2lbs of live rock per gallon(do not added all at once)get 2-4" of sand,
 
bigjuan

bigjuan

Member
oh and about the live rock and sand. If i switch from crushed coral to the sand and rock what do i do with my fish? Do i keep them in a tote of some sort or what?
 
aztec reef

aztec reef

Active Member
Originally Posted by BigJuan
y get the tang out? because of the damsels or the cycle stuff?
no , just because the tang will not grow or be happy in anything smaller than a 75g tank.
 
aztec reef

aztec reef

Active Member
Originally Posted by BigJuan
oh and about the live rock and sand. If i switch from crushed coral to the sand and rock what do i do with my fish? Do i keep them in a tote of some sort or what?
no, what you have to do is take out the tang first(take it back to the lfs for some in store credit)after you do that get the cc out.you're tank is going to be cloudy,wait a couple days check water levels(do a water change if needed)then add the sand, your tank will be cloudy again(check parameters again)do a water change if you need to. then the week after that add a few lbs of live rock , make sure is cure.(you can double check if it's cure by placing it in a bucket with a powerhead and checking if you have HIGH levels of ammonia levels.if not then add to tank, take it slow this hole process should take you no LESS than a couple of weeks.
 
brewski4u1

brewski4u1

Member
wow man i'm new to this and if you read anything on this site you should know that what your doing iss sooooooo wrong! those poor fish!
1 that tang should not be in there the tank is way to small OMG are you kidding ! that is said all over this site about tangs need big tanks and planty of swimming room!
2 that every tank needs to be cycled no matter if its a fish only tank w/ nothing in it or a reef tank
come on man not to jump on you but thats just not doing your homework!!
 
bigjuan

bigjuan

Member
ok i got you but now that the water has been cycled what do i do with it when i want to transport it. where do i put my fish, sand, and rock. Right now its at home but i want to bring it to my room later this year here at school. Do i have to go through the cycle phases all over again? Because i would like to get live rock and live sand sooner or later.
 
rbaldino

rbaldino

Active Member
Originally Posted by reefkprZ
ok this is an often debated subject.
your going to expirience a time lag of when you put all the stuff in the tank to the time the mini ecosystem in your tank acheives a balance. using all cured LR and live sand can reduce cycle time, but there is no instant cycle. there are many factors that need to balance themselves within the tank not just the nitrogen cycle, people who claim the instant cycle worked arent factoring in ceartain things. like its going to take weeks for the bacteria to form on the other surfaces like filters, glass, and powerheads, whatever micro critters come into the equation need to acheive a balance too. thats why new tanks have pod blooms, lots of pods, then die off, as the system acheives a sustainable population, its the same way for all microfauna.
There is no instant balance. just short cuts to make the nitrogen cycle go quicker.
I've never had a problem with adding cured live rock and fish into a tank at the same time. While your theory that it takes time for the ecosystem to achieve balance is valid, that balance isn't immediately necessary to begin sustaining life in the tank.
 
aztec reef

aztec reef

Active Member
Originally Posted by BigJuan
ok i got you but now that the water has been cycled what do i do with it when i want to transport it. where do i put my fish, sand, and rock. Right now its at home but i want to bring it to my room later this year here at school. Do i have to go through the cycle phases all over again? Because i would like to get live rock and live sand sooner or later.
empty tank and put water in buckets,in one bucket put liverock, in another bucket put fish.leave the sand in tank with a little bit of water,you might go through a mini cycle,that's why you keep checking water quality & keep doing water changes..good luck!
that's my $.02
 
reefkprz

reefkprz

Active Member
Originally Posted by rbaldino
that balance isn't immediately necessary to begin sustaining life in the tank.

I never said it was. I just stated the facts about cycle balance. thats all. I definatly dont want another cycle debate. I have done succesfull, two hour set ups. but I would never advocate that approach to an inexpirienced aquariest. while I would advocate using cured LR and Live sand. to reduce the chances of the detrimental parts of the ammonia cycle.
 
rbaldino

rbaldino

Active Member
Originally Posted by reefkprZ
I never said it was. I just stated the facts about cycle balance. thats all. I definatly dont want another cycle debate. I have done succesfull, two hour set ups. but I would never advocate that approach to an inexpirienced aquariest. while I would advocate using cured LR and Live sand. to reduce the chances of the detrimental parts of the ammonia cycle.
I agree, and of course this only works with cured live rock and sand. Just didn't want anyone to get the impression that the ecosystem you described is absolutely necessary to establish before you can do anything with your tank.
 
bigjuan

bigjuan

Member
You said you never had a problem adding live rock and fish together at the same time but have you ever added live sand, live rock, and fish at the same time?
 
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