Starting a pico tank

[snakeblitz33]

Anyone know how many drops of ammonia it takes per day to cycle a 2.5g tank? I added two drops of 0.1mol ammonia to it this afternoon.
A website I looked up says to add it once a day until the bacteria can break it down in less than 12 hours. I
I guess what I will do is add a couple drops a day and put a light on the algae scrubber and when it grows in, the tank is ready. Sound good?

 

[eric b 125]

I've never cycled a tank that way. I just always used the shrimp method, though that might be overkill in a 2.5 gallon.

 

[bang guy]

Have you decided on livestock? There may be no need to cycle the tank.

2 drops sounds like 5 times more than is needed to me.

 

[snakeblitz33]

2 drops of 10% ammonia solution in 2.5g of saltwater is a very weak solution. I could to the m1v1=m2v2 equation and figure out exactly how much it is...

From the article I read, the author suggested 5ml of ammonia per 20g of water once every 24 hours with a 0.10mol (10%) solution of ammonia. that's 1ml of water in four gallons of water. That would be .25mL for every 1g or .625mL for every 2.5g of water... one drop of liquid assuming 1.0gram/ml is roughly 0.05ml. Assuming that, I didn't add enough...

But, I see what you are saying. The foam at the top of the tank is getting thicker today. I think the bacteria is building up nicely since the foam has changed. That's just an observation though, I have no data to back that statement up.

I need to go ahead and get my light set up in the back of the tank so that I can get the scrubber growing. At the end of this week I will take a water specimen to the fish store and get it tested.

The coralline algae looks pretty cool under the lighting conditions. I'm happy so far with the look of the tank. My wife even said "its cute."


As far as corals I want to keep for the time being - I am going with very, very easy going corals - zoanthids, pulsing xenia, mushrooms, ricordea, nepthia, Kenya tree... basically anything I can feed and watch grow and frag easily. I do want a few sexy shrimp or possibly one small cleaner shrimp - but that's about it... something easy and hassle free. I'm not even mixing my own saltwater - buying a gallon from the fish store once a week and topping off the tank with a gallon jug of freshwater that might last me a month. lol

I really am liking these nano tanks. So much less hassle and so much less money spent filling them with corals.



My maintenance plan is simple... observe 5 days a week. Feed the tank phyto/etc. Saturday morning then do a 1g water change Saturday afternoon. Sunday morning is scrubber cleaning. Simple... effective...

 

[snakeblitz33]

I just bought a work light for the algae scrubber. 15w led light 800 lumens. It is regtangle and stands up on its own. I think I can modify it a little to be more self contained and to hide the light some. I think it will grow some algae like crazy! At least I hope so. Since it is an led light, it shouldn't transfer much heat into the tank. I'm going to get a small fan and keep the fan blowing on the tank when the main display light turns on to help keep the temp stable this summer.
Reducing evaporation by putting the glass lid on it and injecting air into the tank - i have no idea just how stable the temp will be. I'm goin to try to keep the house air on 76 this summer.
Anyways, pics to come soon tonight.
Thanks for chiming in Guy. I always love to hear your thoughts.

 

[bang guy]

Just my opinion but I think the author has an assumption that I do not agree with. Many, many, MANY people assume that more ammonia with grow bacteria faster. In my experience this assumption fails. I have found through extensive experimentation that a constant slight trace of ammonia grows bacteria faster, and more consistently, than high levels of ammonia.

My experiments are notoriously non-scientific so take my results with a grain of salt.

Just consider this, if your tank has a very low population of bacteria, how much food does it take to feed them to the point of reproduction? How different is that from the point in time when you have a stable and adequate population of bacteria?

 

[snakeblitz33]

Small amounts of bacteria should only be able to feed on small amounts at a time. Some people assume that the more good, the more bacteria. I understand where you are coming from.
I'm not adding any more ammonia to the tank for at least the next week. I finally got my led light for my algae scrubber. In a few days I should see some growth on the screen. Next payday and I might buy some small coral frags if my water tests turn out fine.
Santamonica said that the screen will only grow as much algae as is proportional to the bioload. I don't see the screen growing copious amounts of algae, but if it does, the. That's awesome. Lol.
I got to get one of those 4" personal fans so I can have it come on when the main light is on. It should be just enough to cool the tank this summer, which is coming quicker than I would like!
The bubble curtain seems to be doing ok as far as making water flow in the tank. I will really find out if it is enough when I put some food in the tank for the first time. Kinda hard to tell right now.
I'm trying to get photobucket to work correctly.

 

[snakeblitz33]

I set up that led work light behind the tank. Looks awesome. Low profile and more professional than an led bulb and a clip on reflector.
I believe it is close enough to be effective. I put it on an alternate timer so that it comes on when the display goes off. When algae starts growing on the screen it will continue to stabilize the pH.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Just with that led being on overnight, my screen has turned brown with some diatoms.
I'm thinking of investing in a simple light microscope with a camera so I can take pics using my Nikon D3200. I think it would be neat to study marine microbiology.
I also realized because of the storm that hit us this morning, that I should invest in a couple of battery back up air pumps and extra batteries.

 

[zoidberg01]

Yeah it's best if you have a backup plan

 

[snakeblitz33]

I ordered a banjo. deering Good Time banjo. Solid maple, versitile all around banjo. I signed up for lessons with a local musician. I'm having fun. )

 

[zoidberg01]

I always liked the banjo, reminds me of my family

 

[snakeblitz33]

I just did a 50% water change. The tank was cloudy this evening so I figured I would use the rest of my mixed saltwater. It has gotten clearer over the last hour, so something did right.
Goodnight all.

 

[zoidberg01]

How is the tank

 

[snakeblitz33]

I really like small tanks. You can re-start them very cheaply. Lol.
I'm dumping the contents of the water into the sink, drying out the pound of rock I bought and goin to the fish store to get some more saltwater and cured rock and do what bang said - don't necessarily cycle it. I might even add a few beginner frags to it to get started.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Anyone heard of a soft cycle?

 

[jay0705]

Yea why? Ive heard of them lol. When I use hob filter cartridges from my big tank in new tanks I generally get a soft cycle. Everything spikes but not very high. Atleast I think this is called a soft cycle I could b wrong lol

 

[bang guy]

Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33 http:///t/397427/starting-a-pico-tank/80#post_3544558
Anyone heard of a soft cycle?

Soft Cycle is where you do not let Ammonia spike to high levels and yet still maintain a low level of ammonia. This is accomplished using a combination of ghost feeding and water changes along with daily/semi-daily testing.

I have been a vocal proponent of the soft cycle for about 20 years. Although I do not claim to be the inventor of the soft cycle, I can find no literature prior to my discussions on it.

You can refer to my method of cycling as a reference ---> https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/40865/newbie-needs-help#post_240517

 

[snakeblitz33]

Yeah, I'll be restarting the tank this weekend. I had never cycled a tank with ammonia. I am glad that I tried it though, I can cross it off my list.

 

[bang guy]

Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33 http:///t/397427/starting-a-pico-tank/80#post_3544584
Yeah, I'll be restarting the tank this weekend. I had never cycled a tank with ammonia. I am glad that I tried it though, I can cross it off my list.

sorry it didn't work out.

Theoretically it should have worked just fine. Perhaps in the small tanks things just happen too fast to recover from. I have not ever used ammonia directly for a cycle.