Tank Cycling

[therock0861]

I have recently started to cycle my tank I have 2 damsels and 25 lbs of live rock that I put in the tank on Wed. I just tested my water The Nitrites read .75 Ammonia reads .5 and Nitrates read 100 and above. Is this a good thing or bad thing?

 

[underthesea]

It shows that your tank is starting to cycle. Cut back on the food so that you do not spick you reading so you do not kill your fish. Also keep some already made up water on hand so that you can start doing water changes. You want to try not to kill your fish. I would do a water change today if not tomorrow just a small batch say 5 gallons this will bring the reading down but yet still be cycling your tank.

 

[therock0861]

Ok so if I do a 5 Gallon water change tomorrow. Do I need to do anything other than remove some old water and put some new in?

 

[ravenhawk]

well rock IMO I would say you need to let it cycle a while longer. When I set up my 65g I had no live rock but it took about 2-3 weeks to efficiently cycle. Your nitrite levels should be below .1mg/l, ammonia preferrably at 0 but definitely less than .25, nitrates should be below 20mg/l for reef tanks. Those figures are right off the charts on my test kits. It is probably normal considering the live rock has only been there for a couple of days. I would recheck them in another 2 or 3 dyas and see if they have gone down. Good luck

 

[therock0861]

I did my first test the evening I put the L/R in the aquarium it read .75 ammonia .2 nitrites and .25 nitrates so the levels have changed quite a bit.

 

[therock0861]

Anyone else have an opinion about the change of the 5 gallons?

 

[ravenhawk]

with my tanks I dont start with water changes in the first week unless the fish start showing stress or the levels show no signs of going down. It is important to keep an eye on your fish but damsels are hardy fish and will survive quite a bit.

 

[therock0861]

The fish seem to be doing fine they are very active and eat very well. It doesn't seem like the ammonia or anything is bothering them in the least. Are there any anenome's I will be able to keep for the clown fish i plan on purchasing in the future with the set up i have?

 

[ravenhawk]

I am not real familiar with corals but lighting would be the issue and with a 35g hex I dont know if a 15w actinic would reach far enough. I fyou do decide to do the 5g change then yes would should just need to remove some water and replace it with 5g.

 

[therock0861]

Ok cool thanx for the advise

 

[krux]

Go to your LFS and purchase Cycle, it comes in a bottle, and within a day of adding it you will begin to see your numbers drop in ammonia and nitrite. Basically its a liquid that contains all of the beneficial bacteria that you need. It is impossible to overdose on it, as it is all innert, and it will reduce the cycle time by a couple weeks.
Good stuff I highly recommend it.
Also once your tank is set and you are adding fish you can dump in a little bit and it will give you bonus bacteria to help handle the shock of the new bioload form the new fish.
This should alleviate the need for a water change. If you still need to change the water 5 gallons seems reasonable, I get my water in 2.5 gallon containers, and do weekly changes with that ammount... that might work well for you too. Just make sure you mix up the salt and water at least the day before, you dont ever want to add salt directly to the tank.
For a simple test of the results of adding salt to an existing tank, fill your had with salt mix and plunge it into water (not your tank!) and hold it there. Feel the heat it generates and then imagine that happening to your litle delicate fishes with not so thick skin.

 

[therock0861]

Cycle sounds like a good thing I think I will buy some tonight.

 

[therock0861]

Do you know what kind if any Inverts i should ad to my tank?

 

[therock0861]

You guys are great!!!!!!!

 

[therock0861]

Any further info any one would have on Inverts or anything that may help me out would be appreciated thanks.

 

[therock0861]

TY

 

[thinktank]

just least aggressive to aggressive

 

[therock0861]

What do you mean?

 

[therock0861]

Any one got any more useful info?

 

[fshhub]

if it is not tooo late, forget the cycle, some people like it, but IMO it is wrothless, money you could spend on your tank goes to a bottle which you do not need, and even if it does work, it only does so matginally, and IMO does not add stability at all
i used it and after a 300$ lesson i lost the cycle and the lfs who was helping me, now i set my last tank up and it is much more stable with less problems, and i only lost one fish in stocking(chromis, whihch generally dont' make it in shipping anyhow, but after they establish, they do well)
and do no water changes until after you completely finish the cycle, if the damsels die, this is why you bought them, for hte cycle, but you hsould not do anything at all to interfere with the cycle, do not worry about the trites and ammonia at all until they get to ZERO, trying to lower them only hinders your cycle and add no ore fish or inverts until after your cycle has completed