Tank Cycling

[drewdog82]

I had posted another thread a couple of days ago that had stated that I have a new tank that has only had LR and LS in it for 5 days. The LR was cured and was from an established tank. So far I have checked the levels each day and the ammonia, trites, and trates, are all 0. In my last post I had gotten responses that my tank still needed to cycle and that their were ways to speed this up.... I am a little confused because I have also heard from many sources that if u put fully cured rock into a tank with ok parameters, that u wont have an ammonia spike and that u can add fish and a clean-up crew almost immediatelly..... any experts out there????? :help:

 

[dogstar]

Cycled means there IS ammonia and nitrite eating bacteria alive in and on the rock and sand. The bacteria is what keeps levels at 0 as we keep and feed livestock. If the rock had/has this bacteria and you have not placed any dead decaying material like a bit of meat or food in to test to see if there is enough bacteria to handle a bioload then do so. If the levels rise high then it needs to go thru a cycle to allow the bacteria to grow.

 

[drewdog82]

Originally Posted by Dogstar
Cycled means there IS ammonia and nitrite eating bacteria alive in and on the rock and sand. The bacteria is what keeps levels at 0 as we keep and feed livestock. If the rock had/has this bacteria and you have not placed any dead decaying material like a bit of meat or food in to test to see if there is enough bacteria to handle a bioload then do so. If the levels rise high then it needs to go thru a cycle to allow the bacteria to grow.

So should I just drop some thawed pieces of shrimp in their and then if their is still 0's across the board the next day, I am ok for a clean-up crew???

 

[rustyj]

Originally Posted by drewdog82
So should I just drop some thawed pieces of shrimp in their and then if their is still 0's across the board the next day, I am ok for a clean-up crew???

I have a 55gal with LR and 3"LS with substrate and two power heads, one pulling from teh bottom to establish the plenum bact. and one to help circulate the water. I waited one week while 'feeding the tank' some flake food and then added fish. I had slight indication of nitrite for a week and then all was 0. They all faired well. I would take your time though, as hard as it is.

 

[dogstar]

Ghost feed.... A pinch of food as if you had some fish...... for about a week or so.....while testing.

 

[drewdog82]

Thanks for your help, I will drop a little bit of flakes and thawed shrimp in and monitor my levels,,,,, just one more thing- I am starting to accumulate a good amount of hair algae on my LR and some on my sand bed. Is their anything I can do while I wait on my tank, so that it doesn't get out of hand????

 

[sagxman]

Hair algae is growing for a reason. What type of water are you using, what type of lighting do you have and how long do you leave it on?

 

[drewdog82]

Originally Posted by SaGxMAN
Hair algae is growing for a reason. What type of water are you using, what type of lighting do you have and how long do you leave it on?
I have a t-5 4x54 unit... I am using either RO/DI water or the already made-up salt water that comes in boxes from the LFS. I leave my actinics on 11 hrs. and the 10000k bulbs on 9hrs. a day... (Like I said their was some hair algae when I got the rock, but it is spreading)...

 

[ams153]

well if it was already there then it makes sence that its spreading! you could either pull it off and hope it doesnt grow back though it probably will or you can wait till your tank has cycled and get a fish that eats hair algae! and itll dissapear eventually!

 

[drewdog82]

Originally Posted by ams153
well if it was already there then it makes sence that its spreading! you could either pull it off and hope it doesnt grow back though it probably will or you can wait till your tank has cycled and get a fish that eats hair algae! and itll dissapear eventually!
If I wait will the hair algae harm anything in the tank.... their are some coral frags???

 

[ams153]

nah it wont hurt anything.. and there are a few cool fish that eat hair algae!

 

[sagxman]

It will only harm the corals if it grows up too much and they can't get enough light. I would just pull it out. You could also get away with a shorter light period.

 

[drewdog82]

Originally Posted by ams153
nah it wont hurt anything.. and there are a few cool fish that eat hair algae!
I want a lawnmower blenny, I think they eat it???
Also, do u know if u can keep a lawnmower blenny in a tank with many hermits and snails, or will they out compete each other??

 

[drewdog82]

Originally Posted by SaGxMAN
It will only harm the corals if it grows up too much and they can't get enough light. I would just pull it out. You could also get away with a shorter light period.
So while I cycle, I could put the lights on for shorter amounts of time and then after it's done, return it to normal 9-11 hr. schedule??? What amount of time to cut it to would u recommend w/out affecting the coral??

 

[sagxman]

If it were me, I would do 9 hours of actenics and 7 hours of daylights. You don't need more than 8 or 9 hours even after you cycle. Your corals will be fine with this or even a bit less.

 

[drewdog82]

Originally Posted by SaGxMAN
If it were me, I would do 9 hours of actenics and 7 hours of daylights. You don't need more than 8 or 9 hours even after you cycle. Your corals will be fine with this or even a bit less.

Even with T-5's????