tank cycling

[thresher9]

So my new tank if finally setup. Now for the cycling... how long will it take for the tank to cycle? Can I put animals in the new tank? All the live rock in this tank came from my old tank thats now sitting in the backyard The ammonia is at .5 ppm right now and nitrates 10 ppm everything else is at normal levels. I would love to just let it sit for a few weeks to cycle, but I've got fish, creatures, and corals from my old tank that are currently in a 30gallon tote. They really can't stay in there for too long, theres no filter, just two power heads going. I originally put them in my old sump (55gallon) and looped the pump to keep things moving, but it over heated to 92 and I had to get the fish out! I lost my flame angle from that and am not putting them back in there. I have no way to keep the heat down. So is it ok to put the fish, creatures, and corals in the new tank with those levels?
Also my new skimmer isn't working, no bubbles are being made. It worked in a bucket but when I put it in the sump, it broke. There are no clogs, the pump works, if I blow into the tube bubbles are made. It just can't do it by itself for some reason. Any ideas on how to get the bubbles going?

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by thresher9 http:///t/396223/tank-cycling#post_3529684
So my new tank if finally setup. Now for the cycling... how long will it take for the tank to cycle? Can I put animals in the new tank? All the live rock in this tank came from my old tank thats now sitting in the backyard The ammonia is at .5 ppm right now and nitrates 10 ppm everything else is at normal levels. I would love to just let it sit for a few weeks to cycle, but I've got fish, creatures, and corals from my old tank that are currently in a 30gallon tote. They really can't stay in there for too long, theres no filter, just two power heads going. I originally put them in my old sump (55gallon) and looped the pump to keep things moving, but it over heated to 92 and I had to get the fish out! I lost my flame angle from that and am not putting them back in there. I have no way to keep the heat down. So is it ok to put the fish, creatures, and corals in the new tank with those levels?
Also my new skimmer isn't working, no bubbles are being made. It worked in a bucket but when I put it in the sump, it broke. There are no clogs, the pump works, if I blow into the tube bubbles are made. It just can't do it by itself for some reason. Any ideas on how to get the bubbles going?
Hi,
If you have ammonia in the new tank, you can't put your fish in there. Can you do a nice big water change and lower that ammonia? Can you get your hands on some macroalgae? It will absorb ammonia and nitrite from the water after the big water change to lower ammonia from the .5 You might be able to put your fish in if you do that. I would keep ammonia strips handy so you can quick test each morning and night and have new mixed SW for an emergency water change on hand, just in case it's needed.
Sorry to hear that you put the rock outside to dry...it would have helped to keep levels normal for a swap from one tank to the other...too late now. Even putting rock in the tub would have helped to keep things stable. Once there is die off it's too late for the rock to help, it needs to cure now before you use it...the sooner the better to preserve as much life as possible..

 

[thresher9]

I didn't let the rock dry out... I put my old tank in the yard. The rock I kept in a big tote of the old tank water with some power heads and my shrimp! Now the rock is in the new tank all setup nicely. My fish weren't doing so hot so I went ahead and put them in the tank. I tested the water again and now the ammonia is at zero... every things at zero, but the nitrates which is at 10. I'm not sure if my tang will make it :'( he hasn't been doing good since the over heating. He's lying on his side at the bottom breathing heavy. How often should I do water changes during the cycling (if there is one) and how much of the water?
I really need to figure out how to fix my skimmer.... so once again looking for help on the lack of bubbles.
Thanks!

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by thresher9 http:///t/396223/tank-cycling#post_3529742
I didn't let the rock dry out... I put my old tank in the yard. The rock I kept in a big tote of the old tank water with some power heads and my shrimp! Now the rock is in the new tank all setup nicely. My fish weren't doing so hot so I went ahead and put them in the tank. I tested the water again and now the ammonia is at zero... every things at zero, but the nitrates which is at 10. I'm not sure if my tang will make it :'( he hasn't been doing good since the over heating. He's lying on his side at the bottom breathing heavy. How often should I do water changes during the cycling (if there is one) and how much of the water?
I really need to figure out how to fix my skimmer.... so once again looking for help on the lack of bubbles.
Thanks!
Hi,
You SHOULD be just fine. I'm glad the rock wasn't dried like I thought at first. I would use those cheap little ammonia strips, and test each morning and evening, I would have made up new saltwater on hand to be able to do an emergency WC if needed. 3rd of the water if the ammonia spikes, and with the established rock in there it shouldn't. Macroalgae would really help at this stage to keep things stable.
The tang is stressed to the max, I would keep the tank dim for a few days to let him try and regroup. The skimmer isn't really that important seeing it's in a new tank, so you have time to tweak it. The power head might be just so worn out that it doesn't have enough power to churn up the bubbles like it should. You might try a different power head on it to see if it helps.

 

[eric b 125]

What kind of skimmer is it?

 

[geridoc]

Get a bottle of Amquel+, and keep it handy. If the ammona levels begin to rise due to the rapid increase in bioload, use the Amquel as directed on the bottle. It converts the ammonia to a less toxic form that the bacteria can still consume, so they will multiply while your fish are protected from the ammonia.