The Order of Things...

cysco1187

cysco1187

Member
So I have the LS and the salinity under control in my 20gal tank and I want to go out and get some LR. Am I okay to introduce it to the tank today? When do I need to add the dead shrimp? Would someone please number out step-by-step. I have two clown fish that I also want to eventually put in the tank but need to know what order to do everything in. Thanks!
 
trigger40

trigger40

Well-Known Member
the first step varys betwen people. but this is what i do. first i add live sand then live rock. some will add rock first to give it a strong hold to the ground but the water will get so murky you cant see what you are doing and will bary your rock until the water clears up. and seeing that you dont have any fish that dig so you should be fine. then you can add the shrimp. you should be able to do this in about 10 minutes.
 
cysco1187

cysco1187

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by trigger40 http:///t/397483/the-order-of-things#post_3542843
the first step varys betwen people. but this is what i do. first i add live sand then live rock. some will add rock first to give it a strong hold to the ground but the water will get so murky you cant see what you are doing and will bary your rock until the water clears up. and seeing that you dont have any fish that dig so you should be fine. then you can add the shrimp. you should be able to do this in about 10 minutes.
So even though I am gong to be buying the LR I still need to do the shrimp thing? I read that it is not necessary if you have LR. Also, how soon after I add the LR will I be able to add my two clown fish?
 
trigger40

trigger40

Well-Known Member
i personaly didnt use shrimp i used a live fish wich is wrong so i regreted it as soon as i learnd the effects it has on the fish. i wpould just drope a pinch of fish flakes and let the nitrates and nitrite go to zero befor add fish. my first tank took a week to cycle then my next tank took two months. so get a test kit and test untill it goes to 0. and wher did you hear you dont haft to put anything in your tank if you have live rock. i have never heard of that
 
cysco1187

cysco1187

Member
Everyone at my ltfs said I shouldn't. They also told me I could put in my two clown fish and my hermit crab. I also have a blue streak wrasse,a nassarius snail and a bumble bee snail. There are some pretty neat things growing on my LR that I would like identified but I don't have a good camera.Is it possible to have a very small green feather duster on my LR?
 
trigger40

trigger40

Well-Known Member
yes it is most sertanly posible for you to have a feather duster but it will most likely die during the cycle.and if you want to i gess you dont haft to cycle your tank with ammonia. gk, ho ever told you that i think is wrong. how are you gona cycle it without some form of ammonia. that is another good example of why you dont listen to your lfs's advice. i am actual interested how that wou;d work if they told you how
 
cysco1187

cysco1187

Member
It is a tropical fish store that has been around for over 30 years and they deal only with tropical fish.
 
pegasus

pegasus

Well-Known Member
Tropical fish are easy compared to saltwater fish. I'd trust someone who is familiar with saltwater fish rather than someone who only deals with fresh water fish. They are similar only in that they are fish, but the requirements are quite different. That being said...

If you have good live sand, and the live rock is fully cured, the tank may not even cycle... or it may just have a mini-cycle. If there's a feather duster living on it, chances are the rock is already cured. It would be a good idea to "ghost feed" the tank to be absolutely sure, as it's cruel to have a fish in the tank during a cycle. Just add a pinch of fish food to the tank once a day for a few days to see if there's an Ammonia spike. If there isn't a spike, then you're good to go. If there is a spike, wait until Ammonia drops to zero, do water change, and add a fish. One important piece of information... stock SLOWLY. Do NOT fill the tank to capacity immediately. Add fish gradually, so the bio system has a chance to adjust. It takes time for the beneficial bacteria to grow, so don't overload the system. Nothing good ever happens quickly in saltwater, but bad things can... and do. Be patient. The less you rush, the better your chances of success.
 
cysco1187

cysco1187

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pegasus http:///t/397483/the-order-of-things#post_3542880
Tropical fish are easy compared to saltwater fish. I'd trust someone who is familiar with saltwater fish rather than someone who only deals with fresh water fish. They are similar only in that they are fish, but the requirements are quite different. That being said...

If you have good live sand, and the live rock is fully cured, the tank may not even cycle... or it may just have a mini-cycle. If there's a feather duster living on it, chances are the rock is already cured. It would be a good idea to "ghost feed" the tank to be absolutely sure, as it's cruel to have a fish in the tank during a cycle. Just add a pinch of fish food to the tank once a day for a few days to see if there's an Ammonia spike. If there isn't a spike, then you're good to go. If there is a spike, wait until Ammonia drops to zero, do water change, and add a fish. One important piece of information... stock SLOWLY. Do NOT fill the tank to capacity immediately. Add fish gradually, so the bio system has a chance to adjust. It takes time for the beneficial bacteria to grow, so don't overload the system. Nothing good ever happens quickly in saltwater, but bad things can... and do. Be patient. The less you rush, the better your chances of success.
I meant saltwater, sorry.lol
 
cysco1187

cysco1187

Member
Thank you Pegasus! Yea,I was told the rock was cured. I'm also wanting to identify some things that I see on it but I have an awful camera. There is a little brown striped spiky looking thing on one side of it that I am particularly interested in...
 
pegasus

pegasus

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by trigger40 http:///t/397483/the-order-of-things#post_3542881
man i wish it was that easy for me
It is possible to set up a tank without ever having a "cycle". The cycle is caused by dead organisms in live rock and live sand. If you use dry sand and dry rock, there are no organisms to decay, so there is no cycle. You can simply add a cup of live sand and a small live rock from an existing system, and it will seed the tank with beneficial bacteria. This is when it is extremely critical to stock slowly. Add one fish to feed the bacteria, which will begin to populate to meet the one fish's load. As the bacteria that converts Ammonia to Nitrite becomes populated, the bacteria that converts Nitrite into Nitrate will in turn become populated. If there is sufficient sand and rock, bacteria that converts Nitrate in Nitrogen will also form. That population will cease to increase once there is enough to consume what is available. That is why is it important to add fish gradually. Too many fish at once and your Ammonia levels will skyrocket, which can result in disaster, especially in smaller tanks. That's why you hear people recommend you get the biggest tank you can afford, as things happen slower with higher volumes of water. It gives you time to correct the problem before disaster strikes. Smaller tanks should be left to expert hobbyists, but it can be done by the greenest of novices. It just takes a LOT of attention. My point is, you have to allow the bacteria to populate to meet the load, so don't rush things. One of your best assets in this hobby is patience.

PS: Uncured dry rock and sand can be added to an established system at any time without causing a cycle.
 
trigger40

trigger40

Well-Known Member
pegasus, i think i have hade something like that happen befor. i was able to add my first fish in the first week with my first tank. but on another note. for my next tank i want to do live rock with. pool filter sand and a hand full of live sand frome one of my established tanks. would it already be cycled even with the sand situation.
 
pegasus

pegasus

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cysco1187 http:///t/397483/the-order-of-things#post_3542885
Thank you Pegasus! Yea,I was told the rock was cured. I'm also wanting to identify some things that I see on it but I have an awful camera. There is a little brown striped spiky looking thing on one side of it that I am particularly interested in...
You're welcome. Glad to hear the rock is cured. That's good news, as it will speed up the process. Oops... patience... lol! The beauty of this hobby is all the new discoveries that we find in our tanks. Things seem to appear out of thin air. Or is it thin water? Doesn't matter which, it's just exciting to see what pops up next. I am still finding new things that I didn't know was there. If you don't have a good camera, find someone who does. Borrow it or have them take a picture and post it here. We'll do our best to help you ID it. You may have the rarest coral in the world sitting on that rock! You never know what will come attached to a live rock... lol!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top