Week one done with fish. :)

[jedimaster]

Well with week one over with, heres where it stands.
The Brown algea stuff(diatoms?) cover the bottom of the tank and is starting to appear on the power heads and glass. The two green chromis are eating very well and swimming about plyafully. The temp has been a steady 76, and the sg 1.021, Just tested for ammonia again and still no reading. Nor nitrite or nitrate. PH has been steady at 8.1-8.2
This Tuesday I pick up 50 pounds of LR and will be adding it to the mix. MY LFS has received it last night and has it sitting in a tank for me til tuesday(payday).
Has anyone here cycled with fish? If so how long did it take for ammonia to show.
Anyone got a guess on how long it'll take to show? days, weeks, months?
Anyway, been very exciting so far, can't wait til the cyclee gets going.

 

[mojo.]

I started my 125 gln. tank with 4 Damsiels, (4 yrs. ago) still have all 4. The readings went off the wall for about 4 weeks then noyhing!! 30 lbs. L.R. , C.C. , wet/dry, P.Skimmer (Sea Clone), went to wall mart bought lights, (1/3 the price), just checked the wattage and so on, havent done a water change in 2 yrs., I just add tap water to round it off!! BTW I have a well for water!! No City water!! HTH Mary

 

[bigeyedfish]

I am cycling my 55 now. A little frustrated with how things are going. I've had a constant level of Ammo for two weeks now (.25 ppm). Still no sign of nitrite or nitrate. The tank has had LR and fish now for a month. Really dont know what to think of it. It was at .25 with the two damsels i have in there. Got a sebae clown last weekend and the level hasnt budged, the clown is the size of both the damels combined! Good Luck, i am trying so hard to be patient.

 

[mojo.]

Be patient young geddi!! It will be your force!! Mary P.S. If you get too frustated email me!! Hjanemary@aol.com

 

[ocellaris_keeper]

Jedi,
When you add the LR your tank will most likely recycle a bit. Your fish will live though it though so don't worry too much. That fact that you ahve algae everywhere is an indication that you may not be using very clean water (tap water has a lot of phosphates and other chemicals) try using RO water (safeway sells it for .69 per gal.
You should build your Deep Sand Bed now while the LR is full of new animals. DSB is 4" of LS.
What other types of filtration are you using?

 

[ocellaris_keeper]

SaltyJay18,
I have heard of a tank with Ammonia at .25 after LR/fish introduction. This could be a cause from inserting uncured LR into the tank.
How much LR and do you have any substrate?
Where did you buy the LR and was it cured/uncured? You may have uncured LR which means you should have your powerheads sending waterflow over the rock and your protien skimmer should be running. you may want to turn off your lights for a few days so the rock can cure.
Remember to keep feeding the fish though.

 

[fshhub]

2 small damsels(or chromis) in a 75 or 90 or larger, could take a while to start cycle(to readable levels), week or 2 even more, the lr will probably accelerate this, and if it is well cured, you could go through it in days, or if you used ls, it could also happen in less than a week,
jedi, did you use ls, jsut sand, or no sand?,
if no ls or lr(in yet), you probably just aren't registering readable levels yet, in which case, patience, it will come soon

 

[jedimaster]

Thanks for all the replies and questions, heres a better breakdown of the contents.
Main Tank 90 gallons
3 pounds LR Cured(just enough for the chromis to hide around)
2 inches of cruched coral(80 pounds i think)
Rio 1100 and maxijet 900 for circlulation
Rio 1100 goes to sump.
Sump 20 gallons
4 inch dsb(Aragamax)
10 pounds LR(cured)
Heater
Canister filter(not on right now, only used to scrub the dust out of the tank)
Thats it I think
I'll be adding the 50 pounds of live rock on Tuesday. It will have been in a tan for 5 days when I get it. and the transport will be about 15 minutes from LFS to my tank.
I have been told that I may never get an ammo spike, but I may get a reading after I add the rock but maybe not.

 

[josh]

Hi, if you want to get the cycle going, add a piece of shrimp. It will decompose and kick start the cycle. I wouldn't use fish to cycle a tank with, as mentioned yes they might live.... but they will be extremely stressed out and there is NO reason to do it when you have other viable options.
Josh

 

[fshhub]

if the rock has been cured for only 5 days, maybe yes, maybe no, to a spike, if he got it cured, odds are more in your favor,
other tahn that, i would start checking the amm. every other day, after you add the rock(maybe even every day), when that rises, your cycle starts, then your nitrates will follow(test ofr them every day til zero), both will rise and fall
do you use a ugf, or just cc by itself?

 

[livingwater]

MY FRIEND I WOULD START OFF WITH A FEW LARGE CLOWNS. WITH CLOWNS YOU CANT GO WRONG. THE ARE GREAT FOR REEF AND FISH ONLY TANKS. EVEN IF YOU GO AGRESSIVE YOU ARE OK( AS LONG AS YOU GET THEM AT A GOOD SIZE) MOST PEOPLE SAY GET SOMETHING CHEAP LIKE DEMSELS HOWEVER I THINK WITH A 90G TANK YOU WNAT BIGGER FISH TO KICK START YOU CYCLE. TRY MAYBE EVEN A YELLOW TANG(MED IN SIZE) THEY ARE PRETTY CHEAP AND MAY EVEN LIVE FOR A LONG TIME. IF NOT THEN YOU ARE NOT OUT OF YOUR POCKET. A 90G TANK..WOW THAT WOULD BE A LOT OF DEMELS. I SAY GO WITH THE BIGGER HARDY FISH, LIKE CLOWNS AND YELLOW TANGS. THE ROCK WILL HELP ALOT. ALSO SEE IF YOU CAN FIND A DEALER WITH ALREADY CYCLED WATER. EVEN IF ITS ONLY 20G'S THAT WILL ALSO HELP. GOOD LUCK MY FELLOW HOBBIST

 

[fshhub]

welcome aboard living water,
and most of us prefer the use of shrimp for cycling, no risk of loosing your fish this way

 

[just_got_tanked]

I read one of the above replies. It was the one about cycling with the clowns or the tang. I do not recommened that. Use the shrimp or the live rock method. You can seed your tank with live sand that came from another tank, but I wouldnt use the water. You never know what is in the water that you are getting. Never mix water from another tank with your own. There are also products that you can buy from your lfs like cycled or biozyme that will help build up the bacteria that you need.

 

[jedimaster]

just a quick question...
Why a hrimp? why not a piece of fish or crab met or something like that? or does it metter?

 

[broomer5]

it doesn't matter if you use a whole shrimp, half shrimp, piece of fish, crab meat, scallop or whatever .... as long as it is raw. Many people just find it easier to use a shrimp cause you can get them easily at most grocery stores, and can buy a number of them individually for the size of your tank.

 

[bigeyedfish]

Bud on Tap,
My LFS assured me it was cured. I had seen the rocks in there for a good two weeks so it should've been fine. I went to another LFS the other day and suggested its my test kit. Red Sea Marine Tests dont go back to zero for ammonia tests??? It sounded funny but you never know. Anyone else heard this??

 

[jedimaster]

I have a Sea Chem(same comp that does instant ocean), and Hagen, Both register 0, just wanted to be sure, so I bought both.

 

[krusk]

It's take me 6 weeks to cycle my 75 G tank with 6 damsels and 1 clown.
I rather use shrimp to cycle the new tank.
I lost my clown before the cycle is completed.
Goes with fshhub and other experts idea use deah shrimp.

 

[thewolfman777]

this one goes out for the Q n A on the test kits. I was getting inaccurate readings on one of my test kits. I brought it the these message boards because i was registering trates before trites. it was recommended to go get another test kit, in which I did. the readings made much more sense. in my experience thus far, go get a different test kit, it will pay off in the long run.
I didnt do the shrimp method to start the cycle, I started with damsels. they are doing just fine and have been since day one. when i start another tank though, I will do the shrimp method.
Also, about cycling with additives, i used them for the first couple of weeks and was unpleased with the results. my cycle is half way complete: amm. going down (@.25 from a 2.0), trites skyrocketing, and trates at about 10. this all happened after i stopped using the additives and put in the l/r but hey, to each his own. I would rather now spend the money on l/r.

 

[jedimaster]

So what should I do with my green chromis, if I put a dead shrimp in my tank? Or should I just be sticking it out with the chromis? It sounds like the two little chromis I have may not be enough to cycle the tank, and I have my doubts about the next live rock addition as it will be fairly well cured when I get it.