Whats the next step

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dholmblad

Guest
Alrite ive had this tank for 2 years, it was down for about 6 months when I ran in to financial dificulties and over xmas i got some money so i got it back up and running. I have 100lb+ of lr, and about a 3 inch sand bed. The tank has 4x 96 watt 32inch lighting, 2x blue(donno real name) and 2x 10,000 bright white or something.
I ordered a new pump because as you can see there is only o ne to circulate in the tank.
I have a skimmer and sump and all that good stuff.
How long untill I can put some clean up crew in there(turbos, and crabs and such)
And is there anyway to speed up the colonization of all the little organisms on the lr?
 
lefty

lefty

Active Member
Hi. :) You can put inverts in there as soon as your tank is done cycling. If it's already done cycling, then great. As long as your water parameters are looking good, I don't see a reason to not add them.
If you're concerned with adding to the bacteria (if that's what you meant by little organisms) in your tank, you could always purchase one piece of live rock and add it. The bacteria will spread to other rock and I would imagine this would make it spread faster. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. :D
-lefty
 
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dholmblad

Guest
Yea im looking in to getting a few more pieces of lr, And what do you mean by done cycling?(the water)
 
lefty

lefty

Active Member
When you set up a tank, your tank will undergo what is called a cycle. This is where some of the chemicals in the water will fluctuate drastically. If you add any fish or inverts to your tank during this time, they will most likely die. Things like Ammonia, Nitrates, and Nitrites will fluctuate and eventually come down. This is when you can add your critters :). Most hobbyists will test their water with testkits that you can buy at any LFS. It's recommended that you monitor the chemical balances in your tank often to make sure everything looks okay (for example, you want your Ammonia to be at zero). I don't know how long your tank has been set up, but I would still make sure that al the levels are where they should be before adding anything. :D
-lefty
 
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dholmblad

Guest
Ah alrite, i just dont know some of the terms you guys use. I tested it yesterday and everything is fine, salt lvl in the water is a little high.
So after that I can put some snails and crabs to start?
 
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dholmblad

Guest
If i added lr later on after I had fish or some clean up crew in there, would it fluctuate again and some of the things raise(nitrate, amonia and such)?
 
lefty

lefty

Active Member
If the rock you add is fully cured, your tank shouldn't go into another cycle. :)
-lefty
 
wax32

wax32

Active Member
If your tank was "down for 6 months" with no water, then your live rock isn't alive any more. Try tossing in a shrimp ( a raw one like you would eat ) then test for ammonia in a day or two. You might need to cycle your tank and get your bacteria started up again.
 
snipe

snipe

Active Member
Man if your eatin raw shrimp I would suggest you to stop lol
It might not be good for you :D . I just add to reply that lol. But you do want to start with shrimp "raw unseasond and uncooked" I think it is 3 or 4 for every 50 gallons.
 
cowfishrule

cowfishrule

Active Member
your ammonia will spike then drop to 0, your nitrite will follow suit, then your nitrates will spike, then fall, but perhaps not to 0.
do a 25% water change, retest in 1-2 days (correct me if im wrong).
ammonia, trite should read 0
trate should be 20 or less
ph should be 8.1 / 8.2 range
salinity should be 1.023 - 1.025 ????
process does take a couple of weeks... be patient
 
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dholmblad

Guest
While the tank was down the tank was filled.
edit: I dont get what this shrimp does?
 
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dholmblad

Guest
I tested my tank today
ph- 8.2
amonia- 0
Forget what my nitrites and nitrates were i have them written down so ill get em later
All the testes looked normal
 
anenewbie

anenewbie

New Member
The decaying shrimp will put ammonia into your tank. It is a method of cycling without harming any fish.
 
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dholmblad

Guest
icic, I thought i didnt want any amonia in my tank?
And when ever i had turbo snails and blue leggs the hermits would always eat most of the turbos idk why it just always happened.
 
snipe

snipe

Active Member
Making amona is only to start a new tank if yours has been down for awhile you may need to cycle and start over. The hermits kill the snails to steal there shell and then they get a meal. You need to go and buy some hermit shells to keep this from happening. I have heard the blue leg hermits will kill no for a dif shell no matter if you have new ones in there or not. So you might want to think of getting some other type of hermit.
 
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