40B Cycling, Stocking, General Discussion

[stepho725]

Here we go: this baby is in a full cycle right now. My ammonia is at 1ppt, nitrite is also at 1, nitrates is off the charts already though??? I believe that is why it is so cloudy. I got a live rock from Petco and I can only imagine all the death included on that small piece of rock. Also, I had to switch tanks and anything that may have been living sat in buckets, garbage pails etc at 65 degrees for 6 hours before I could get a new tank set up (ugh didnt have time to paint the back of it) so that could have killed some stuff off, also I fed the blue leg stowaway hermit crabs that came in on the piece of rock.
My aquascape is never-ending. I think it will be the death of me but I'm obsessed with creating small unclean looking swimthroughs apparently.
The rock I got wasnt all porous rock. Some is like slate and I've had a hard time working with it. It made the tank look more like a freshwater cichlid tank at first but I was able to break one big piece. To say it was disappointing was an understatement.
Anyhow, I've got a skimmer that is rated for 75-100g in a 40g . Now I'm wondering what I should stock my tank with when the time comes?! Any suggestions? I'm hoping I dont overskim & deplete the water of trace minerals? Again idk about skimmers.
RE: the pic I can assure everyone that my aquascape isnt done just yet. Until I get Fishies or some good live rock with good hitchhikers in there I won't stop LOL. Sorry the photo is a bit rough I had just moved some sand and rock again but overall yes my water is that milky hue....nitrogen bloom right??

 

[stepho725]

Today PH was somewhere between 8.2 & 8.4 Ammo remained at approx 1.0, Nitrite went up a bit looked more purple so I'm calling it 2.0 Nitrates were still off the board. My salinity came in at a yikes 1.030. Already my tank has experienced a ton of evaporation and my starting salinity was on the higher side at 1.028. So tonight I changed out 8 gallons, 5 of which were distilled water to bring the salinity down and 3 were saltwater. I ended at a more comfortable 1.026. I also purchased the correct size glass top for the tank with hopes that it will help to slow the evaporation down- we'll see about that. I forget how long this cycling business takes. It's been so long! I'd like something to look at. The crabs are funny little guys but they hide and awful lot. I do look at the empty tank and my boyfriend at first called me certifiable and then he came over and began doing the same! HA! The hope that something will show up is just too much. Nothing much is going to show up with Petco rock that's for sure. There were a couple of small (teeny tiny) black and orange worms being spit around the last tank when I first turned it on but I havent seen any signs of them since....that may be a good thing! Maybe I will head up to Colchester next weekend for a good piece of live rock or some pods even?! Would they live through the cycle? I suppose the nice thing about this size tank is I can look at what everyone else has stocked theirs with. I have no sump or refugium.....yet so I'm only working with the 40g but again I'm skimming for a 100g tank. We'll see. Naturally the first fish will likely be the pair of clowns. Havent even decided on the type of those yet! So indecisive! I was partially considering some Maroons or Clarkiis but Ocellarius have so many designer fish and they're hardly and not complete jerks. I know there are pros and cons to each type. I'm sure I will figure it out.
Oh, right, my tank is nearly clear now. The only reason it looks even remotely cloudy is because I just did a water change! Yay

 

[Cerberusfish]

Here we go: this baby is in a full cycle right now. My ammonia is at 1ppt, nitrite is also at 1, nitrates is off the charts already though??? I believe that is why it is so cloudy. I got a live rock from Petco and I can only imagine all the death included on that small piece of rock. Also, I had to switch tanks and anything that may have been living sat in buckets, garbage pails etc at 65 degrees for 6 hours before I could get a new tank set up (ugh didnt have time to paint the back of it) so that could have killed some stuff off, also I fed the blue leg stowaway hermit crabs that came in on the piece of rock.
My aquascape is never-ending. I think it will be the death of me but I'm obsessed with creating small unclean looking swimthroughs apparently.
The rock I got wasnt all porous rock. Some is like slate and I've had a hard time working with it. It made the tank look more like a freshwater cichlid tank at first but I was able to break one big piece. To say it was disappointing was an understatement.
Anyhow, I've got a skimmer that is rated for 75-100g in a 40g . Now I'm wondering what I should stock my tank with when the time comes?! Any suggestions? I'm hoping I dont overskim & deplete the water of trace minerals? Again idk about skimmers.
RE: the pic I can assure everyone that my aquascape isnt done just yet. Until I get Fishies or some good live rock with good hitchhikers in there I won't stop LOL. Sorry the photo is a bit rough I had just moved some sand and rock again but overall yes my water is that milky hue....nitrogen bloom right??

Its looking good so far. Make sure to leave enough room between the rock and the glass to clean though otherwise it's a headache. Your skimmer should be fine, especially if you stock a bit heavy, and overskimming won't deplete trace minerals, or minerals in general. The cloudiness is almost certainly from the bacterial bloom of bacteria eating the ammonia and nitrite and will go away with time. For stocking, I'd definitely recommend a pair of clowns for anyone with a community tank, especially new reefers. They're easy and hardy and a lot of fun to watch. Royal grammas are another one of my favourites. And if you're ever looking for a "filler fish" that's cheap and will peck at algea, you can go to just about any store that sells fish and get some mollies. Usually you buy then as freshwater but they can be slowly converted to salt conditions over the course of a few hours. Skunk cleaner shrimp are really cool as well and easy to find. I also love bengai cardinals and used to have some but eventually they killed eachother off until I had one. And once your tank is well established (I'd say at least 6 months) you could add a sand sifting star. I added 1 to my 75 gallon after about a year and my sand bed has been nearly spotless since.

 

[Blitzie]

Nice progress so far
get an ato unit it is well work it
personally I do not change the water during a cycle
my thought has been that during the cycle you building up ammonia in your aquarium and break it down into nitrite and then nitrate
my thought has been that doing a water change would extend that period by removing some of the ammonia that starts it.

do some searches on the forums here and you will see many opinions on this

 

[kgstei]

Nice progress so far
get an ato unit it is well work it
personally I do not change the water during a cycle
my thought has been that during the cycle you building up ammonia in your aquarium and break it down into nitrite and then nitrate
my thought has been that doing a water change would extend that period by removing some of the ammonia that starts it.

do some searches on the forums here and you will see many opinions on this

I agree, no water changes and an auto makes like solo much easier and stable

 

[stepho725]

Whoops okay well I did the one water change bc I had read once a week and I saw no immediate change the day after. I tested again this AM and ammonia had dropped to .5 as had Nitrites and Nitrates dropped to 80. That was likely due to the water change though...? Too close in time to tell...? I did drop a bunch of Instant Ocean bacteria in there the other day too.
I'm dying for something live to look at. I've got the 8 hitchhiker hermit crabs but that's all that came in so I've decided to go get a good piece of Florida live rock at Colchester Pet on Saturday so I have some worms and such to look at. Also, I need some diatoms and algae?? Last time I was already seeing a coverage of brown but I had a lot more live rock than this time. I say that I need it because I will have some CUC members being ordered for me from the pet store in Danielson (it is very close to my work). So I need something for them to eat!
I didnt order much...
1 cleaner shrimp
10 Cerith Snails
5 Turbo Snails
5 Nassarius Snails
And then I have the 8 hermit crabs. I think that is just a fine place to start, probably even overdoing it a bit. If I'm not yet done cycling when they come in I will ask her to hold onto them. My hope is to add CUC & a pair of clowns at /around the same time. Does this seem reasonable given clowns will be tank bred? Then a couple mushrooms or a leather will be my next addition I believe. I dont anticipate I'm going to add too too much before I move at the end of the summer but then again these things do tend to get a mind of their own don't they?
I will feel a ton of relief to just have some worms to look at when I buy a real piece of live rock this weekend!
Thanks for the advice....no more water changes!

 

[kgstei]

Unfortunately if the the tank hasn't completely cycled you will lose anything but the hardest. Waiting is the worst but its better than killing the things you just added. Clowns are hardy fish and can probably withstand the cycling process but I think it probably stresses them and isn't good for them.

 

[SpaceAgeCoder]

There's a giant thread on R2R where it discusses cycling, adding bacteria and its effect on fish. It's a good read.

Generally speaking, however, as long as water is up to temp, salinity is good, and you add bacteria in a bottle (Fritz TurboStart, Dr. Tims, etc.) you can add a couple of hardy fish. Typically clownfish as they are borderline indestructible and much easier to remove than say a damsel. I've personally cycled 4 tanks this way and have never lost a fish. My current tank still has the clownfish I cycled with and we've just passed the 1 year mark. Controversial but I'll let that thread speak for itself.

That being said, I'd be a lot more patient when adding your next set of fish. Waiting for a completed cycle and then adding in smaller batches.

Having patience is very very hard in this hobby. Finding a happy balance that works for you is key.

Start up a build thread. I’d love to follow along!

 

[stepho725]

Oh...well my hope was that the cycle would be over by then? Am I being too generous in thinking the cycle would be finished in a 3ish week period? No, I'd prefer not to add fish to a cycling tank although I'm certain it can be done successfully. That wasnt really what I meant. I guess I'm definitely getting ahead of myself. I just thought 3 weeks would be enough time to get through the cycle.

 

[SpaceAgeCoder]

Oh...well my hope was that the cycle would be over by then? Am I being too generous in thinking the cycle would be finished in a 3ish week period? No, I'd prefer not to add fish to a cycling tank although I'm certain it can be done successfully. That wasnt really what I meant. I guess I'm definitely getting ahead of myself. I just thought 3 weeks would be enough time to get through the cycle.

I've seen cycles take 2 weeks and others 5. Big range but that's why you see a lot of conflicting comments on cycle times. From what I recall mine was around 24 days.

If your ammonia was 0.5 I would anticipate it completing shortly. But last time I thought that it took an extra week for me.. ;Wideyed

 

[stepho725]

Ammo remains at .5, Nitrite seems to have risen to a 1.5 though & Nitrate is at an 80.

I will be interested to see what happens over the weekend. I'm adding some (not much 5-10lbs) Florida Live Rock tonight & I think taking off the AquaClear 50 that had the carbon running. I'm sure I will see a big jump in parameters after those two changes.

I may end up turning off one powerhead also actually. Im currently running a Jebao SOW-4 & a generic 800gph but I'm not so sure the second one is necessary. It's a little difficult to tell without anything in there to show me my flow.

I will be browsing for an ATO & a black box over the next few weeks. I've never dealt with an ATO before. Hoping that isnt too much of a hassle for me.

Looking fwd to start making my own water too but again, not really familiar with plumbing so hopefully that system is easy enough to install as well!

 

[stepho725]

The tank is coming alive! I bought two pieces of Florida Live Rock. One is of feather dusters and one is full of sponges.
Those little tiny black and orange worms I mentioned long ago? They're back....in the form of bristleworms! Imagine they were infants and now they are preteens. I never had any colored ones in the past they were always flesh colored. These are rust/orangey and apparently have been living in the Petco rock & had I realized this before my trip to Colchester Pet it would have likely been enough evidence that life was being sustained and I didnt need to add any more rock. Now I have a pretty crowded aquascape but, there are worst things and in the future when I move maybe I will change things around a bit.
In regards to the cycle. Jen the owner agreed that it sounds like I'm already halfway through but thought me using Fritz would be worthwhile. I had already spent $80 on rock and wasnt ready to shop for fish as well so I decided to skip it but at least if my cycle ends up stalling I know it is available there.

 

[stepho725]

I meant to attach some photos

 

[FragileReefer]

I had a very similar start to my aquascape. I scaped a beautiful aquascape out of dry rock. Then visited Jen for some of that delish live rock for that biodiversity. But like you it kinda messed with my aquascape and felt crowded. 2.5 years later I wish I would have integrated it better with the aquascape or just removed it from tank after I got the critters. Now I'm conflicted, my anemone and blenny live inside the rock and the last of my feather dusters cover one side, I love the rock. But at the same time now I can't add more rock; no clam rock, no Christmas tree worm rock, no GSP islands, or the negative space needed to load up new frags or tools. At the beginning, all of our tanks feel like giant. Buy one day your going to struggle to find a new home for a frag and stare at that oddly shaped live rock and wish for the real estate back. So my advice is love every rock in your scape or take it out.

Additional advise* Take forum advise with a grain of salt. Don't rip out a bunch of rock cause of me. I may not run my tank anything like you or worst I'm an idiot and if you haven't learned yet, there are some pretty convincing idiots out there.

 

[kgstei]

I had a very similar start to my aquascape. I scaped a beautiful aquascape out of dry rock. Then visited Jen for some of that delish live rock for that biodiversity. But like you it kinda messed with my aquascape and felt crowded. 2.5 years later I wish I would have integrated it better with the aquascape or just removed it from tank after I got the critters. Now I'm conflicted, my anemone and blenny live inside the rock and the last of my feather dusters cover one side, I love the rock. But at the same time now I can't add more rock; no clam rock, no Christmas tree worm rock, no GSP islands, or the negative space needed to load up new frags or tools. At the beginning, all of our tanks feel like giant. Buy one day your going to struggle to find a new home for a frag and stare at that oddly shaped live rock and wish for the real estate back. So my advice is love every rock in your scape or take it out.

Additional advise* Take forum advise with a grain of salt. Don't rip out a bunch of rock cause of me. I may not run my tank anything like you or worst I'm an idiot and if you haven't learned yet, there are some pretty convincing idiots out there.

You tank looks great. Those rock flower nems are nice!:You can always go up to a bigger tank.

 

[stepho725]

I did decide to take some rock out because I'd like to break it into smaller pieces and it wasnt very porous anyways. When I aquascape after my move I may or may not put it back in. Either way now I've got about 15ish lbs of dry rock for whatever I decide to use it for. Definitely plan on breaking it up though...I dont know if I've mentioned the dry rock i got off Ebay wasnt very porous. It would be great for a cichlid tank I feel. It was just super disappointing not to see all the nooks and crannies in the largest pieces....
Anywho: pic is attached of what I've come up with. I'm not happier with it. I actually don't like it as much but it does make sense to me to take the rock I didn't particularly love out now before things really start living on it. Especially since I have live rock in there now.
Other "problem" is this Limpet wont get off my powerhead and I dont want to kill it. I tried to move it but good lord he has a strong foot! I turned off the power head and turned on my generic one again for a while- hopefully he will make his way back to the rocks.
Parameters remain pretty steady except nitrites climbed to a 2 as of yesterday. Will test again tonight I'm sure. Should I feed the tank again?

 

[stepho725]

Duh....photos

 

[stepho725]

Tonight reads ammonia .25 Nitrite .5 Nitrate 80 so I'm just about done and just in time for my clean up crew to arrive later this week to eat up some of the diatoms that have developed suddenly and quickly! To think I was dying for a sign of life and now I've got bristleworms, amphipods, limpets, feather dusters, a ball anemone I'm enjoying feeding lol, and sponges. So I am glad I spent the money on the live rock. I will be excited to see the ammonia hit zero. I fed the tank earlier today, still trying to figure out my flow situation the dusters seem happy in the flow of the SOW-4 on half power but the speed almost all the way up. But then they also seemed very happy with my generic 800 gph coming from the back corner of the tank....I imagine it will take me some time to figure this out.

 

[stepho725]

Yay! Im done!
Yesterday and today I read zero Ammonia and Nitrites and only a 20-40 Nitrates (is that due to the skimmer??) So, I went ahead and changed 8 gallons. I'm ready for a couple coral and a couple fish and my clean up crew whenever they make it over to Danielson....still waiting to hear from them! What a relief! That was about 3 weeks I believe but I'm glad to be able to start moving forward now!
Speaking of which I need a black box: I notice they all mostly say they are 165w is that appropriate for this tank?

 

[Blitzie]

Good Job, Keep going slow