Cycle new tank

[Scuba George]

Also only one person told u to seed and it's only cause she thought acid washing rocks meant they wouldn't cause ammonia, which it does and I proved it.


I need gills @_@

 

[Trex]

How exactly did you prove it?

A skimmer will not remove nitrates/nitrites directly.

Depending on how well the OP rinsed the rocks, there could be very little to no organics left within those rocks to kick off the cycle.

To the OP -- how long have things been set up? Have you tested for any ammonia yet? You could just add a table shrimp to help kick off the cycle.

 

[Scuba George]

In the link..it showed a kid who did this and started off with ammonia, I'm done with this thread


I need gills @_@

 

[Loki]

In the link..it showed a kid who did this and started off with ammonia, I'm done with this thread


I need gills @_@

Thank you

 

[Loki]

With the rock. I would just let it ride out. I would run the skimmer, no lights. I haven't done any research to prove that this way is better than any other. It's just what I did. My cycle took 8 weeks and I haven't had any problems.

 

[BarbH]

With the rock. I would just let it ride out. I would run the skimmer, no lights. I haven't done any research to prove that this way is better than any other. It's just what I did. My cycle took 8 weeks and I haven't had any problems.

Agree with Loki and with having added some sand and rock from an established tank that will help with the cycle. Like Loki I also ran my skimmer during my cycle and saw no problems with it, my cycle took about 7 weeks. Also because I started with dry rock I did add a raw shrimp to the tank to help kick off my cycle and removed it when my ammonia spiked. I have since than added fish and my cuc and everyone is doing well. Just remember patience and take things slow

 

[REEFKEEPER10]

I ran my skimmer but just on idle to let it break in real good. It did still pull some funk out but I never noticed a difference in the cycle.

 

[Briguy350]

I let them soak in the acid for about 20 minutes when they stopped bubbling. Everything's been setup now for about a week. I haven't tested anything yet. Been busy. Haven't been running my skimmer yet.

 

[BarbH]

With your tank up and running for a week now I would imagine that you should be getting some type of ammonia reading. As you can I would go ahead and start testing for ammonia and nitrites, every few days would be fine so that you can get a feel for how your cycle is going. As for your skimmer you can start running that at anytime you want or even wait until the end of the cycle to start your skimmer up. Members here have done both ways and I have not heard of any problems either way. Now it is the fun waiting game of letting the cycle do it's thing

 

[dallas reefer]

I cycled with 3 chromis. And seeded. And dropped shrimp in there. And I also used some kinda powder stuff.

It all works though.

 

[Loki]

Do whatever you want.... Except damsels .

 

[mallorieGgator]

Guys, I'd like to remind everyone that we don't allow personal attacks on Reef2Reef. Please continue the discussion in a friendly manner. Thank you.

 

[_sludgefactory]

This is what i used when i first started. I used to add some at each water change also. Never had any algae issue or nitrate problems. http://www.petco.com/product/5626/Aquarium-Products-Saltwater-Biozyme.aspx



Tank thread: https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/showthread.php?t=81000

LG P999 EaglesBlood 2.8, Trinity ELPmax

 

[bjledbetter]

This is what i used when i first started. I used to add some at each water change also. Never had any algae issue or nitrate problems. Aquarium Products Saltwater Biozyme at PETCO



Tank thread: New shots of my 54 corner.

LG P999 EaglesBlood 2.8, Trinity ELPmax

I used that with my cycle and it worked good I still add it from time to time if I have a problem, Oh yea and I agree leave the damsels at the lfs. There pretty and cheap but mean as snakes. If I can ever catch the few I still have they will be cat food. They attack everything from my clowns all the way to my sail fin tang. I used them to cycle and they survived. as for the skimmer I know people that have ran them from the day they added water and also people who have never used one so its what ever you prefer. My biggest advice is to remember to take it slow and not to rush anything in this hobby, It would be my thoughts that dry rock would need to be seeded for the cycle to really kick in, sense it has been allowed to dryout and kill everything in it. Just a sleepy college kids .02. Goodnight and good luck.

 

[_sludgefactory]

^ what he said.



Tank thread: https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/showthread.php?t=81000

LG P999 EaglesBlood 2.8, Trinity ELPmax

 

[robert]

Way back when - in the days of under gravel filters and bubblers, before live rock, argonite sand, two part, or dosing - we popped out tanks with brine shrimp - damsels - raw fish or shrimp. Anything that would put a little ammonia into the water. There were no bacterial additives or accelerants - Somehow our tanks always cycled and in about the same time amount of time it takes today. You see, the nitrifying bacteria you need to establish are autotrophic, meaning get their carbon from in-organic sources. These bacteria are slow growers. They take a while to colonize, but once they do, they are literally a million times more efficient at converting ammonia through nitrite to nitrate - and their populations are more stable as they are not dependent on organic carbon sources. They are not so prone to boom and bust like heterotrophic bacteria populations used in the bacterial additives are.

My point is, you can use the bacterial additives if you want. I doubt they help much - but they also are not likely to hurt anything.

I can honestly say that in 50 years have never seen a tank fail to cycle even when no bacterial additives are used. Just be patient, use enough initial organic material to get your ammonia up and test. You couldn't stop the cycle if you wanted to.

On the other point - damsels are a great fish. Beautiful color - very hardy. If you only put one or two in your tank, they pick on other fish. If you put in a dozen or so - they scrap a little with each other but pretty much leave everything else alone. Plus, in numbers they're great at pest control. I've got about a dozen blue devils in my main frag tank along with a couple of tangs - No way I could keep (or afford) so many wrasses together - they're really a great fish.

 

[Briguy350]

I set it up memorial weekend and as of last night 0 ammonia, 0 nitrates , 0 nitrites. I'm gonna keep testing for another week before adding some fish. If a spike occurs how fast will it happen?

 

[robert]

Hi Briguy,

I went back and re-read what you've done to date - you have a 75g - washed dry rock and dry sand - seeded with some rock and sand from a previous tank? You set up memorial weekend and recently tested but see no ammonia, nitrite or nitrate. Is this correct?

Since you never have seen ammonia in the tests, I'm not sure that you've had enough organics in the system to build up much of a nitrifying base of bacteria. A couple of ways to go. First, you could add some organics, maybe 3 or 4-cubes of frozen mysis shrimp and watch for an increase in ammonia over the next 3-5 days. If you see any ammonia - watch for it and any subsequent nitrite to go away and then add your fish - or you can begin to add a portion of your clean-up crew now, cleaner shrimp etc. and a few frags and watch for any ammonia as you feed them. If nothing in the way of ammonia shows up over the next 72 hours or so - start adding one or two of your desired fish - cheapest, smallest least territorial first, and keep watching for ammonia and nitrite. Have some prime standing by just in case you see anything alarming. Take it slow and keep testing for a while.

good-luck - let us know how it goes...

 

[BarbH]

I agree with what Robert has said, I would expect to see some type of nitrate reading if you had gone through a cycle, although I might be wrong on that. It has been less than two weeks since things have been started it does seem to soon for your tank to have cycled with the way it was setup.

 

[Loki]

You are probably going to have an 8ish week cycle. Stuff should show up in the next few weeks. You can also add ammonia to start it off. I am unsure what the proper amount would be for your tank.