increasing the amount of fish you add at start.

[fishlover1478]

so my idea was to have the normal cycle finish then start gradually increasing the dose of ammonia until its ready for more fish than a pair of clowns or some damsel.
idk if this would work so if you can think of issues please let us know

 

[Ron Reefman]

How will you know when the amount of ammonia is enough to add 'X' number of fish?

 

[fishlover1478]

i would just assume that a pair of clown fish and insert low bioload fish here would produce less ammonia then 12ish ppm a day
but i don't know so i would just way over shoot then adjust.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Are you planning to try to add a lot of fish at once?

 

[fishlover1478]

Are you planning to try to add a lot of fish at once?

no just a pair of clowns and a ywg and pistol shrimp

 

[K7BMG]

Tank size and how much BB surface area?

Yea I guess this method could be done.
I feel it would not be a good thing but have no proof just my gut saying nope.

Yes in theory you could feed the tank ammonia daily and build up the BB.
Then stop with the ammonia, test to make sure its 0 and add several fish.

I am sure there is a mathematical calculation (Way above my ay grade) to come up with an answer.

 

[fishlover1478]

Tank size and how much BB surface area?

Yea I guess this method could be done.
I feel it would not be a good thing but have no proof just my gut saying nope.

Yes in theory you could feed the tank ammonia daily and build up the BB.
Then stop with the ammonia, test to make sure its 0 and add several fish.

I am sure there is a mathematical calculation (Way above my ay grade) to come up with an answer.

my tank size is 75 gallon display and 30 gallon sump

i'm adding one of these https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/marinepure-ceramic-biomedia-plate.html the bigger one
and i currently have 20 pounds of rock but i'm adding 30 to 60 more pounds and i have a 3 inch sand bed
also my tank doesn't have water in case you were wondering.

 

[bevo5]

I’ve always pumped more ammonia in than it says. I’m sure that causes some issue but my logic was always the same as yours - if there’s enough biological filtration to handle a big dose of ammonia at once then surely it means more fish will be ok.

I have no way to know if that is right. But it makes sense to me that a little ammonia would mean smaller bio load and more ammonia would mean bigger bio load.

I don’t think four fish in a 75g will overload it either way tbh.

 

[KrisReef]

There is more to the ecosystem in an established reef tank than just bacteria that eat ammonia. Having a new system that can dispatch X ppm NH4 means just that. Allowing the system to age and get additional life growing beyond the denitrifying bacteria is safer for everything you might want to add.

I smiled "There is no water in the tank." That bag of salt sitting on the sand blends in really nice?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I'm not sure what is the intent here. There's no evidence that there is any issue adding fish slowly once the tank is cycled,and I think if you plan to add ammonia after fish are already there, in preparation for future it is risky with no apparent benefit. If you mean only adding more ammonia (beyond normal cycling) before adding any fish, that too will have no apparent benefit down the road that I can discern.

 

[fishlover1478]

There is more to the ecosystem in an established reef tank than just bacteria that eat ammonia. Having a new system that can dispatch X ppm NH4 means just that. Allowing the system to age and get additional life growing beyond the denitrifying bacteria is safer for everything you might want to add.

I smiled "There is no water in the tank." That bag of salt sitting on the sand blends in really nice?

its actually in a bucket.

so would it be possible to add the fish once the normal cycle is finished.

 

[brandon429]

the surface area is the limiting factor not your ammonia given typical bottle bac use and several days wait time.


we can only stack so much bacteria on live rock before typical self-regulation kicks in for space management

therefore, adding a little ammonia or a lot doesnt change how much bacteria finite surfaces can hold.

cycle as you would, it handles variable bioloads once its done.

bacteria dont ramp up to match a bioload nor ramp down very much when we change bioloading, surface area submerged carries its full complement of bacteria given submersion time all cycling charts show, they manage via self-regulating processes like water shear, nutrient avail, seeding variation etc and others

cycling your tank as normal handles a little, or a lot of fish at the start. nh3 control won't be a problem in normal reefs, crypto and brook or velvet disease sure can be though

have a plan for fish disease control, the cycling will be fine without adjustments. I didnt know this prior but one time Dr Tim in a post said the bacteria can elect to work harder or lesser to accomodate bioloading, we always thought it was in the colony numbers.

 

[fishlover1478]

the surface area is the limiting factor not your ammonia given typical bottle bac use and several days wait time.


we can only stack so much bacteria on live rock before typical self-regulation kicks in for space management

therefore, adding a little ammonia or a lot doesnt change how much bacteria finite surfaces can hold.

cycle as you would, it handles variable bioloads once its done.

bacteria dont ramp up to match a bioload nor ramp down very much when we change bioloading, surface area submerged carries its full complement of bacteria given submersion time all cycling charts show, they manage via self-regulating processes like water shear, nutrient avail, seeding variation etc and others

cycling your tank as normal handles a little, or a lot of fish at the start. nh3 control won't be a problem in normal reefs, crypto and brook or velvet disease sure can be though

have a plan for fish disease control, the cycling will be fine without adjustments.

ok thanks.

i plan to quarantine and use safety stop when fish get here.

 

[terraincognita]

IMO I don't think 2 Clowns instead of 1 Clown should call for extra or special starting.

I'd do it just normal.

4 Fish instead of 2 maybe.

I always start with 2 clowns.... they're in every saltwater tank I've ever had now that you mention it....

Only problems I've ever had is them not bonding. Never water.

 

[fishlover1478]

IMO I don't think 2 Clowns instead of 1 Clown should call for extra or special starting.

I'd do it just normal.

4 Fish instead of 2 maybe.

I always start with 2 clowns.... they're in every saltwater tank I've ever had now that you mention it....

Only problems I've ever had is them not bonding. Never water.

so earlier in the thread i said in thread that i planned to get a pair of clowns and a ywg and pistol shrimp and i wasn't sure if either were going to cause problems with the water

 

[terraincognita]

so earlier in the thread i said in thread that i planned to get a pair of clowns and a ywg and pistol shrimp and i wasn't sure if either were going to cause problems with the water

It's a 75G Tank. So there's a larger quantity of water.

Is this the biggest tank you've had?

The bigger the tank, the longer the cycle. That's about hte only thing I'd say too look out for.

IMO, If you wait longer, to add 4 fish at once, you'd probably be slowing yourself down.

I think it'd be smarter to add 2 Fish early, then the other 2 later.

In-fact it'd probably be safer and more effective.

IMO (and just my opinion) Once you ADD fish, you really add some final components to really starting to fully establish your tank.

To me a cycle can't be complete without some type of Fish. Just my opinion. I think by just trying to establish a tank with JUST Bacteria and things for the Bacteria to eat is a lot harder then with a couple of hardy fish.

 

[fishlover1478]

It's a 75G Tank. So there's a larger quantity of water.

Is this the biggest tank you've had?

The bigger the tank, the longer the cycle. That's about hte only thing I'd say too look out for.

IMO, If you wait longer, to add 4 fish at once, you'd probably be slowing yourself down.

I think it'd be smarter to add 2 Fish early, then the other 2 later.

In-fact it'd probably be safer and more effective.

IMO (and just my opinion) Once you ADD fish, you really add some final components to really starting to fully establish your tank.

To me a cycle can't be complete without some type of Fish. Just my opinion. I think by just trying to establish a tank with JUST Bacteria and things for the Bacteria to eat is a lot harder then with a couple of hardy fish.

yeah its the biggest tank i've had.

IMO (and just my opinion) Once you ADD fish, you really add some final components to really starting to fully establish your tank.

also what do you mean?