My first marine tank

[Crooked90s]

Hi reef gang, so this is my first marine tank 60L. I went with the dead raw shrimp to cycle. Basically I just would just like little advice, do I add seachem stability Why the shrimp is in tank? how long do I leave it in for? when to do water changes etc. I tried to get live rock but my LFS don’t sell it here in England only live sand which I have. How high does my levels need to be before water changes? every bit help you can give me I will be 100% great full.

 

[Cell]

With a traditional cycle you add an ammonia source, which is the shrimp, and wait about 4 weeks.

The other option is bottled starter bac products that can have your tank ready to start stocking in as little as 24 hrs.

 

[Cell]

You can remove the shrimp if there is anything left after you start registering ammonia.

 

[jkcoral]

Really cool that you’re getting a tank started! You don’t need live rock, having new rock with bottled bacteria will help to get things going and established quicker.

For water changes, the tank is small (15g) which makes water changes easy and quick. On the other hand, a small tank is more susceptible quick changes in parameters/nutrients. In my opinion, it’s best to pick a routine and stick to it (e.g. 5 gallon water change every 2 weeks) instead of waiting for parameters to hit a certain threshold, but others may have a different opinion.

And remember one of the golden rules of reefing: nothing good happens fast!

 

[Crooked90s]

Really cool that you’re getting a tank started! You don’t need live rock, having new rock with bottled bacteria will help to get things going and established quicker.

For water changes, the tank is small (15g) which makes water changes easy and quick. On the other hand, a small tank is more susceptible quick changes in parameters/nutrients. In my opinion, it’s best to pick a routine and stick to it (e.g. 5 gallon water change every 2 weeks) instead of waiting for parameters to hit a certain threshold, but others may have a different opinion.

And remember one of the golden rules of reefing: nothing good happens fast!

Thanks for the reply dude! I’ve had a peak of ammonia after 3 days with the shrimp being in, you think I should take it out? Really am new to it all and trying to gather as much information as possible so anything welcome! My plan was to leave the shrimp in until tomorrow take it out and leave it a few days to see what happens with the levels.

 

[Crooked90s]

You can remove the shrimp if there is anything left after you start registering ammonia.

I’ve been reading a lot about the tank always needing an ammonia source when in cycle (I won’t be adding it via chemical) would it not drop without the source and bottom out? Over a few days?