Cycle question?

[bostontim]

As I have previously stated I re-setup my tank with a new sand bed. i had a goby in there so i put him in and hoped for the best. Its been a couple weeks and the guy at the LFS told me I could put some damsels in. Is it normal that they all died?? Was it too early to put the in?? Is something wrong with the water other than the spikes from cycling?? And why does the goby do fine if nothing else does?

 

[TomD]

A lot of LFS's will recommend Damsels to provide the amonia source to cycle a tank.

I don't like the idea for a few reasons. Your Goby may just be lucky but chances are it is not liking the water.

Dont add anything else. Where are your parameters now? Specifically amonia, nitrites..

 

[APISTOBORELLI]

How old is the tank? Did you add live rock or dry rock? Have you done any water changes?

Like Tom said, what are your test results?

 

[bostontim]

A lot of LFS's will recommend Damsels to provide the amonia source to cycle a tank.

I don't like the idea for a few reasons. Your Goby may just be lucky but chances are it is not liking the water.

Dont add anything else. Where are your parameters now? Specifically amonia, nitrites..

Salinity 1.025
ammonia <.25
nitrite 0
copper 0
pH 8.0

 

[bostontim]

How old is the tank? Did you add live rock or dry rock? Have you done any water changes?

Like Tom said, what are your test results?

I got 50 lbs live rock in there. No water change yet.

 

[APISTOBORELLI]

If all you did was change the sand bed, did you keep any of the water from the original setup? How long was the tank broken down? You can cut down on the ammonia with water changes if you feel the need. I assume you pulled the damsels, there's nothing else dead in there?

 

[ReeferMedic]

It is not neccessary to put any fish or livestock in the system to start a cycle when you already have one taking place. Wait until your amonia and nitrites are zero before you put anything else live in the tank. Go slow and you shouldn't see any spikes after that.

 

[bostontim]

If all you did was change the sand bed, did you keep any of the water from the original setup? How long was the tank broken down? You can cut down on the ammonia with water changes if you feel the need. I assume you pulled the damsels, there's nothing else dead in there?

It was broken down for a couples hours. I kept half the water and the filter media from the old tank. the only reason I changed it was i bought it established and it had a UG filter under a crushed coral substrate so I wanted to remove that. Its weird, my readings arent terrible for a newly set up tank (i dont think at least) and i thought the damsels were supposed to be real hardy. My Goby has lasted through 2 new set ups in a month and is eating great, swimming, diggin in the sand, and not breathing heavy or looking noticeably stressed.

 

[TomD]

^^Yup. Changing water will actually slow a cycle a little but where you have a fish you want to keep the amonia down the best you can.

 

[APISTOBORELLI]

I'd leave it be then. Slow and steady wins the race my friend.

 

[bostontim]

I'd leave it be then. Slow and steady wins the race my friend.

Ok. Thanks. So I shouldnt worry too much about the damsels?
Also should I bother changing water now w/ less than a .25 ammonia reading or should I give it another week or two and see if the cycle completes??

 

[TomD]

So you still have damsels??

I would watch it and try not to let it go above where it is and wait.

 

[bostontim]

So you still have damsels??

I would watch it and try not to let it go above where it is and wait.

No. The damsels are dead. i got a goby and 3 hermits (holderovers form the last tank).

As for the ammonia its come down this week. It was over .25 last sunday. I will see if it holds. If it spikes ill do a 10% change.

I did lose a little water to evaporation though. Should I add new water to fill? If so should I try to lower gravity a bit? is 1.025 too high?

 

[bostontim]

Ok. Things seem better in the tank. levels are still good (except ammonia but its a little lower). Now I figure the cycle will end in the next few weeks. i need to start picking up items for the tank. I wanna have some soft coral and inverts, fish, etc. I have a 55 g tank with 2 powerheads, HOB filter, 2 heaters. Also have 50 lbs live rock, 75 lbs live sand, 3 turbo snails, zebra goby, and 3 red legged hermits. I am also about to purchase 4x65w T5 set up (w/ ind. reflectors and lunar lights)

Any suggestions on what equpiment I should get??? I would like to start posting int he marketplace and see if I can pick up some stuff in the next week or so. thanks in advance.

 

[Andy O]

I would ultimately ditch the hob filter and allow your LR and sandbed to handle your biological filtration. You may also want to invest in a skimmer as well. When the tank is cycled you should also bump up your clean up crew consierably.

 

[bostontim]

I would ultimately ditch the hob filter and allow your LR and sandbed to handle your biological filtration. You may also want to invest in a skimmer as well. When the tank is cycled you should also bump up your clean up crew consierably.

So you would go with no filter at all??
If I do that should I add more rock??

as for the cleanup crew? 10 snails? 10 hermits? more?

What about a sump or refuge? Do I need those??

 

[Andy O]

Depending how porous the rock is I would think that if you had 70 or 75# of LR you should be fine. This should be able to handle your biological filtration. HOB filters can act as nitrate factories and will make it tought for you to keep your level down.

In terms of clean up crew, I just ordered an assortment of somwhere in the neighborhood of 70 snails and 15 hermet crabs for my 90. Clean up crew is alway dieing and needing to be replaced.

 

[bostontim]

Depending how porous the rock is I would think that if you had 70 or 75# of LR you should be fine. This should be able to handle your biological filtration. HOB filters can act as nitrate factories and will make it tought for you to keep your level down.

In terms of clean up crew, I just ordered an assortment of somwhere in the neighborhood of 70 snails and 15 hermet crabs for my 90. Clean up crew is alway dieing and needing to be replaced.

Ok. Ill look into more rock. Part of the reason i have the HOB filter is for a little more water movement. Also the guy at skipton's told me to just put a piece of live rock in the filter.

 

[Andy O]

Filters can be good to run various types of media such as carbon. What type of PHs are you running on the tank?

 

[bostontim]

Filters can be good to run various types of media such as carbon. What type of PHs are you running on the tank?

I run carbon and a sponge now in my HOB filter. My pH is 8.0