My First Saltwater Tank!

[ac7av]

Yes I did say that, for the exact reason you just gave. This idea gives many new people a false sense of security and the practice, I believe has caused more new people to saltwater to loose fish then anything else IMO. When the bio load is zero so is the bacteria in the tank. No food for the bacteria means they dye. This does not mean it is ready for fish. Adding any fish at this point will still cause cycling because the bio load in the tank was zero to start with. I will agree to adding critters slowly as this is important. In my opinion adding fish or other live stock to start with is the best, easiest way to “cycle” a tank. I have not lost any fish to date starting a new tank. I will usually have fish in the tank with in 24 hours of filling it with water. Just long enough to get all the levels in check.

 

[ac7av]

From my understanding, the organic matter is what causes the ammonia spike, in which starts the tumbling dominoes of a cycled tank. So a shrimp would work in this instance, filling the void of organic matter in an empty tank. However the trick is to add your fish slowly, the shrimp will only build the cycle enough to handle that load of organics. If you have a tank with one fish and it is living happily, the tank is mature enough to handle that one fish, now if you take and add 15 fish to that same level, it will throw off the levels and create a new cycle.

Very well stated.
How many days before you had live stock in your new tank?

 

[pewpewlazerbeam]

I went to take pictured for you and my psu on my pc blew up when I plugged in my camera. I cannot actuqally identify this damsel from qany pictures I can find online. Its bicolor. Purple/gold. Like a husky mqascot damsel. Ill just call him husky damsel

 

[ac7av]

I went to take pictured for you and my psu on my pc blew up when I plugged in my camera. I cannot actuqally identify this damsel from qany pictures I can find online. Its bicolor. Purple/gold. Like a husky mqascot damsel. Ill just call him husky damsel

To help identify this fish can you tell me if there are any other markings on the fish like dots strips or something that stands out that could be an identifying factor? Also the colors on the fish are they bold colors like on a yellow tail damsel. Very blue with a very yellow tail? How far back does the purple extend from the front of the fish? Does it go past the back of the gill plate? When it changes from purple to yellow is it a definite line from purple to yellow or does it fade from purple into yellow?

I found this. Is this what you have?

 

[pewpewlazerbeam]

It could be the same kind but its not the same. The one i have is way more purple less blue, and also the color is seperated more like a bi color blenny than that. its a vertical line that divides the front from the back

 

[ac7av]

It could be the same kind but its not the same. The one i have is way more purple less blue, and also the color is seperated more like a bi color blenny than that. its a vertical line that divides the front from the back

Okay Ill keep looking around. I’ve just never seen a purple damsel at all. Sounds like a must have in my book. I’m sure I don’t have one and that makes it even more interesting.

 

[pewpewlazerbeam]

The damsel must go or its getting taken to the fish store on Friday. Cqant have it beat up my new jaw

 

[Brie]

If you're looking for a new skimmer for the biocube, take a look at the Aquatic Life 115 nano skimmers. They supposedly rock. I plan on buying one to stick in my Solana to see how they work. There's a bunch of threads of reefcentral and nanoreef about em. They're cheap too.

I love your handle btw. Its hilarious.

 

[thatguy559]

Am I the only one who thinks cycling a tank with a fish is cruel. A piece of raw table shrimp for a couple days will do the same thing.

no i agree i dont like cycling a tank with live animals its totally cruel just a recipe for disaster imo

 

[pewpewlazerbeam]

If you're looking for a new skimmer for the biocube, take a look at the Aquatic Life 115 nano skimmers. They supposedly rock. I plan on buying one to stick in my Solana to see how they work. There's a bunch of threads of reefcentral and nanoreef about em. They're cheap too.

I love your handle btw. Its hilarious.

Thanks, it IS an awesome handle. Have you seen that woot shirt thats got the octopus with a gun in each tentacle, going pew, pew, pew, pew, pew, pew pew? Its great.

Anyways, ill look into this skimmer. What do you guys sell them for??


Oh and that guy. Seriously, the fish is thriving. Don't act like im keeping him in a vat of acid.

 

[pewpewlazerbeam]

Ac7av, i went back to Blue Sierra, tony said it was a blue head damsel, but we couldnt find it in any books. its head is purple though not blue

 

[thatguy559]

well im not sure about thriving but if its alive its probably not happy. just because its swimming around does not mean there isnt any underlining effects there. all im saying is that it is cruel to subject an animal (even damsel) to that type of environment.

 

[pewpewlazerbeam]

Its happy. Its doing backflips and just solved a rubix cube

 

[thatguy559]

wow


.

 

[tat2z_21]

I think that all THATGUY is saying is that there are numerous different ways to advance the cycle of your tank. Though DAMSELS are the bringer of chaos and true devils in an aquarium they should not be used as a cyclic tool. Table shrimp in a pantyhose is one way, live bacteria is another, and the one that has stood the test of time is time itself. Just letting the cycle happen with the live rock and slowly introducing critters as the biological bacteria level builds. I know I am not one to talk because I learned the hard way. I ran out got a tank, and started to throw alot of animals in there because my patience wasn't patient.

 

[pewpewlazerbeam]

While this is my first saltwater tank. This is far from my first tank or my first experience with cycling a tank. In 12 years, i have yet to lose a fish to anything except other fish's aggression and a pleco that went carpet surfing. This includes at least 6 fish in cycles, all of which are fish that i kept that lived a long happy existence. ( my large dempsey has been through two cycles and is huge and beutioful and lively)

I think that all THATGUY is saying is that there are numerous different ways to advance the cycle of your tank. Though DAMSELS are the bringer of chaos and true devils in an aquarium they should not be used as a cyclic tool. Table shrimp in a pantyhose is one way, live bacteria is another, and the one that has stood the test of time is time itself. Just letting the cycle happen with the live rock and slowly introducing critters as the biological bacteria level builds. I know I am not one to talk because I learned the hard way. I ran out got a tank, and started to throw alot of animals in there because my patience wasn't patient.

 

[ac7av]

So I guess maybe I don’t cycle tanks with fish. I just put fish in tanks that I want. I don’t think people really go out a buy a fish just to cycle the tank and then throw them out like a used tissue.

Weather or not you believe a damsel fish is the best thing to cycle a tank or not is not really the question. The fact is they are cheep, colorful, active and easy to keep.

I have added fish with in 24 hours of having water in my tank this last time and had it stocked to about 50% with in a week. I think I still have all the fish I put in at that time. I don’t recall seeing any increase in levels that were a concern and so far I don’t believe I have seen any ammonia spike of any concern. Weather it was planning or by design I really don’t know, maybe both.

You can not cycle a tank with a dead shrimp, you will just be making the water stink and need to do water changes before adding fish so you don’t kill the fish with the high ammonia you will undoubtedly have with the rotting flesh in the tank. If you put a bottle of the bacteria needed in the tank you could probably stock the tank to 75% or more with in a day or so and be fine (just guessing here I never tried it myself). If your adding live rock from an up and running system then you already have the bacteria needed if you have added enough for the live stock you are going to introduce. I fully stocked a 55 gallon with everything from live rock sand and fish in less then 2 hours. Never had any cycle. If you put live rock from an up and running system in your tank and wait 3 months to put live stock in your tank it will probably cycle. A tank will cycle every time you ad anything to it until the balance is achieved in the system. Small tanks will be more noticeable then larger tanks. A rotting shrimp in a 10 gallon tank is just a stinky mess and a waste of time. A rotting shrimp is still a waste of time in a 200 gallon tank because it simply is not an impact. So how do you calculate the proper amount of shrimp to produce the proper bio load to cycle the tank for the live stock you intend to introduce into it? I don’t know but there must be some formula. I just have not come across it. We have one for lb of rock per gallon, watts of light per gallon, gallons of flow per hour and number of fish inch per tank size and so on. Unless these are magical shrimp or something I just don’t see the point. The bacteria exist in nature and the nature in your tank will balance and rebalance every time there is a change. Why waste a perfectly good shrimp when you could use it for food or fish food for that matter.

 

[pewpewlazerbeam]

Oh god my tank is now a monkey f6ck.

So my tank has cycled and my first real livestock arrived in the mail today. A friend and I ordered stuff at the same time to get free shipping. He doesn't work so since it came in the am he went over to my place to get his stuff, take my damsel and acclimate my stuff. So he takes out all my rock. Fails to get the damsel. Put the rock back in bawsically in a pile and puts my new stuff in. A few zoas some turbo snails a jawfish and a cleaner shrimp. So now I get to try and rearrange a tank with many of inhabitants who are already stressed and still have a fing damsel.

What was a very excited drive home to see my new fish has turned into an insanely frustrating evening

 

[ac7av]

Ac7av, i went back to Blue Sierra, tony said it was a blue head damsel, but we couldnt find it in any books. its head is purple though not blue

Hay thanks for the info on that. Next time I get down that way ill have to try and stop in and see if they have one. I would like to ad that to my collection.

 

[ac7av]

Oh god my tank is now a monkey f6ck.

So my tank has cycled and my first real livestock arrived in the mail today. A friend and I ordered stuff at the same time to get free shipping. He doesn't work so since it came in the am he went over to my place to get his stuff, take my damsel and acclimate my stuff. So he takes out all my rock. Fails to get the damsel. Put the rock back in bawsically in a pile and puts my new stuff in. A few zoas some turbo snails a jawfish and a cleaner shrimp. So now I get to try and rearrange a tank with many of inhabitants who are already stressed and still have a fing damsel.

What was a very excited drive home to see my new fish has turned into an insanely frustrating evening

I’m sure it wasn’t intentionaly messed up. Anytime someone messes with another’s tank it probably will not be in a fashion that one would have done them self.

Can I make a recommendation, since every thing has been basically stirred up you should probably get some carbon in the tank If you don’t already have some. Not a good idea to take the live rock out of the tank. It will start dying almost immediately and sponges do not like air at all if you have any growing on the rocks.


What kind of new goodies did you get?