new hobbiest

[robertlr106]

i started my 55gal tank 10/17/07 with 50 gals of cycled water,40lbs of live rock and 60lbs of live sand i have been taking water samples and noticed no change in the water waiting for my cycle to start so i decided to take a water sample to someone in the business of saltwater tanks and he stated that the water quality was good and be cause i started with so much live rock and sand i might have missed my cycle and he advised me to put 4 damsels in the tank to see what happens.so i bought 4 damsels on 10/25/07 and placed them in the tank and they are doing fine. what do do?

 

[Reef Monkey]

Welcome to RF. Sometimes it can take a couple of months for a new tank to fully cycle. I would have waited before purchasing any fish. I'm sure others will chime in that may be able to offer more specific advice.

 

[roscoe]

Was this a LFS?

 

[mmkeeper]

Welcome to RF. Save yourself some money, go slow, very slow, don't rush. Give us your Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate test results. Also salinity and ph. What brand of test kits. Are you using ro/di water?

 

[returnofsid]

To start with, cycled water is pretty much useless. The beneficial bacteria that we want that grows during the cycling period doesn't really live in the water column. It mainly lives in the sand and live rock.

Next, someone who's "in the business of saltwater tanks" shouldn't be stating that you started with "so much rock and sand." Realistically, 40 lbs of live rock is probably not enough for a 55 gallon tank, if you're wanting anything other than a Fish Only tank. If you're wanting corals and inverts, you'll want at least 1 - 1 1/2 pounds per gallon. 55 pounds would be a minimum.

How deep is your sand bed? 60 pounds probably gave you a fairly deep bed. A lot of times, we're better off going with shallow sand beds than deep sand beds. Especially being new to the hobby. DSBs take a lot more maintenance and it's harder to keep the chemistry correct.

Well, I'd have recommended you NEVER cycle a tank using live animals. Now that you have, it's "wait and see." It's only been 3 days. It'll take awhile longer to notice any cycling. You would have been better off keeping nothing but live rock, live sand and salt water in the tank for 4 - 6 weeks while monitoring your Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates levels. Now that they're in there, you still need to monitor the same things. If at all possible, I'd remove the Damsels and take them back to where you bought them. If the store where you bought them is the ones that gave you the advice, I'd explain that they gave you bad advice and should be willing to take them back...lol.

Finally, do a LOT of reading. There's a lot of great information on this forum as well as others. Read through all the articles you can find on this forum under the New area. I'd also recommend www.wetwebmedia.com and find, buy or check out The Concientious Aquarist. Great book and every reef keeper should own it!!

 

[returnofsid]

Oh, one last thing, which should have been first. Welcome to Reef Frontiers!!!

 

[returnofsid]

I responded to your other identical forum thread. Might want to read that response and then ask that one or the other thread be deleted.

 

[Krish]

I responded to your other identical forum thread. Might want to read that response and then ask that one or the other thread be deleted.

I just merged the two threads together so no-one will get mixed up

i started my 55gal tank 10/17/07 with 50 gals of cycled water,40lbs of live rock and 60lbs of live sand i have been taking water samples and noticed no change in the water waiting for my cycle to start so i decided to take a water sample to someone in the business of saltwater tanks and he stated that the water quality was good and be cause i started with so much live rock and sand i might have missed my cycle and he advised me to put 4 damsels in the tank to see what happens.so i bought 4 damsels on 10/25/07 and placed them in the tank and they are doing fine. what do do?

On another note...Welcome to RF!! I see you've already gotten some great feedback already and all I'd like to add is to be sure to continue testing your water now that you have added the extra bioload. It is quite possible that your tank cycled quickly due to not experiencing much die-off etc, but only time will tell for sure. Let us know how it goes

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Personally... unless you really WANT the damsels, I'd net them and take them back. Throw in an ammonia source (fish food, raw cocktail shrimp from the grocery store) to kick the cycle off, and see what happens. If you don't get any ammonia or nitrite readings, and see an increase in nitrates, then your tank is truly cycled and you're good to go. If you do see an increase in ammonia and nitrites, then you'll have to wait out the cycle (4-6 weeks probably) and let it finish up.

I'm guessing you probably don't want the damsels long term. Four of them in a 55g are going to take up the majority of your space "available" in your tank for any other fish, bioload-wise.

 

[thumperss]

Saltwater Aquarium Guides FAQs
Biological cycle & using Biozyme?
Q. My 55 gallon tank has been set up and running for 4 days now, but I haven't started the biological process yet. Temperature is 75 degrees and specific gravity reads 1.020. I purchased saltwater Biozyme and didn't know if I could use this along with ammonia to cycle the tank without adding some "hardy" fish.
A. Temps pretty good, and salinity looks ok. Sea water is about 1.024, but in our opinion for a fish-only tank, 1.020 is fine.
There are many options you can choose for starting the biological cycle, either using live animals or not. For animals, Damselfish are most often picked for this, and hermit crabs work well too, but cycling a tank with live rock and/or live sand is one of the most popular methods now days. If you don't want to use anything living, there is the ammonium chloride method, as well as using dead raw shrimp to do so. Ammonia is the key to getting it all started, and any of these things will generate ammonia. To learn all about the cycling process, what it is and how it works, along with all the methods used for starting a new tank, refer to our About Biological Filtration Resources.

Biozyme cultured bacteria is good, but we recommend Hiatt's Distributors Right Now Bacteria for kicking starting a new, or even recycling tank. When used properly it can cycle a tank in 24 hours, believe it or not! And, when it is used in conjunction with their Tri-Pelletized Carbon, it also helps to control nitrates in your system after your biological cycle has run its course. To learn about Hiatt and other cycling products, refer to our Additives & Supplements Supplier Resources for product information. -- Debbie & Stan Hauter

http://saltaquarium.about.com/blqabiozyme.htm

this will help clear your mind if you are thinking that your fish are going to die.you dont always need alot of rock look at other peoples tanks not every one uses a lot of rock 40LBS will be fine to get every thang going.
Brandon