ok water done... [Archive]

kaimarkhirst

06-12-2009, 12:19 AM

Now then.

Cycling.. (have posted a similar one but heres a lengthened version...) At the stage where im going to cycle the tank.

Have read that hermit crabs, Live rock and live sand will do the trick, and have the rock and sand, but no crabs yet. My query is that how long does it take, at what point do I enable the protien skimmer as it states in the manual not to until cycle is finished and, do I need to do water changes and if so, how much and when roughly?? Edit... Have sand from a n established aquarium, and the live rock will come from the same aquarium aswell if this helps.... The setup that the cultures are being migrated from has been setup for well over 5 years now...

Cheers guys.. Great help so far....

Kai

MonkeyPox

06-12-2009, 01:21 AM

Cycling can take a few weeks or a few months. More often the mode lies around 4 weeks.

Get yourself a test kit. Look for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate at a minimum. When your ammonia is 0, your nitrite is 0, and you have nitrates- your cycle is complete.

You don't need to turn on your protein skimmer until a month or so after you have stock in your tank.

oldhead

06-12-2009, 03:56 AM

If you're using established live rock and sand there will be only a small cycle. My tank was ready within 10 days. I agree with you picking up a test kit.

Kyle

06-12-2009, 04:07 AM

Hate to say Ive never cycled a tank even saltwater, I just waiting a week before fish

JaredCBell

06-12-2009, 05:20 AM

If you're using established live rock and sand there will be only a small cycle. My tank was ready within 10 days. I agree with you picking up a test kit.

wow...really? What if you are using live rock but new Crushed coral? And your tank has been cycled for 6 months as a brackish tank? How long then (obviously just an estimate)?

What is considered Established Live rock? The live rock I buy at the LFS is sitting in tanks, has no bad smell, and many have green or red slime algae or something on them with little hard red growth things coming out. Would this be established?

MonkeyPox

06-12-2009, 05:36 AM

Fully cured live rock is established.

JaredCBell

06-12-2009, 05:59 AM

Fully cured live rock is established.

How can you tell if it is fully cured? Without hijacking this thread (just dont want to take up more space making another one) I uploaded some pictures. So if anyone can tell me if my rock is fully cured/established and what these hard red growths are, that would be awesome! Oh and an explanation of why the algae color is changing!

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

P.s. before someone comments, which im sure someone will, I was only able to buy about half of the live rock right now. I know I need another 15-20 pounds!

MonkeyPox

06-12-2009, 06:05 AM

Here ([Only Registered Users Can See Links.]) is a fairly decent writeup.

JaredCBell

06-12-2009, 06:06 AM

Here ([Only Registered Users Can See Links.]) is a fairly decent writeup.

Ive read that 3 times already! View mine, tell me what you think.

MonkeyPox

06-12-2009, 06:18 AM

I can tell you if your rock has microorganisms, but the only real way to tell is to test its effectivity.

As best I can tell, your rock is still curing. What kind of lighting are you using and are you adding any chemical enhancers?

kaimarkhirst

06-12-2009, 08:47 AM

JaredCBell

06-12-2009, 08:54 AM

ok.

To get back on subject!!!!:hmm3grin2orange: (Nice info though) :19: thumbs2:

Update (Will start a journal on this one as I do my usual notepad journom, but will have to start doing a photo one aswell......

Anyways, so the water has now been added, the water pumps are on and flowing the water around the bio area where the media is, but the water is slightly cloudy in a way I cant see the rear of the tank.

Is it going to be completely clear, and if so when. Also, when do I look at adding live rock, and a hermit crab or 2 to speed up the cycling??

Thanks

Kai

i am keeping my aquaclear 70 on my tank until I have all the rock in my tank and its cycled a few weeks.

When I poured in my CC n such, it took a day to clear up. The AC 70 clears things up ridiculously fast. So I would recommend keeping a filter on there till all is set up

labnjab

06-12-2009, 12:33 PM

ok.

To get back on subject!!!!:hmm3grin2orange: (Nice info though) :19: thumbs2:

Update (Will start a journal on this one as I do my usual notepad journom, but will have to start doing a photo one aswell......

Anyways, so the water has now been added, the water pumps are on and flowing the water around the bio area where the media is, but the water is slightly cloudy in a way I cant see the rear of the tank.

Is it going to be completely clear, and if so when. Also, when do I look at adding live rock, and a hermit crab or 2 to speed up the cycling??

Thanks

Kai

I'd wait til after it cycles to add anything. As of now hermits won't have anything to eat and any ammonia may kill them. It will clear up in a few days. I found our saltwater tank is way clearer then our heavily filtered FW tanks, and the sw only has natural filtration (lr and ls). It almost looks like theres no water, thats how clear it is