# Day 1



## Manny

Well I set up my tank today guys. I expect for my cycle phase to take about 4-6 weeks. I have a dillema though. I had set up my water and let it sit for about 72 hours. I used AquaSafe, a declorinator, and when I took the ph, nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia tests, they all measured within range. Now I by no means will go ahead and add fish yet but I am confused as to why the water has all the needed levels. Was it the AquaSafe? I know I conducted the tests correctly. I even watched videos on how to do it. So anyone know why the parameters are at what they have to be at?


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## emc7

ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate come from fish waste, uneaten food and dead plants. So yes, new water is usually perfect. That's why you use it for water changes. Its feeding the fish that causes problems. Look up "cycling", "the nitrogen cycle", and "new aquariums". You feed the fish, the fish pee/poop and you get ammonia in the water. The goal is to get all the numbers back to 0. But you need to establish bacteria in the filter to change the ammonia to nitrite to nitrate which is the least toxic of the 3. But you still change water to get the nitrate down. Ideal pH depends on which fish you choose.


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## Manny

Thank you for your response. I understand what you are saying but from everything that I have read, it says that I should usually see a spike in ammonia levels in new water. Then when that goes down (in about 3-7 dyas) the ammonia should go down and the nitrite should go up, and again the nitrite should go down and nitrate shoulds come up. After all 3 go down, then the tank should be cycled. This is what I have read multiple times everywhere I seem t turn. Shouldn't I wait a few weeks before I start adding life to my tank? Or is this water safe for the fish already? It's a new tank so that is why I thought I had to cycle it.


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## Ice

DON'T to add any additive chemicals to saltwater. Just let your tank cycle! A typical cycle last anywheres from 8 - 12 weeks depending on the quality of live rock. Remember - there is no such thing as a quick cycle.

Also don't use straight up tap water when starting a salt tank - invest in a RO/DI unit. This helps remove harmful metals found in tap water.


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## emc7

Is this SW? I just saw its in the SW section. Cycling is different in SW. Buy "live rock" and be about done. 

My point was that you won't see the ammonia go up until there is some food in the tank. People cycle with fish, with straight ammonia, and with other organic stuff that rots like fish food or frozen shrimp. But it won't start to "cycle" w/o something decaying.


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## Ice

Cycling with fish is considered cruekl and inhumane. Let your tank cycle naturally as nature intended.


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## TheOldSalt

Uhm, cycling with fish IS how nature intended... LOL 
Manny, you won't see a spike in anything until there is something in the tank to rot and produce ammonia. An empty tank just sitting there isn't going to do much of anything.


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## TheOldSalt

If you have live rock & sand, then your tank is already cycled to the level that it can support a certain amount of stuff. That will start to fall, though, if the bacteria in that rock & sand start to starve, dying off and anti-cycling your tank. However...


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## TheOldSalt

Your live rock might have a lot of stuff die on it that didn't survive the move across the world to your tank. If so, then you'll see a little "mini-cycle" resulting from that, which should pass very quickly.


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## Ice

TheOldSalt said:


> Uhm, cycling with fish IS how nature intended... LOL
> Manny, you won't see a spike in anything until there is something in the tank to rot and produce ammonia. An empty tank just sitting there isn't going to do much of anything.


It's better to cycle with raw shrimp or simply ghost feed your tank. A lot of reefers frown upon cycling with damselfish.


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## Jaysee

Ice said:


> Cycling with fish is considered cruekl and inhumane


By SOME. Definitely not a universal point of view.


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## Manny

I definitely appreciate all of the advice. I have been ghost feeding for 3 days now and have a raw shrimp in there but how long should I leave it in there? Or should I not have that in there? When do I add my fish? I was thinking about letting it cycle for 4-6 weeks. Do I not have to wait?


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## Manny

Also, I have a 4" sand bed. That is 40lbs of live sand and I have two pieces of live rock in there from an established fish tank from my LFS. It was only out of the water for maybe an hour so I doubt much was lost on the transition to my tank. SHould the cycle take as long with these two components or should it move along at a much quicker pace? I am assuming a lot quicker but don't know exactly how much quicker. I still have not seen a spike in ammonia despite the ghost feeding and the raw shrimp in there.


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## emc7

If you throw in something to rot, see it decay, and never see an ammonia or nitrite spike, then the tank is likely cycled at least to that level of bio-load. In other words, add no more fish than you would feed that much and it should be okay. It you'd like more, ramp up the feeding and watch for the "mini-cycle".


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## Ice

Jaysee said:


> By SOME. Definitely not a universal point of view.


99% of saltwater aquarists frown upon this method and it's old school. Go to any saltwater forums and ask them yourself. I can guarantee you they will tell you not to do it. It's best to ghost feed or use a raw shrimp. 

Think about it - say you decide you use a damsel fish to cycle your tank. Once cycled. you're ready for more fish, Guess what happens next? That damsel you used to cycle your tank will take on all newcomers in 'his tank' Then you want to get rid of him and he will be very hard to catch. Don't cycle your tank using fish! Ghost feed or use raw shrimp.


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## weedkiller

Ice said:


> 99% of saltwater aquarists frown upon this method and it's old school. Go to any saltwater forums and ask them yourself. I can guarantee you they will tell you not to do it. It's best to ghost feed or use a raw shrimp.
> 
> Think about it - say you decide you use a damsel fish to cycle your tank. Once cycled. you're ready for more fish, Guess what happens next? That damsel you used to cycle your tank will take on all newcomers in 'his tank' Then you want to get rid of him and he will be very hard to catch. Don't cycle your tank using fish! Ghost feed or use raw shrimp.


gotta say I must agree here


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## Manny

Ok so day 5 and not much has happened in the tank until now. I have been watching the shrimp decompose and still ghost feeding. But at least today i finally see a change in ammonia. My ammonia reading is at .050 ppm. It's only a little change but I am still excited about it. I can't wait until it is finished cycling.


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## Ice

You've got a long ways before you see your tank completely cycled. Expect to wait 8 - 12 weeks before you even see everything stabilize and read zero across the board. You will see a spike and algae bloom down the road.


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## Manny

Wow the ammonia just went from.50 to2.50 within a few hours.


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## Ice

No surprise...

Remember - do not add any additives whatsoever. Let it run its course in the coming weeks.


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## Manny

Man the water is really starting ti stink.


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## TheOldSalt

Stop feeding!!! If you're already at 2.5, then you're already more than high enough. If you hit 4 everything will die, and if you break 3 you'll retard your bacteria enough to wind up getting the exact opposite of what you're trying to do.


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## Manny

O trust me, I stopped a few days ago. I can't stand the smell. But the ammonia is back at 2.0. Tomorrow I got some live sand activator comment in from ipsr or something like that (the people from Hawaii). I'm sure that will help my cycle. Trust me guys, one thing I have plenty of is patience.


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## weedkiller

just keep an eye on your ammonia.. itll drop then check the nitrites.. that will climb


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## Manny

Just a quick update guys. Day 16 and the tank is starting to cycle well. It's taking it's sweet time but my ammonia levels are almost non-existent and it has been converted into nitrites. I have .50ppm of nitrites at the moment. Sure can't wait till it's ready. Also, I ordered Fiji dry rock from www.bulkreefsupply.com and man I must say, this stuff is awesome! I am in the process of curing right. I might actually wait to get my fish till after I cure the rock. We shall see.


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## Manny

Here's another update friends. it is now day 20 and the cycle progresses. I am at 0 ammonia, 4.0ppm nitrites, and 10ppm nitrates. Looks like (hopefully) the cycle is coming to an end. Getting really excited.


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## Ice

Wait a little longer before adding any fish.


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## Manny

Guys I think my cycle may be done! I am at 0 ammonia, 0 nitires, 10ppm nitrates. What do you guys think?


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## TheOldSalt

That's the very definition of cycled. 

Now do a partial water change to get rid of the stuff that isn't used up by cycling, ( indols, cresols, phenols, skatols, organic dyes, etc... ) and hook up your skimmer. After that, you're good to go.


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## Manny

I don't have a skimmer yet. I am thinking about going with the HOB Reef Octopus BH100 since I only have a 29 gallon setup.


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## Manny

It has good reviews and seems to be the perfect fit for my aquarium.


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## Ice

By all means get it. Do another water change and test again.


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## Manny

Ok so just an update you guys:
My aquarium seems to be doing very well. My parameters remain pretty constant with weekly water changes. I switched to using reef crystals for my salt being that I have a few frags in there now. If my parameters can remain constant for longer than a week I might switch to water changes every 10-14 days. My protein skimmer is awesome. The first time I plugged it in, it did not need a break in period. A day later it was full of very dark and slimy skimmate. Next time it took 2 days. The third time a week. Seems to be set to a week now. I guess my water was pretty dirty. I am planning on buying 2 hydor koralia evolution powerheads with a wavemaker (controller) on black friday. My two corals that I have are candy cane corals and a kenya tree. Both look very good and have a beautiful color. My candy cane literally glows pretty bright with just my actinics on. I have had them since the 4th of the month and from 3 frags, I already have 3 new heads. I found a local reefer who is going to give me another easy to keep coral. I will be adding a Xenia frag to my aquarium. Only one though due to how rapid it reproduces. He says he is constantly throwing some away because everyone he knows, he has already given some to and still has too much. I think I already want to upgrade to LED lights so might be selling my T-5's soon. Hopefully black friday brings about nice prices on some LED's. Only downfall so far has been that I lost my little clown to an ich battle. I put him in my quarantine when he got ich but I think I had the temp off by about 2 degrees and I think that contributes to his loss. Luckily my black ocellaris is doing good. He loves his home. I know this might sound weird but he does seem very happy in the tank.
All in all, everything seems good. I am thinking about making a sump. Only bad thing is that I don't have overflow boxes so I might go with some hang on ones. But who knows, I would love to upgrade (already) to a larger tank and my wife really wants a bigger one too. We shall see. As soon as I get the right adapter for my camera to connect to my computer, I will post some pictures.
O and one last thing, scarlet red hermits are EXTREMELY boring!!!!


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## Ice

Xenias are nice but as you mentioned, they grow like weed big time. A single frag will grow out and take over any prime property spots for any future frags. I once considered having them on my list but decided against it. Of course zoanthids are like that too but not as bad as xenias.

Reef Crystal is not bad but if you really want a good quality salt mix, get Red Sea Coral Pro Salt Mix.

http://www.marinedepot.com/Red_Sea_...or_Aquarium_Water-Red_Sea-RS4211-FISM-vi.html


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