Cycling

[trent51593]

Hey thanks guys. Otty I was just reading through the many pages of your new tank set up (not done reading of course lol) and its a very nice tank wish i could have. I do not have any fish in there for i feel that it would be wrong to put a fish through all of the cycling process. I really to appreciate you guys for helping me out. Do you still suggest that i change the water even though there is no livestock in the tank at this time?

[reef_guru]

Do you still suggest that i change the water even though there is no livestock in the tank at this time?

only if your NH3,4 is over 1ppm

[Otty]

Originally Posted by trent51593

. Do you still suggest that i change the water even though there is no livestock in the tank at this time?

Don't do any water changes as you will only prolong the cycle. You need to add something that will allow the bacteria to establish and grow. With nothing in there you can't expect it to grow. Get one Yellow Tailed Damsel and he will be just fine. Once the tank matures you will only see him during feeding.

[bmshehan]

Originally Posted by Otty

Get one Yellow Tailed Damsel and he will be just fine. Once the tank matures you will only see him during feeding.

My damsels and clowns survived just fine during the cycle, never acting weird or stressed. I even bought them when they were very stressed and they actually regained some color and started healing up fin rot during my cycle.

[Tangster]

While cycling a tank I myself would never add more then one fish and I prefer the smallest Yellow tailed Damsel I can find and No lights and no skimmer for the first 4 or 5 months retards the coralline taking hold as you pull the spores from the water.. And I never change any water and I never test for Ammonia or Nitrites and or nitrates .. And just set back and get my levels correct and steady and let it be. But thats just me But it works well for all who ever tried it as it has for myself for several decades of messing with the things.. And if its not broke I won't change anything I do.. (:

[trent51593]

I agree with both Tangster and Otty. It seems to me that you two are all over the Forums that i read meaning that you must know what you are talking about. I will get a test kit for those things that im not checking for currently and then if these show decent then i will go and find me a Damsel. Yea it dont make sense to do any water changes as that is just pulling things out of the water that you need. I did run my skimmer for one day and it did pull a lot of brown nasty sh** out of the water but after i emptied it i never seen anything else so I shut it off. Thanks again for everything, Tangster and Otty, you 2 seem to know what you are doing and i will take any advice you 2 offer to me.

[wastemanagement]

Originally Posted by Otty

Calcium, Magnesium, & Alkalinity. Ca, Mg & ALK

Periodic table of the elements

Nice link just added it to fav's list thanks I havent seen one of thoes for many a year

[reef_guru]

for tangy and otty:

Yea it dont make sense to do any water changes as that is just pulling things out of the water that you need.

what things are needed?

tangy:

I never test for Ammonia or Nitrites

those 2 can wipe out a tank if in high #'s

just curious, if the NH3,4 and NO2 are at a toxic level what benefit is there?

[amcarrig]

Originally Posted by trent51593

i will go and find me a Damsel

Don't just add any old damsel. One yellow tailed blue damsel will do ya just fine and you won't have to worry about any aggression issues later on down the line

[Tangster]

Originally Posted by reef_guru

for tangy and otty:

what things are needed?





tangy:

those 2 can wipe out a tank if in high #'s

just curious, if the NH3,4 and NO2 are at a toxic level what benefit is there?

1. Well the system is new and biology shaky as a one legged man in a Butt kicking contest and changing water to lower the Ammonia and Nitrites and the last of the train nitrates you need more of these bacterium
Nitrobacter, Nitrospina, Nitroccous, and Nitrospira and thats all that will do it and they are in short numbers anyways and when you change out water you remove millions of them .. They do grow on on the glass and rocks and sand and inside the pipe and pumps as well as on them also.. But why keep changing the water and removing even a few million when what you need is a few trillion more then only to add more sterile water for the now lesser numbers to deal with ? Not to mention as with a skimmer you are also pulling out millions of micro fauna and coralline spores..


2. Yes the Ammonias and Nitrites can and do wipe out a tank..But why test for their presence ? If they are there at their predetermined times in the cycle there is nothing that can be done.. I can set here now and almost to the day tell you when what strain will show up with my cycling methods.. Bacteria are very predictable , They have been doing their jobs for eons of time and little changed.. since they showed up on day one..

Now again why check and test for them ? they come and go and come again and that come again is when most hit that L/R fast track fully cycled wall and loose it all or fight issues for months to come.. So back to my first answer why pull out the needed bacterium in the first place with a water change ? Until the system is stable and cycled fully with the proper bacteria at their proper needed numbers to totally support that single little damsel fish waste why worry or waste time ?
This is my problem with a hunk of dead meat to cycle or a glass or Bo Peep ammonia its never stable as the meat or Bo peep breaks down so does the bacteria.. And its as I said is never at a constant steady level to support any real life.. And when Bacteria who live and come fast run short of a need for life they die faster and in larger numbers and pollute the water.. Again you are back in to a Yo Yo cycle.. Hoping its all stable and cured and cycled..

I tried to explain all of this in a sentence or two It just ran over sorry ):