End of cycle, water change?

I have just set up a 29g saltwater about 3 weeks ago. I have one 4 lbs piece of live rock and 30 lbs of dry rock. I used a piece of shrimp and about 10 drops of pure ammonia a day until the nitrites starting coming down. I had a bottle of Seachem Stability that I started adding last tuesday(1/25).( Last night 1/31 ammonia/nitrite were at zero and nitrates were at 20ppm. I have been told two different things to do now and wanted to see if y'all could help.

(1) The first thing I was told is to do a 20%-30% water change wait a few days to make sure everything is stable then add some cleaners(snails/hermits) and maybe a chromis or two.

(2) The next thing I was told was to not do a water change and add cleaners(snails/hermits). Wait another week or two and nitrates would probably drop. After that do a water change and then it would be safe to add fish. The reason for this I was told is that doing a water change now would affect the bacteria and that it needed to mature more.

If you have any suggestions please feel free! Thanks!

 

I would do the water change but forgo putting any clean up crew in there. I would probably use a fish as my first inhabitant. They are much easier to see when they are stressed. Dieing snails or crabs are much harder to diagnose and if they were to die in there you would be starting off on the wrong foot. Plus I am sure there wouldn't be much for them to eat yet.After adding a fish wait a week or two and check parameters. Only then would I start to add the clean up crew.8)Hope this helps.

 

I would stay away from the additives..I agree with Vinny, get a little Damsel and put it in there for the biologicals to start...this is your ammonia and such...Do this and you will see the cycle happen.....then you will know when to put the cleaning crew in. : )
Good luck..4 to 6 weeks. Cheers !!

 

he already cycled.... but i agree, start with a fish. then maybe do a water change in a few days if ammonia and nitrite stay at 0. if all is still well after another week or 2, then get your clean up crew. have you had an algae bloom yet?

 

It doesn't really make a difference. I personally stock with a CUC first. Either way you will be off to a good start.

I wouldn't put a damsel in unless you plan on keeping him. You may never get him back out without tearing apart your rock.


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I haven't really had a bloom yet. When my ammonia went up and came down some stuff turned brown but went away. Now I have a little hair algae and some red cyno but very little. I've been using ro/di since the start.

 

for sure on the Damsel..LOL...I still got my little chit....Billy bad azz...but no way in the world I could ever catch him for removal..any single small fish should do...I think I was told, Damsel, years ago..because they were cheap..in case things went south....they didn't..I still got'em...
Just anything to get the biology work'n... : ) JMO

 

agreed with putting in a fish over CUC first. Clown fish are good starter fish and are pretty hardy and very good at reacting to stress (easy to see if he is not doing well). But I'd say you are ready for a fish given your water readings.
GL!

 

on my last set up
I used dead prawn method to cycle and my 1st introduction after ammonia and Nitrite had peaked and zero'd out where Astra Tecta snails

if you have cycled then then is no greater threat to the cleaners than there is to the Damsel IME

its only when cycling with hardy fish, that the hardy fish needs to go in before the CUC IMO

If the potential threat to the inverts has been surpassed, then adding CUC slowly and assesing their adaptation to the system , means after about 2 weeks of them being present, you can add the fish you want , rather than a hardy fish just in case

Steve

 

I disagree with most of the responses you have got here.


There is 0 point to doing a water changer after the cycle. So, don't do one. I am not saying it has anything to do with affecting the bacteria (it doesn't, they're not living in the water column really). I'm saying it's pointless to do.

I am not a fan of those chemicals (ammonia etc) and think they'll make your tank take longer, overall, to reach full maturity. Let the bacteria go at its pace, not yours, to get a good balance. Bacteria balance is key. It's the secret to success.

I would never start stocking fish without having a CuC - it's just asking for problems IMO. You need a clean up crew before you have fish.

There is plenty in there now for your snails to eat, no question.

I also find clownfish to be highly resilient (as are most damsels). They'll usually survive a cycle in the first place. For this, I find them to be poor candidates to "test" your current ability to keep fish.

I find test kits to be the perfect way to test this actually. If you've had ammonia and nitrites at 0 with no spikes at all for about 3 weeks, I'd recommend getting your clean up crew.

In my case, it took about 3 months for nitrates to come down from 20. They haven't been back up since. Just saying don't be surprised if it takes a bit more than a few weeks.

Once your nitrates come down to around 20 (and after your CuC is established) is when I'd recommend adding a single fish.


Having a 29 gallon, you can not keep very much fish. Be careful on what you put in as it will preclude you from getting other, perhaps more desirable, fish later.

Good luck.
P