clean up crew and cycling

[mckwestla]

SO another question, when can I and what kind of clean up crew can i start implementing. I am on day 3 or 4 of cycling my first ever tank. My statistics:


tank: 48g
Sump: Amiracle 3 compartment wet/dry trickle filter with bioballs, I have since gotten rid of the bioballs and replace the middle compartment with live rock, golf-ball sized pieces. I am still using the drip plate with filter pad on top. I have a fluorescent bulb installed that I leave on all the time for the sump.
Protein skimmer: Coralife super skimmer 65 (still trying to find the sweet spot on this guy, not really getting any skinmate)
Powerhead: wavemaker 1150gph
Display tank lights: two fluorescent bulbs one of which is t5


So, I got my tank and set it up with tap water and treating with aquel water conditioner. I have about 30 lbs of live rock, and a bag of live sand, (and two bags of live sand that ended up being expired), I am going to add more live rock today. Yesterday I added Dr. Tim's all in one nitrogen bacteria in a bottle as well as I have added two clown fish to help assisting with the cycle. I have been monitoring levels religiously, I did have a spike of amonnia levels mid-afternoon yesterday, I added some amquel and tasted later in the evening and these were my stats:


Water temp: 77F
Ammonia: 1
Nitrates: 15
Nitrites (this one is always hard to tell): 3
pH: 8.3
Salinity: 1.021


I want to add some clean up crew because, the first live sand I added, which ended up not being live at all, and just caused a giant cloud mess. This sand has left a film over a lot of my live rock, I can use the powerhead and blow it off, but I would really like to employ cleaning crew.


Let me know your thoughts.
Cheers


Matthew Claiborne-Karic:
SO another question, when can I and what kind of clean up crew can i start implementing. I am on day 3 or 4 of cycling my first ever tank. My statistics:


tank: 48g
Sump: Amiracle 3 compartment wet/dry trickle filter with bioballs, I have since gotten rid of the bioballs and replace the middle compartment with live rock, golf-ball sized pieces. I am still using the drip plate with filter pad on top. I have a fluorescent bulb installed that I leave on all the time for the sump.
Protein skimmer: Coralife super skimmer 65 (still trying to find the sweet spot on this guy, not really getting any skinmate)
Powerhead: wavemaker 1150gph
Display tank lights: two fluorescent bulbs one of which is t5


So, I got my tank and set it up with tap water and treating with aquel water conditioner. I have about 30 lbs of live rock, and a bag of live sand, (and two bags of live sand that ended up being expired), I am going to add more live rock today. Yesterday I added Dr. Tim's all in one nitrogen bacteria in a bottle as well as I have added two clown fish to help assisting with the cycle. I have been monitoring levels religiously, I did have a spike of amonnia levels mid-afternoon yesterday, I added some amquel and tasted later in the evening and these were my stats:


Water temp: 77F
Ammonia: 1
Nitrates: 15
Nitrites (this one is always hard to tell): 3
pH: 8.3
Salinity: 1.021


I want to add some clean up crew because, the first live sand I added, which ended up not being live at all, and just caused a giant cloud mess. This sand has left a film over a lot of my live rock, I can use the powerhead and blow it off, but I would really like to employ cleaning crew.


Let me know your thoughts.
Cheers

 

[Tahoe61]

The clean up crew is for when the tank is completely cycled.

 

[mckwestla]

OK, would it be a good idea to add more live rock at this point? I want to take as much stress off my clowns as possible, but also want the cycle to go as quickly as possible.

Thanks

The clean up crew is for when the tank is completely cycled.

 

[Tahoe61]

If you're going for quick, you might want to rethink your hobby choices.

SW is a fantastic hobby, but a slow hobby compared to other hobbies, enjoy it and take your time.

There is so much information to gather and sort through, let it sink in.

Long time hobbyist are one thing and that is passionate about the hobby and yes we sometimes rushed things, learn from my mistakes.

 

[mckwestla]

So, does that mean that I shouldn't add more live rock. Won't adding live rock later on, just create a new cycle, doing it all at once is better right?

 

[Tahoe61]

You can add more cured live rock, there by increasing the tank's biological filter. If you add uncured rock then expect some die off that will contribute to nitrogen cycle causing an increase in ammonia and nitrites.