Is ammonia necessary?

[evieytes]

Hello,

I’m new to saltwater tanks and this is my first post. I have almost finished my cycle and I haven’t bought any fish yet. Since I would have to quarantine them for a couple of weeks, I was wondering if I have to dose with ammonia until a few days before i add my first fish? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Eduardo

 

[blaxsun]

Do you have a separate QT system? Will this be a mixed reef or FOWLR?

 

[Garf]

I’m new to saltwater tanks and this is my first post. I have almost finished my cycle and I haven’t bought any fish yet. Since I would have to quarantine them for a couple of weeks, I was wondering if I have to dose with ammonia until a few days before i add my first fish? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Eduardo

Welcome. I’d just add a pinch or two of flake food a couple of times a weak to strengthen the cycle and start up the bacteria that process real fish waste, not just ammonia. Probably no real need to do this but hey, it’s cheap simulated fish feeding.

 

[jda]

Your nitrifying bacteria can die back without ammonia/ammonium, but it takes more than a few days and they also multiply pretty quickly.

BTW - do not think that your tank is cycled, as in done-done. You have the capacity to handle some fish waste, not to fully complete the nitrogen cycle nor to likely handle a dynamic event like a huge influx of food, fish or an accident or something. You still need to go slow as things develop and the tank takes steps to be truly, fully cycled which can take many months. Every day that you go along, the tank does get stronger, but you still need to be smart and go slow.

 

[evieytes]

Thanks for the quick reply. It’s going to be a mixed reef tank and I do have a quarantine tank. Do I need to have one with my first clown fish? Can my display tank just act as a quarantine tank this one time? I will be adding one or two fish a week and testing often until the tank matures.

 

[jda]

If you are going to do full quarantine, then you never want to add a fish to your display without the full deal.

 

[evieytes]

If you are going to do full quarantine, then you never want to add a fish to your display without the full deal.

Thanks, I was just hoping someone would tell me it was ok to not quarantine the first. Even though I knew the answer already.

 

[jda]

If you hang around long enough, then somebody will tell you. There are many that do not quarantine and have other methods, but if you want to be a QT person, then you know what to do...

 

[Rmckoy]

If you hang around long enough .. someone will tell you they never have quarantined …


I am one .
I did end up with ich in an old tank from adding a fish l should never have bought and added .
I setup a 25 gal qt as a hospital tank and treated all fish at the same time .

That being said years after that I had a whole tank crash after a transfer to a larger system .
Every fish I’ve added to that newer and much larger system was not quarantined .
And I will say they are some of the healthiest and chunkiest fish I’ve ever owned .

3+ years later and still the same fish .

 

[Rmckoy]

If you want to quarantine later .
Quarantine everything from the start to guarantee nothing enters the system .

Why skip the first but worry about adding the newer ones to what you want to avoid .

 

[formallydehyde]

Welcome. I’d just add a pinch or two of flake food a couple of times a weak to strengthen the cycle and start up the bacteria that process real fish waste, not just ammonia. Probably no real need to do this but hey, it’s cheap simulated fish feeding.

Plus if if there's any live rock, this will make hitchhiking critters happy.