My tank is currently sitting at 17 days only the first 7 days I was ghost feeding and the last 8 I was dosing ammonia until today when I stopped yesterday since the bacteria was dispelling the 2 ppm ammonia I was putting in within 24 hours. I did a water change and all my parameters are good so I added 3 snails, 3 hermit crabs and 1 green chromis. I'm wanting to make sure that I haven't missed anything because my dads friend has quarantined a pair of clowns for me and they should be ready by Friday and I don't wanna have anything off for them. All the wildlife in my tank is active and eating well. Is there anything I missed or anything else I can do?
New tank questions
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Did you do any testing for nitrite or nitrate prior to doing your water change? Not entirely necessary, but it would help confirm the tank cycled properly.
Yuki Rihwa
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If you cycling your tank from scratch without adding any type of bio bacteria products then your tank NOT cycle after 17 days.
Yes, you have some BB to taking down ammonina but you WILL NOT have bacteria to taking on Nitrie (Nitrie bacteria even take longer to built a colony than ammonia bacteria). A proper complete cycle would take around 8 weeks or more depend on tank size.
Yes, you have some BB to taking down ammonina but you WILL NOT have bacteria to taking on Nitrie (Nitrie bacteria even take longer to built a colony than ammonia bacteria). A proper complete cycle would take around 8 weeks or more depend on tank size.
Douglas Wattier
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What all do you have in your tank? how much rock? what are the parameters?
by your description the Chromis undid all the QT for the clowns that seemed critical in planning. this tank needs another 76 days fallow. we have ways to fishless cycle within 17 days and plate the required bacteria to the rocks, using bottled bac, but we didn't get that info in the descript. if its been sitting there unassisted, all dry materials, agreed closer to 90 days. the ability to oxidize some ammonia indicates a live rock or sand portion of events so far, or bottled bac unstated.
AlaskanReefer
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The chromis was quarantined prior to being in the tank and I did use bio spira.
My tank has 12 lbs of live rock and 5 lbs of live sand.
My ammonia and nitrites are at 0 and my nitrates are at ~5
AlaskanReefer
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Obviously I left out some important info haha.
My tank is a 16 gallon biocube LED
It has 12 lbs of live rock and 5 lbs of live sand.
All live rock was cured prior to be putting in the tank.
Chromis that was added was quarantined by the same person for me and is the one who is still has my clown for quarantine.
I've used bio spira to help start the colony and used ammonia to dose it to have a more accurate reading.
About day 6 I had a diatom bloom.
Parameters :
Salinity 1.024
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate ~5
pH 8.2
Alkalinity 280
Temp 76
All wildlife :
1 green chromis (prior quarantine)
3 nassarius snails
3 blue legged hermit crabs
My tank is a 16 gallon biocube LED
It has 12 lbs of live rock and 5 lbs of live sand.
All live rock was cured prior to be putting in the tank.
Chromis that was added was quarantined by the same person for me and is the one who is still has my clown for quarantine.
I've used bio spira to help start the colony and used ammonia to dose it to have a more accurate reading.
About day 6 I had a diatom bloom.
Parameters :
Salinity 1.024
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate ~5
pH 8.2
Alkalinity 280
Temp 76
All wildlife :
1 green chromis (prior quarantine)
3 nassarius snails
3 blue legged hermit crabs
AlaskanReefer
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All wildlife has been quarantined and will continue to be quarantined, everything has been quarantined for 45 days MINIMUM so I ensure my animals will be healthy
AlaskanReefer
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Yes everything prior to the water change was good except the nitrate was a tad high so I opted for a water change.
And when I mean it was all good my ammonia and nitrite was at 0
Ok, then sounds like you are good. I'll just mention there is a strain of ich that can take 72 days to hatch, so that would be my concern on the snails.
Otherwise, I would continue to monitor ammonia, don't go crazy feeding, throw an ammonia badge in there for a safeguard and take it slow.
I think the clowns will eventually decide they don't like the chromis, they are all in the damsel family and 16g will be tight quarters over the long run. I keep a mated pair of clowns, alone, in my 16g biocube, it was bought for them cause they are jerks and pick on the other fish in my 54g. [emoji20]
Happy reefing
Otherwise, I would continue to monitor ammonia, don't go crazy feeding, throw an ammonia badge in there for a safeguard and take it slow.
I think the clowns will eventually decide they don't like the chromis, they are all in the damsel family and 16g will be tight quarters over the long run. I keep a mated pair of clowns, alone, in my 16g biocube, it was bought for them cause they are jerks and pick on the other fish in my 54g. [emoji20]
Happy reefing
AlaskanReefer
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Thank you, I'll most likely rehome my chromis if that's the case and thank you for mentioning that ick strain I'll look more into that
hey
you've passed the quarantine gamut man and you did it in fashion
we care about that heh.
Your updated list describes a full skip cycle tank. When people set up these instant aquaria at reef conventions able to process twenty grand in frags and fish without delay, they're moving over living materials. Doesn't matter whether its LFS to home, from one room in the home taken apart and upgraded/downgraded to another room, or across town, or if we simply want to take an aquarium apart down to the base and clean it all out. We can put it back together without a cycle if we just don't input a bunch of rot the system wont normally see anyway.
For live rock, we don't cycle it we transport it wet such that its living complements survive. we don't test it with ammonia, we make sure its not leaking ammonia via death from the transfer, and yours isn't. the bacteria always complete the xfer process its the worms and pods we measure as an ammonia spike, where applicable.
I think you did good prep man post pics of this skip cycle tank. we have a huge giant thread on skip cycling here:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-microbiology-of-reef-tank-cycling.214618/
you've passed the quarantine gamut man and you did it in fashion
we care about that heh.
Your updated list describes a full skip cycle tank. When people set up these instant aquaria at reef conventions able to process twenty grand in frags and fish without delay, they're moving over living materials. Doesn't matter whether its LFS to home, from one room in the home taken apart and upgraded/downgraded to another room, or across town, or if we simply want to take an aquarium apart down to the base and clean it all out. We can put it back together without a cycle if we just don't input a bunch of rot the system wont normally see anyway.
For live rock, we don't cycle it we transport it wet such that its living complements survive. we don't test it with ammonia, we make sure its not leaking ammonia via death from the transfer, and yours isn't. the bacteria always complete the xfer process its the worms and pods we measure as an ammonia spike, where applicable.
I think you did good prep man post pics of this skip cycle tank. we have a huge giant thread on skip cycling here:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-microbiology-of-reef-tank-cycling.214618/
AlaskanReefer
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Thanks man you've been a ton of helphey
you've passed the quarantine gamut man and you did it in fashion
we care about that heh.
Your updated list describes a full skip cycle tank. When people set up these instant aquaria at reef conventions able to process twenty grand in frags and fish without delay, they're moving over living materials. Doesn't matter whether its LFS to home, from one room in the home taken apart and upgraded/downgraded to another room, or across town, or if we simply want to take an aquarium apart down to the base and clean it all out. We can put it back together without a cycle if we just don't input a bunch of rot the system wont normally see anyway.
For live rock, we don't cycle it we transport it wet such that its living complements survive. we don't test it with ammonia, we make sure its not leaking ammonia via death from the transfer, and yours isn't. the bacteria always complete the xfer process its the worms and pods we measure as an ammonia spike, where applicable.
I think you did good prep man post pics of this skip cycle tank. we have a huge giant thread on skip cycling here:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-microbiology-of-reef-tank-cycling.214618/
