55 Gallon Fish & Reef Maturing Process

[Jasonanatal]

Hello everyone, I have just decided to start a 55 gallon Fish & Reef Aquarium in my living room and was wondering if anyone had any advice on speeding up the maturing process of the tank either naturally or through chemical or culture additives. If anyone has any information or advice on this matter it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[localhost]

Basic information, 1-1.5#'s of live rock and use a raw cocktail shrimp. This will cycle the tank properly. If the rock is cured, it should cycle faster than uncured. You might also consider a sand bed of live sand.

The cycle time can range from about 3 days to 4 weeks, it just takes time and testing the water to find out when the cycle is complete.

If it's been said once here, it's been said 1,000 times, "Patience, patience, patience". Besides, you need time to study up on the livestock you want and the cycle time is a good time to do that.

 

[Jasonanatal]

Have you had any experience in using Bio-Spira from Marineland?

 

[Fluff]

Jason, nothing in this hobby goes fast. You can try the bio-spira but I would suggest just doing the normal raw shrimp/fishless cycling. It takes a while but it's guaranteed to work. In my experience, there are no short cuts in this hobby. And trying to rush things can cause more problems and be more costly to fix. JMO

 

[Jasonanatal]

Sounds like a plan Fluff. I'm sorry if I appear to be rushing this I have had the tank sitting their with water for about 3 weeks. Just would like to help it along the way because I wont be adding for for at least 2 months. My pocket is extremely empty. :|

 

[localhost]

Do you have any LR in the tank. If so, it maybe has already done a cycle in the 3 week period. The shrimp will help it out plenty. Good luck.

 

[Jasonanatal]

No just water and sand my pocket it really empty.

 

[Jasonanatal]

I just purchard a 1140 Penguin power head that is capable of 300gph do you think I should get 1 more?

 

[Brenden]

Bio-Spira is garbage. Use the money for some more LR

 

[Royal Gramma]

IMHO adding chemicals for cycling a Reef Tank is like those $400 Golf hats that "teach you how to putt".

What everyone else said, I would save up for some LR, buy that, and add it to the aquarium, add 1/4 piece of shrimp, buy test kits for Ammonia, Nitrites. Then test the water often ( I test every 3 days for the first 4 weeks, others probably do it differently). Once the cycle is complete and both tests are 0ppm it's time for a fish. So research a hardy fish that you want to keep in your aquarium long term.

Best Wishes and remember nothing good in this hobby happens fast.

Mark

 

[seaham358]

Jasonanatal , do some reading before you jump into the hobby with both feet. This is not a cheap hobby and cutting corners only costs more money in the long run. I know a few guys who have a basement full of stuff they no longer use because they got bad advice or rushed and bought crap. What type of tank do you want? fish only or reef What type of filtration do you have? Lights? IMO LR is a must have for a reef....
I'm in Hyde Park... Check out the reef club Im in.... hvreef.org, then check out the fourms section. We have a lot of great reefers in the area and they all are willing to help out. AA is also a great place to get advice, os keep on asking questions.....
Oh... Only bad things happen fast in this hobby....
And IMO there are no snake oil instant cycle out there.
What LFS are you going too?

 

[Nøjo]

For those of us that don't know, what's the advantage to using shrimp in a tank? What exactly does it involve and what's the difference from using a couple of fish? I find myself in the same spot as Jason - as soon as all the gear I've ordered online arrives I'll be getting my cycle started as well. Most everything I've researched pretty thoroughly, it's just the cycling that I'm a little unsure of.

Are live rock, live sand, and fish something you want to start a cycle with, or add afterwards?

 

[seaham358]

LR and LS can be added from the start. If you get enough LR and there is die off from shipping you would not need a shrimp or a fish. The die off will cause the cycle to start. You can use a dead shrimp from the supermarket to jump start the cycle if your die off is not enough to start a cycle, just toss it in the tank. Using fish to cycle can cause stress on the fish and kill them, that is why most do not recommend using fish to cycle. And Damsels are the most used fish to cycle because they are hardy, these fish can be nasty and pick on other fish so they are best to stay away from.
SW is different from FW so read up on it before you rush into anything. I listened to a LFS and it cost me a lot of money in mistakes. Like using damsels to cycle, The damsels killed many smaller fish which cost a lot more then a damsel. Adding too many fish after the cycle and they almost all died, costing me $200 in dead fish.
so ask question and do your home work on SW.

 

[Jasonanatal]

Hello Seaham358, I actually just found a store in Manhattan that I have just purchased a beautiful Volitan Lionfish (Chimara is her name). I will purchase some live rock to add to the new tank however what exactly am I looking for when I add the shrimp? Is it a spike in Nitrites then a decline when the tank is matured? How much shrimp should I add? Should I leave the Filtration system on during this process?

 

[seaham358]

You will see a spike in the ammonia and then the nitrites. When both reach 0 then the cycle is done. 1-2 shrimp should be fine and yes leave every thing running. do you have test kits in ammonia, nitrite and nitrate? These 3 are important when starting a tank up. Nitrates should be tested after the tank cycle so you keep them in check. High nitrates is harmful to fish, corals and inverts.

 

[Jasonanatal]

I do have a Master Liquid Test kit and will complete the cycling with your recommended method. Thank you for the help.

 

[dianeww]

I actually just found a store in Manhattan that I have just purchased a beautiful Volitan Lionfish

Do I understand correctly? Have you added a lionfish to an uncycled tank? 8O

Did the LFS maybe recommend this?

 

[PiShyPinoy]

Ain't violatans too big for a 55g?

 

[coolchinchilla]

For those of us that don't know, what's the advantage to using shrimp in a tank? What exactly does it involve and what's the difference from using a couple of fish?

Here's an article about fishless cycling: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=15

The nitrogen initiating source for your tank can be a shrimp or many other things. I pour in a quarter teaspoon of pure ammonia because I don't want to deal with a decaying shrimp, but it's the same principle. The shrimp decays which produces ammonia which starts the ammonia-eating bacteria and thus commences the first part of the nitrogen cycle.

The AA board encourages a fishless cycle because the ammonia and nitrite spikes that occur when first starting the cycle burns the fish's gills. It seems so inhumane to knowingly treat fish to such circumstances when it is so easy to do otherwise. HTH.

 

[Jasonanatal]

No I already have a cycled tank that my Volitan Liofish is in until my new tank completes its cycle. The New World Aquarium in New York City would never give such bad advice as that. However, I do appreciate the concern.