After Cycling, What Next?

[CluelessInNY]

I intend to add a total of maybe 30 lbs of live rock in three corners of my tank, along with a total of three (maybe just two) fish, and once I get the hang of this thing, maybe even a Sri Lankan Blood Shrimp. I have plans, but I have to see what is next before what is done. What wold you guys suggest for the novice? A live rock?

 

[roka64]

How much rock do you have in there now?
After your cycle, you should do a rather large PWC to reduce the nitrAtes. What kind of fish do you have in mind?

 

[Ziggy953]

If you are going to add more live rock I would go ahead and do a PWC maybe 25% and then add the LR and wait for a week and test your water again. If all is good (other then high nitrates) do another large PWC and start adding your fish. Add your fish slowly so your bacteria will have a chance to catch up to the new bio load.

 

[CluelessInNY]

I'm sorry, what is PWC? Told ya, I'm none too bright

You guys are all great btw...so willing to help!

 

[Ziggy953]

PWC = Partial Water Change

 

[CluelessInNY]

Thanks Ziggy. I did a 10% change today, which I know is saying I basically did nothing, but it was my first and I wanted to make sure I didn't muck up the cycling process.
So at least a 20-25% PWC, then add some live rock?

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Unless the rock is already cured, adding more rock after a cycle will just cause another "mini" cycle. Depending on what type of rock you're going to add, it's normally best to add it all in the beginning.

Do the 20-25% PWC only after done cycling, or it will prolong your cycle. Unless of course, you're cycling with fish!

 

[cmor1701d]

Didi you return the damsel to the lfs?
You should add all the rock now and start your "fishless" cycle. To cut down on cost get about 20 pounds of base rock and add 10 pounds of LR. Base rock is just dried out coral rock. You can see what it looks like here. I added a box of this to my tank and 6 months later you could not tell the difference between the base rock and the LR.

During the cycle the rock (both base and LR) will become coated with bacteria (making it all LR). That what the cycle is all about, building up a base of bacteria that can transform the ammonia produced from teh breakdown of waste into nitrite and the nitrite into nitrate (which is less harmful to fish). You still need to remove nitrate through regular PWC's or other means. PWC's should still be done on a regualr basis, weekly, IMO, on a tank under 50 gallons and every other week on a larger tank.

 

[melosu58]

I would cure the LR first before adding to the tank or you`ll have a mini cycle. You can read in our articles how to do it.

 

[cmor1701d]

Mike, this is a brand new tank that is cycling with a damsel right now. The suggestion was to take the damsel back to the lfs and start the cycle fishless. If followed then it won't matter if the LR is cured or not. It will complete the cycle.

 

[Ziggy953]

I intend to add a total of maybe 30 lbs of live rock in three corners of my tank, along with a total of three (maybe just two) fish, and once I get the hang of this thing, maybe even a Sri Lankan Blood Shrimp. I have plans, but I have to see what is next before what is done. What wold you guys suggest for the novice? A live rock?

1st. Take the damsel back to the LFS
2nd. Add the LR to the tank
3rd. Test your water over the next couple of weeks you should see another cycle though this should be smaller spikes and happen much faster.
4th. Do a 20-25% PWC after you have 0 Ammonia and 0 NitrItes in the water.
5th. Wait a day or two and test your water again. If you still have 0 Ammonia and 0 NitrItes and resonable levels of NitrAte (Less then 20) then you can add fish. 1 or 2 fish at a time. You have to allow for your bacteria colonies to catch up to the bio load.

 

[melosu58]

OK Cmor sorry about that. I saw the title saying "after the cycle what`s next".

 

[CluelessInNY]

What if the live rock is "cured"...can I simply add it to the tank after I've cycled? I have about 40,000 more questions. Maybe I can just make one post with all 40K???

 

[Karegg]

Here we have a new guy trying to answer a new guy's question. If I'm not mistaken, if the LR is already cured you can introduce it into an already-cycled tank with no problems.

 

[Ziggy953]

Yes if the rock is fully cured it can be put directly into a cycled system with no problems. Add the rock to your tank. I would still wait and test the water for a week just to make sure that you don't have a mini-cycle. Just my opinion.

 

[CluelessInNY]

OK, I have a good one for you guys to mull over....my Ammonia levels are not changing at all, and I am on day 7. I THOUGHT they were high, but I don't think so anymore...that is, 0.5 doesn't seem high to me. My NitrItes are also steady at 0.2, and my pH is 8.4. The Spec grav went up a bit to 1.024, from 1.023. Am I just not being patient, r does it seem like my ammonia is still kinda low?

 

[Ziggy953]

Your ammonia and NitrItes need to be at 0 before your tank is fully cycled. Your SG going up to 1.024 probably means that you have had some evaporation in the tank and there is less water. Salt doesn't evaporate only water.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

As Ziggy pointed out, you'll need to top off with fresh water (not straight out of the tap, but either RO/DI or dechlorinated water) every day or so to make up for the evaporation. If you don't, your salinity levels will slowly climb to unacceptable levels.

When cycling, the ammonia and nitrites don't keep going up - they eventually plateau. That normally means the bacterial population is starting to "catch up" and is starting to consume ammonia/nitrites quicker than it can be produced. You'll stay at that plateau for a while and then they'll start drastically dropping. During that time your nitrates will normally start skyrocketing.

You should really pick up a good book by Robert Fenner called "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" and give it a good read from front to back. It'll answer many of your questions that you didn't even realize you had!

 

[CluelessInNY]

Dumb question #47: What IS a high Ammonia level? I'm not so sure I have spiked yet at 0.5.

 

[cmor1701d]

Any ammonia is too high for fish. It burns their gills. During cycling with uncured LR my ammonia went off the charts (8.0+).

If using fully cured LR you may never see a reading above 0 if you have enough of it to cover your bioload. The fact that you are seeing an increase in ammonia means that a) you don't have enouhg fully cured LR to cover the bioload of 1 fish; b) the LR was not fully cured.

OR, do you still not have any LR in the tank, just the live sand?

Why don't you post listing everything you have in the tank including all the equipment you have. Please post real number for the water parameters too.

What size is your tank?
How old is your tank ? This a a 20 gallon, right?
How much LR, a/o LS is in the tank? 20 pounds of LS, but no LR yet?
Is the LR cured ? (when)
How did you cycle your tank and when? Still cycling, correct?
What inhabitants do you have ?
What filter are you running ?
What PHs are you running? (power heads used for water movement)
What kind of H20 are you using ? Distilled , tap , RO/DI ?
Are you using any additives?
What are your water parameters ?
Ammonia
NitrIte
NItrAte
PH
SG
Temp