cyling tank

[bosslady]

I have everything set up and being the cyle process. I have read post about putting a shrimp in the tank to help with the cyling. Can you please explain. I have live rock and Live sand in the tank. I don't want to use any fish to cyle.

Jeanett

 

[steve-s]

Glad to see

The raw shrimp is added to spur on the ammonia process thereby beginning the growth of the bacterial chain that will help process nutrient in the tank. Adding one large shrimp for every 50 gal of tank volume is usually recommended. If the LR you are using is completely uncured, you may not need to use the shrimp as the die off from the rock will fuel the process instead.

Once ammonia has peaked and begun to fall, the shrimp can be removed (hold your nose) and the tank will finish cycling. It is important to continue to feed the bacteria once the shrimp has been removed. Add very little fish food about once or twice a week to keep an ammonia source until waste producing animals are added later on. >>Here<< is a very "loose" timeline to what you are looking at. Some take less some take more time but it will give you an idea of what to look for.

Cheers
Steve

 

[bennerkla]

that says that you should put fish in during cycling.....

wtf?

 

[kribbz]

the old-school approach to cycling a tank was to put a couple fish in to produce waste and they would start the ammonia cycle. nw days we're a little more humaine about it and use the shrimp to start the cycle instead of dead fish

 

[BillyZ]

the article from steve does provide a very general outline of the process but I would like to make a couple points. IMO.

as noted it mentions to use fish, we all know this is a bad idea. It Mentions water changes a couple times. if you are using a shrimp for your cycle, do NOT do these changes as they will prolong the cycle. the changes are a feeble attempt to reduce the stress on cycling fish. no fish, no need for water change.

if you have a FO tank then the process can end at the "day 30" stage. however if you plan on having any invertibrates in your tank there is another stage after the "day 30" where the nitrates need to continue to fall. This is the purpose of a DSB/LR system. Once the nitrates have fallen THEN do a water change and your system has completed it's cycle.

again, JMO.

 

[steve-s]

that says that you should put fish in during cycling.....

wtf?

I was refering to the timeline only, not using fish to cycle with. I also did not state that it was an indication of how long it would take. I did however say it was a very "loose" timeline in hopes of giving you a better understanding of the steps in which the levels will appear.

I will be much more literal in the future.

Cheers
Steve

 

[HoopsGuru]

I found a loophole in the article for ya Steve:

(tank will not begin cycle until fish or some other source of ammonia is added)

 

[steve-s]

Thanks Hoops

Cheers
Steve

 

[bosslady]

I know this is going to sound like a stupid question butttttttt. Can the shrimp be frozen? I live in south Louisiana and always have fresh shrimp in the freezer.

Jeanett

 

[steve-s]

Yes, frozen is fine. You just want to avoid using cooked products.

Cheers
Steve

 

[mwita06]

Since you are already on the subject.

I already have fish in my tank (pet store advice), and its been up and running with live rock for 8 days. How do I keep the fish from dying? Also I used allot of Aqua-safe which cuts down on the ammonia when setting up the tank, and adding fresh watter to bring down the gravity. Will that slow or stop my cycling?

 

[BillyZ]

it will certainly slow your cycle but there will likely always be some ammonia from the system to feed the bacteria. If you have the option, take the fish back to the LFS and continue your cycle with one small shrimp (have you already passed your ammonia spike?)

 

[mwita06]

I'm not sure. I don't have a water test kit yet. But my fish have never looked stressed, and my rocks have some small growth on them now. IS that any indication?