New 40g Cycling w/ LR

[Petey]

Hi All, I'm new here and it seems like someone knows the answer to everything here!

I'm converting my 40g FW tank to SW. I set up everything and left the SW running for a week. Then I went to the LFS and bought 20# of LR, I'll buy more in the near future. The LR has been in the tank for 5 days now and my ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels haven't moved. I though that something should have spiked by now. The nitrate may be moving up but very slowly. Any advice or did I buy Dead Rock?

Also does Liverocks.com ship to Canada?

Thanks look forward to learning from all of the advice

 

[Phyl]

If you bought cured live rock then there should be no die off. You won't see an ammo spike. If you're looking for an ammo spike toss a piece of raw shrimp from the grocer in the tank for a while. You should see a small spike from that.

If you bought uncured live rock, it is possible that with your tank volume the rock is handling its own ammo spike, how ever minor that might be.

I've seen people talk about the die-off when shipping to Canada is greater, so by that I would assume yes. Maybe it says on their site.

Good luck and Welcome to AA!

 

[RMPD109]

You may need to add a source of ammonia to kick start the cycle. Most people here recommend the cocktail shrimp method. If the rock is cured and not much living on it (as you can get in some LFS) the ammonia spike might have been extremely small and not detectable

 

[Salttanker]

Cocktail shrimp gets my vote. You will like this LR. Awesome stuff!

Mike

 

[Petey]

Coctail Shrimp??

This is the first I've heard of this. All I should do is go to the grocery story and get a raw shrimp and toss it in for a couple of days? How often should I do water tests to see if the ammonia spikes? How long should I leave the shrimp in for? Any other tricks that I should be aware of?

 

[Salttanker]

Yep. Just get one shrimp ot two, and let it decompose for a week or two. I wouldn't test the water until after the shrimp is done. Beware - it will be smelly and nasty when it's done, but it is the best natural way to get your tank started versus using live fish.

Mike

 

[RMPD109]

Use the article tab at the top of this forum and look for fishless cycling.

Well here is the link to make it easier.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=15

Good luck

 

[Petey]

Thanks, I'm off to the grocery store after work to get me some critters. I'll post reply when i start to see results.

Thanks again

 

[Petey]

The shrimp was in overnight and all levels moved the way that I thought they should. Does this mean that the tank has cycled ok? Should I leave the shrimp in until the ammonia and nitrite drop to 0, or until the Nitrate hits some level?

On a second note, when the shrimp went in they were a translucent gray raw shrimp color, this morning they are a semi opaque pink cooked shrimp color. My water temp is running at about 80F, that should be warm enough to cook shrimp!

 

[Salttanker]

Leave the shrimp in there for about a week, and you will see it decompose. The cycle isn't complete yet. All levels will be 0 after completition. You're doing good so far.

Mike

 

[Petey]

Not sure if this has anything do do with the cycling or not but since I've put the shrimp in my ph has dropped from 8.0 to about 7.8. Anyone have any thoughs or suggetstions. I though that the ph should hover from 8.2 to 8.4? Am I incorrect?

 

[Salttanker]

What time did you test the pH? It usually fluctuates at night. Test it in the morning. The shrimp shouldn't drop the pH. If you have a tight fitting glass lid, this can also be a cause. Kent has a pH buffer that is helpful. Use it sparingly though.

Mike

 

[SeriousDude5]

You could buy a cheap fish and thorw it in chances are it will die though. Coctail shrimp sounds like a good idea though. I think I will try that when I get a new tank.

 

[Salttanker]

It hasn't been setup long enough yet for any livestock. You will find that most of us here are against using fish for cycling, and besides, you will get a better cycle using shrimp anyway.

Mike

 

[Petey]

I tested my levels tonight and they are as follows

Ammonia - 0ppm
Nitrite - 0ppm
Nitrate - 10ppm

Do the Nitrates have to also be 0 before I can start to stock the tank? The shrimp worked very well for cycling, thanks for the advice!

I'm very excited to get some moving friends into my tank, but of course not to many at once. I thought I'd start with a couple of clowns and then go from there. Any suggestions on what else I could get? I like small, and color with lots of movement!

 

[Salttanker]

Good to hear! You can't go wrong with the shrimp cycle. It's cheap and safe. Just don't let the nitrates go over 25ppm. I like mine at 0 - 5ppm, but nitrates will occasionally rise from feeding and waste.
I would start with maybe a tank raised clown or something hardy to that effect. Yellow tailed Damsels are also nice to look at, and less aggressive than most Damsels.

Mike