launched the 20 gallon fowlr

[fargo_182]

If you have live rock put it in now, don't wait put it right in the faster you put it in the faster your cycles over. You don't need media, your media IS the live rock and sand. It becomes live which means it grows the bacteria YOU need to combat ammonia.
Like I said before listen to the LFS if you want, or get the right answer the first and only time here.

Cliff notes:
If you have live rock put it in now
never use stuff that was used for freshwater unless thoroughly cleaned.
If you have a canister filter or what not youw ant to add, I suggest you add it now. Anything you want to use as filtering add it at the time of the beginning of your cycle, not doing so will prolong your cycle by making mini cycles.

 

[Guest]

Everyone has given you great advice here but I just want to add.

When people say patience is key, it is experience.

Bio Spira is not the way to go. Even if it did cycle it in a few days there are many other reasons the longer cycle is a good thing. I am not going to go into it all but for one, after your cycle you have to add everything very slow. If you add to much the bacteria can not keep up, and you will have another spike. The shrimp gives a good amount of amonia like you were seeing to build a good bacteria base. Put the shrimp back in. You are SUPPOSE to spike and at levels MUCH higher than that.

All the chemicals are no use. Cloudy water has nothing to do with bacteria. The cloudy water is normal as already stated. Wait a week for settling to take place.

You need to take a step back and relax. A saltwater tank does not happen over night.

The best advice I ever got was from a guy in my reef club because it stuck with me. "Only bad things happen fast." That is the truth.

You can rush your cycle and add fish/inverts if you want but when you wake up to a tank full of hair algae, cyano, dino's, unhealthy looking fish and a recycling tank, you will figure out why people kept on mentioning "patience."

 

[hc8719]

ok fargo, im listening to you guys, stop telling me that im not.

mike, the water and sand/cc settled, and the tank looked all clean, and then the water got all cloudy

how high should i let the ammonia get in my tank, obviously the crab will disengrate, but how high should i let the ammonia get, and then how do i get it back down? or will it go down itself?

 

[Hara]

you let the ammonia get as high as it wants to get...you have nothing alive in the tank so it is not going to create any problems. You dont get it back down...the nitrite will get it down, it will eat up the ammonia...then the nitrite will go down to zero on its own and you will then do a water change. You dont do a thing until your ammonia and nitrite readings are at zero. This will take two to three weeks.

 

[hc8719]

Update: i added the crab back into the tank, i seem more confident about the cycling process this time around.

while doing so, i moved some of my base rock around, and in doing so, stirred so some sand, which clouded the tank. is this normal for it to get cloudy after such little movement?

this seems like it would get annoying every pwc

 

[Devilishturtles]

Yeah, for the first little bit it's normal. In time it will settle and will not cloud as much, but it will always cloud a little bit.

 

[hc8719]

another thing.

i may be charged with another "cheating the cycle time" process, but if i turn up the heat in the tank. theoretically, shouldnt that in turn, crank up the metabolism of bacteria, and shorten the time of the crab's decomposeure rate? therefore, "speeding up the cycle"

 

[Devilishturtles]

In theory, maybe by a few hours to a day. But I don't think it'd have too much of an effect. Wouldn't hurt anything to do so though.

 

[hc8719]

the tanks cycling, i'll keep you guys updated when its done.

should LR be added right after i get params just right?

 

[Devilishturtles]

Liverock should be added now, while the tank is cycling. It will greatly boost your cycle time and when its cycling you will be ready to add livestock.

If you cycle then add the liverock, you will like recycle a little. Might as well just add it now.

 

[hc8719]

check up on my params:

NitrIte: .50ppm
NitrAte: 0-5.0
Ammonia: 4.0-8.0
pH: 7.9

*note my test kit leaves some gaps, so i estimated

you think it'd be alright to take out whats left of the crab, and let the params settle?

im hesitant to add LR now, after seeing the ammonia levels, how much ammonia would it take to kill a person?


heres a post i left on my LR cost thread in getting started:

just visited another LFS today. they have some Fiji LR, more colorful than the other LFS, but most of it is covered in dense algae.

question, should i worry about the algae if i get some? my tank is up against a north window, so it wont get the intense beatings of the sun.

its the thick hairy algae, ive never had algae really, at least not like this, so im not familiar with how much light it will need to sustain/die. there will not be a light on this tank, just the window, and a lamp

im planning on getting clown fish, and maybe a watchman goby, and i dont think either have a particular love of it.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Should be okay to take the crab out now, yeah.

Add the liverock now. What are you worried about the ammonia hurting? It's not going to hurt you, no worries. If you add it now, give the bacteria time to colonize, your cycle time will go down.

The algae sounds like hair algae. I would try and scrub off as much as you can before you add the liverock into the tank. Some is inevitable, but it sounds like this liverock has been sitting for a long time in this stores tanks.

What kind of light you thinking about lighting it with? Just a desk lamp? Pointed over the tank or just ambient light?

 

[hc8719]

im thinking the LR with the algae has been sitting there for so long, i couldnt imagine there being much little critters on it it also seemed less pourous and more solid, so i think i'll go for the other LFS, and hope i get some live critters tagging along.

im just thinking my desk lamp, with the bendable neck that you can direct where you want light.

the tanks right up against a window, and is usually illuminated well.

further reading on the TLC bottle (it was impossible finding anything on it on the internet) but it seems like its just a natural stress liquid, removes ammonia and NO2

i dont know what the LFS i got it from knew what it was either

about how long will it take for the ammonia levels to sink with the LR?

thanks DT for sticking with me through this

 

[Devilishturtles]

Liverock with critters....rocks. Definitley go for more pourous rock.

The desklamp would be okay, but I'm sorta more worried about the window. Natural sunlight is gonna be fuel for algae to grow, just so you know.

This is all I could find on the net about this TLC thing.

http://www.tlc-products.com/pages/1/index.htm

With the liverock, I bet your cycle will be done and you will be ready to add livestock in 2-3 weeks. Just a guess though.

Can you get pictures?

 

[hc8719]

i dont think light will be a problem, its a north window, and i have shades if it gets bad. never really have algae problems though.

i dont know about that TLC stuff anymore, i put some in, and its suppose to help control the ammonia and nitrites, but didnt do anything

if i do add the LR now, i'll probably loose alot of the critters, right?

i've noticed, slime spots on some of the base rock, i dunno if its a bit of crab that drifted, or if thats good?

no pictures for now, dont have a digital camera, i do have a scanner though, if i can figure it out.

thanks again

 

[Devilishturtles]

If you add the liverock now, you may lose very very little. If you want to wait, that's fine. But it will just likely make your cycle longer, that's all. If you are getting cured liverock out of a stores tanks, my guess is that there will be little on it anyways.

Is the slime spot clear, or colored?

 

[hc8719]

the slime spot was clear, it was more oily then anything. im not thinking much of it

 

[Devilishturtles]

Yeah, sounds like decayed crabby.

 

[hc8719]

Update:

added 6lbs of LR to the tank today for the first time, ammonia was 2.0 eailier, hope your right DT

 

[Devilishturtles]

It'll be fine.