Tank cycling with live rock question

[unda_da_sea]

Hello,
no, you guys/gals did'nt offend me, i'm still here. I took the blue devil damsel back to the lfs and got some more live rock. My question is should i continue to put some animal matter (fish food) in the tank while cycling with live rock even its just a little bit? I also bought some purple up that the guy said to add after the tank cycles. will this cause growth on a couple of dead pieces of coral i have as well as help the LR? I had the damsel in the tank for 2 weeks with some LR and my amonia is 0. how quick does a spike happen and how fast does it fall? i was testing 1 time a week, could i have missed it and my tank is allready cycled? Thanks for the help.

 

[Hara]

I would add a cocktail shrimp or two to the tank to get the ammonia spike you are looking for. As far as the purple up, it is for coraline algae growth. Pretty much it is just calcium.

There is a small chance your tank is cycled, how much rock, how large of a tank? If you put the shrimp in there and wait for it to rot, you will INSURE that your tank is cycling.

 

[unda_da_sea]

thanks for the info. i have a eclipse system 12 with about 6 pounds of LR and a nice piece of blue coral (dead) and a big pink barnicle with an air stone in one of the barnicle. I'm not goin to buy any more live rock just beacuse of the lost water volume. will the dead coral grow pink and purple algae? the blue damsel pooped alot during the first 2 weeks, but not much food got by him beacuse i was careful feeding him. i'm getting just a hint of brown covering the CC.

 

[roka64]

Props on taking him back! I would ditch the airstone, they don't do much for a SW tank, plus I think it can cause problems in the fish's eyes. The important thing is stable pH. This is achieved by surface ripple, which allows gas exchange.
On the purple up, I have read some people use it, but regular PWCs should replenish what has been taken out of the water. This will help your coraline grow and spread. What sized tank is that?

 

[Sparkie]

It is a 12 gal bowfront:

http://www.petsmart.com/global/prod...&itemNo=3&In=Fish&N=2023693+4294966886&Ne=421

 

[roka64]

Interesting, I have the Eclipse 12, but it was just the Hood, lights filter and ph...But I had it on a 20G (which I bought seperately)....