what next?

[Guest]

how many pounds of sand will make a 3"-4" sand bed?

would a layer of argonite covered with 20 lbs of tahitian moon sand work?

 

[melosu58]

http://www.fantasyreef.com/flash/calculator.html

Not sure what that would look like.Also if you had some sifters they might mix the two.

 

[Guest]

ok i will stick with one kind...if tomorrow i were to mix my salt water how long do i have before i need to add the live rock and sand?


Is it safe to keep an arrow crab?

 

[melosu58]

AS soon as you mix the salt with the water make sure your salinity is right and temp and then you can add the LR and sand. Arrow crabs do catch and kill small fish. Here is some info on them

http://www.fantasyreef.com/database/index.php?p=getitem&db_id=1&item_id=28

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=616

 

[Guest]

I talked to the lady at the lfs and she said it wasnt a good idea to cycle my tank with a shrimp but said use hypo salinity for 2 weeks then bring it down and add 3 damsels...opinions?

 

[roka64]

I talked to the lady at the lfs and she said it wasnt a good idea to cycle my tank with a shrimp but said use hypo salinity for 2 weeks then bring it down and add 3 damsels...opinions?

Using hypo to cycle a tank? That doesn't make much sense to me. Go with the raw/unseasoned shrimp. Much more cheaper and WAAAYYY more humane, than subjecting a live animal to sewage pit conditions. Remember, the LFS is in it to make money. We are here to help save lives and money.
Tell her ammonia is ammonia, no matter how it is introduced into the tank, ie: fish waste or rotting shrimp.

 

[Guest]

she said something like shrimp will foul the water and that i will have to do a 100% water change to make it better. does the shrimp really do this?

 

[tecwzrd]

If you use too many shrimp it could foul the water. That's way 1 raw shrimp per 30 gal is enough to cycle and more then that would foul the tank. You want your nh3 to rise around .5-3 ppm, any more then that could overload/foul the tank.

The lfs advice doesn't make any sense. sg levels lower then hypo could kill the fish and serves no purpose.

Hundreds of users here have used the shrimp method without fouling the tank. You should do a pwc once your cycle is done to get your no3 below 10 ppm but is still the best way to cycle a tank IMO. If you did you fish to cycle not only is it inhumane but it takes a little longer and doesn't build up a strong bacterial base.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Hundreds of users here have used the shrimp method without fouling the tank.

Count me as one of those hundreds... and I even "fouled" my tank and lived to tell about it!

I used one shrimp to cycle a 10g quarantine tank. Oops. Didn't realize what I'd done until my ammonia got up to about 6ppm and I wasn't seeing any increase in nitrites. No biggie - I just took the shrimp out and did a 50% water change, and after a couple days the nitrites started showing up. Everything cycled fine, and I've had two fish through it that can attest that it didn't "mess up" the tank.

Only issue I had is that my shrimp had been frozen and probably treated with something. My phosphates in my QT were really high after my cycle. But after the cycle was done, I just did several 50% water changes over the course of a couple days and threw in a Rowa phosphate sponge and things were OK.

As mentioned earlier, hyposalinity has NOTHING to do with cycling. It has to do with treating parasites. Cycling only deals with getting an ammonia source so your bacteria can build up to get rid of that ammonia. Whether it's fish poop, fish food, or a dead shrimp, it doesn't matter.

Go with the shrimp and find a new person to talk to at that fish store!

 

[Guest]

is one shrimp enough for a 55 gal?

planning on getting substrate soon any reccomendations on what kind and where i get it?

 

[tecwzrd]

is one shrimp enough for a 55 gal?

I used two large raw cocktail shrimp to cycle mine and the removed one when the nh3 hit above 3 ppm. 1 large shrimp would probably be enough as long as you start off slowly when stocking though.

Also if buying uncured lr you could use that to cycle your tank (from the die-off) and not use shrimp at all.

As far as substrate goes I’ve always liked CaribSea Aragonite sand personally. The size and color is up to you but make sure it’s sand and not crushed coral. You will need around 120-160 lbs of it for a 3"-4" sand bed so check your lfs and see if they can order it if they don’t have it in stock.

 

[Guest]

is 2 clownfish stocking too fast?

 

[tecwzrd]

2 small clowns would be OK for a 55 gal after the cycle. I'd look for tank raised clowns under 3" but larger then 1.5" personally. Are you going to use a QT before adding to the main?

 

[Guest]

i havent decided yet are they worth the 50 bucks it takes to make them?

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

i havent decided yet are they worth the 50 bucks it takes to make them?

If you infect your main tank (which you've probably invested a bit of $$ on!) and have to let it sit empty for 6-8 weeks or possibly tear it down, would you have thought saving $50 was worth it? That's really the question you have to ask yourself.

 

[Guest]

so if i fill a 10 gal aquarium with salt water, put in a heater, air pump, and a 30-60 gallon aqua-tech power filter( i have an extra one but would it create too much current?) in it then its good to go?

 

[roka64]

You'll have to cycle it first. I would not use an air pump. 10G would be great for 1-2 small fish. I think that filter would be ok, does it have a way to lower the flow?

 

[Guest]

i heard q-tanks dont need substrate, just pvc so how do u cycle it?
i dont think i can slow down the flow unless i covered part of the intake?

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

i heard q-tanks dont need substrate, just pvc so how do u cycle it?

No substrate, and yes... a couple PVC elbows or wyes. If you have to medicate, substrate just complicates things from a chemistry standpoint. Plus, with no substrate, it's easier to vacuum out the gunk from off the bottom.

There are several different ways to cycle it. Most commonly talked about seems to be putting a sponge filter in your main tank for a couple weeks, letting it seed with the good bacteria, then transfering it over to your QT. Personally, I've got a biowheel on my main that I can transfer over to my QT. Since I'm still stocking my main tank, I put a small chunk of live rock in my QT along with the biowheel and cycled it with the "shrimp from the grocery store" method. That live rock will never leave the QT, and definitely will get tossed if I ever have to medicate it.

 

[Guest]

how long would it take to seed my quarentine tank sponge filter?

heres what im planning for setup..sound good?
-10 gal aquarium
-sponge filter
-heater
-pvc parts

if its an open top there will be enough gas exchange right?