Am i jumping the gun?

[MacDracor]

Awesome! I would add some straight ammonia (aim for 4 ppm) and test again tomorrow to be sure.

 

[huma-huma]

Crip, i was referring to hang on back filters. like a quietflow 20 or something similar. you cant really use a hob to qt a fish when its attached to the main tank lmao ..if the fish is sick, any disease/parasite/infection will just spread right into the dt, thus completely negating the idea of a qt tank.

 

[Criptix]

Crip, i was referring to hang on back filters. like a quietflow 20 or something similar. you cant really use a hob to qt a fish when its attached to the main tank lmao ..if the fish is sick, any disease/parasite/infection will just spread right into the dt, thus completely negating the idea of a qt tank.

Thank you!I was confused...I still have alot to learn.Thank you for clarifying.I wasn't planning on a hob for my dt.I was just going to use a protein skimmer and the lr as my biological filter.is this possible?what I have read about qt and they all recommend as you have to have some type of filter media seeded by the dt and then put it into the qt.Since the qt is meant as temporary i believe I may have a solution.I don't like the idea of a bucket with heater an air pump and a sponge filter(I have read this as a suggestion). A 10g will not take up much rm.I was just apprehensive at first because of my experience with a 10g has not been good.Now I know as long as I test daily and do wc daily,as needed, i will be ok.
I was not able to add more ammo today but i plan to do that tomorrow.hopefully it will prove to be cycled.

 

[huma-huma]

its all good. it all comes in time (atleast that's what everyone says lol) you got it straightened out in terms of using a hob and seeding its filter media in the dt. just don't use carbon, because it absorbs chemicals...so if you treat the qt and theres carbon in there...itll suck up the chems. as for the bucket, you could do that, however as a warning, if you have cats or dogs (as I do) they tend to get curious and knock over buckets. so id suggest an actual tank, heck if the fish is small enough a 5g would wrk. they are a safer bet as they cant be tipped over.

 

[Criptix]

its all good. it all comes in time (atleast that's what everyone says lol) you got it straightened out in terms of using a hob and seeding its filter media in the dt. just don't use carbon, because it absorbs chemicals...so if you treat the qt and theres carbon in there...itll suck up the chems. as for the bucket, you could do that, however as a warning, if you have cats or dogs (as I do) they tend to get curious and knock over buckets. so id suggest an actual tank, heck if the fish is small enough a 5g would wrk. they are a safer bet as they cant be tipped over.

Would it be to much to introduce 3 fish at a time?By to much i mean if I use a 5 gallon tank would it be to small for three fish?I say three because my stock plan is 6 blue/green Chromis,2 purple firefish and 1 Lawn Mower Blenny and my thought was introducing them 3 at a time since the Chromis and the Purple fire fish are shoaling fish.Will it be to much for the fish and the tank even if I go with a 10 gallon tank or should I just introduce them one at a time to make it easier on me and the fish?
Thanks again for all your suggestions!I am getting really excited.I still have 10 ppm trate,no ammonia or trites and i just added 4ppm of Ammonia.I will test tomorrow and see if my levels go down or not.

 

[huma-huma]

IMO 3 fish at once in a 5g, qt or not, is too much. id also be careful because if you qt 3 chromis first, add them to the tank, then qt other fish, then add them, the chromis might beat them up. although chromis are relatively peaceful, they are still part of the damselfish family. so care should be taken

 

[Criptix]

IMO 3 fish at once in a 5g, qt or not, is too much. id also be careful because if you qt 3 chromis first, add them to the tank, then qt other fish, then add them, the chromis might beat them up. although chromis are relatively peaceful, they are still part of the damselfish family. so care should be taken

Should I just add the other fish first and then the chromis?After adding the purple fire fish pair just add fish one at a time?
I saw someone use a Tupperware container as a quarantine tank i might do that.Then it can just be put out of the way on the floor and I would still have a bucket for mixing saltwater.Are air stones necessary for for a qt?I have the air pump I was using on my ten gallon with the under gravel filter but w/o the under gravel filter what do i hook it up to?I also still have the heater I used.I read an article authored by a a saltwater aquarist that keeps his salinity at a 1.016 and then when the fish i looking well and eating well he slowly raises the salinity instead of adding meds to the qt.How do you quarantine new fish?

 

[huma-huma]

personally, I would qt a new fish at levels as close to your dt as possible. don't do any meds or anything, if at some point you see an illness creep up, diagnose and treat accordingly. the whole point of qting a new fish is to see if the fish has any diseases, if qting properly (full 3-4 week qt) youll see about 99% of diseases in that timeframe, so why subject a fish to chemicals or any changes in water when you don't know if its sick?? an air stone inst necessary for qt. just a hob filter with filter floss in it, a few pieces of pvc piping for the fish to hide in and a heater...that's it. if it were me, id do the 2 firefish first, then the chromis, wait 6 months or so, then the lawnmower blenny. lawnmowers are up there with mandarins in terms of hard(er) to keep. they don't always take well to prepared foods.

 

[Criptix]

personally, I would qt a new fish at levels as close to your dt as possible. don't do any meds or anything, if at some point you see an illness creep up, diagnose and treat accordingly. the whole point of qting a new fish is to see if the fish has any diseases, if qting properly (full 3-4 week qt) youll see about 99% of diseases in that timeframe, so why subject a fish to chemicals or any changes in water when you don't know if its sick?? an air stone inst necessary for qt. just a hob filter with filter floss in it, a few pieces of pvc piping for the fish to hide in and a heater...that's it. if it were me, id do the 2 firefish first, then the chromis, wait 6 months or so, then the lawnmower blenny. lawnmowers are up there with mandarins in terms of hard(er) to keep. they don't always take well to prepared foods.

Okay.I have another question what does the filter floss look like?when I did a search i got pictures of filter socks...
Would you do the Chromis one at a time?HUMA-Huma ur info has been great!

 

[Criptix]

not cycled

Well,I followed what was suggested and added 4ppm of my ammonia and today I have A-.5,trite=.5 and trates-20 ppm...I guess if I haveen't learned patience by the the time my tank is cycled there is no hope for me ever having any patience,lol.On the bright side, it is following my original plan

 

[huma-huma]

Chromis should be added all at the same time to avoid any disputes. As for the floss, it comes in many different colors but one of the more popular colors tends to be the blue/white combo. Most lfs sell it

 

[Criptix]

got qt

I got a 10 gal tank for a qt.I found a kit on sale for $30.I will probably get a new filter though reviews weren't very good.It didn't come with a heater but I still have the 50 watt heater from my first attempt.What are some good brands of filters?

 

[huma-huma]

Im a huge fan of the quietflow series (i believe its aqueon, been a long morning)

 

[Criptix]

back to zero

I tested today and trite and Ammonia are back to zero with trate holding steady at 20ppm.I added more ammonia but only added a 1/4 of the recommended dose.That is what the instructions say to do when you start to see trites.it says once you can add full dose and next day its back to zero then its cycled.I think that this may be happening because I started with all base rock.Please correct me if I am wrong.

 

[Criptix]

Day 60

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 20
PH 7.8
Added 2ppm of ammonia
i have started to leave lights on for a little over 8hrs a day for a week but still no sign of diatoms.is it possible to have no diatoms grow in a new tank stet up?

 

[huma-huma]

anything really possible, but it more than likely will happen at some point

 

[Criptix]

cycled

Okay so i have done some thinking(please correct me if I am wrong) and i believe my tank is cycled because I started the process with 2ppm and when I tested this morning i got A-0,Trite-0 and trate steady at 20ppm after adding 2ppm of ammonia yesterday.I am going to add 4 ppm of ammonia again today and see what it does.It took two days last time.I am just curious what it will do this time.If this keeps up I may be tempted to get me some fish which would not be all that bad because I am going for the two purple fire fish which will be happy in my qt the tank is just their size and I can keep them there until I get the rest of my equipment for my 45g. We will see

 

[Mebbid]

Sounds like things are going well If it goes through a full 4ppm of ammonia in a day then the tank is cycled.

I would like to point out that if you want 2 firefish in the same tank then it wiill be best to buy a mated pair. They generally hate each other and will fight if they don't pair up.

 

[TheTodd]

Just a thought here... I've always felt that the "dose your tank to 4ppm with ammonia and if it is down to zero within 24 hours , it is cycled" rule was somewhat questionable. I am an old school saltie, so maybe my thinking is outdated. Here is my thinking and if it is seriously flawed , someone please correct me ...

Let's use this 45 g as an example...it sounds to me like the tank is cycled. Ammonia is going through the process and is depleting, just not at a 4ppm per 24hr rate. Isn't the fact that it is going down substantially in 24 hours showing that there are BB alive and actively doing their thing? In a case like this, adding a couple fish could not possibly add enough waste to ever bring the ammonia levels up to 4ppm, could it (assuming normal feeding, etc )? If the BB only grows to the amount of ammonia available, what happens when it is used to 4 ppm and we stop dosing and it is just a couple fish adding ammonia via waste? I would think the BB levels decrease, but they would still be able to keep the ammonia levels at almost zero at any given time. It just seems like this 4ppm can be overkill in most scenarios.

 

[huma-huma]

im right there with ya. ive never dosed tanks to 4ppm to cycle them. i feel that this hobby (esp dedicated forums like this) can go a bit overboard with things. that being said i dont see why one cant safely do a fish-in cycle. furthermore, even if one did dose to 4ppm and it was gone 24 hours later. even if you could load-match a number of fish to that 4ppm daily dose. if you added those fish all at once there would STILL be huge issues.... i feel like people treat fishless cycling as a holy grail of sorts