pjcozzi
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
I'm currently cycling my first saltwater tank. It's a 55gal with 22 lbs of Fiji LR and 10 lbs of Solomon LR (yes I still need to get more).
The LR has been in the tank for 9 days and the sand (55 lbs aragonite) has been in the thank for 4 days.
I have a few questions about the cycling progress:
* Ammonia never registered and the Nitrites peaked at 0.5 ppm after 2 days and is now less than 0.25 ppm. The rock was cured before I put it in the tank. Does this progress sound reasonable? Did I need to add a source of Ammonia?
* The tank cleared up pretty quickly after I added the sand but there's still A LOT of small white things floating in the water and "moving" on the glass. My roommate swears they are alive. It also looks like a lot of this stuff is on the surface. Any ideas?
* My friend has an established tank and wants to give me some water. I've heard of taking sand from another tank but not water. Is this still useful?
* My protein skimmer (Red Sea Prizm) has barely picked up anything. I assume this is OK since the LR was cured?
* With all the dust from the sand I bet my canister filter needs to be cleaned. When should I do it? After cycling?
* I want to add a cleaning crew as soon as the tank cycles. Can I add the whole thing (hermit crabs, turbo snails, maybe one of those red shrimp) at once?
Thanks in advance,
Patrick
The LR has been in the tank for 9 days and the sand (55 lbs aragonite) has been in the thank for 4 days.
I have a few questions about the cycling progress:
* Ammonia never registered and the Nitrites peaked at 0.5 ppm after 2 days and is now less than 0.25 ppm. The rock was cured before I put it in the tank. Does this progress sound reasonable? Did I need to add a source of Ammonia?
* The tank cleared up pretty quickly after I added the sand but there's still A LOT of small white things floating in the water and "moving" on the glass. My roommate swears they are alive. It also looks like a lot of this stuff is on the surface. Any ideas?
* My friend has an established tank and wants to give me some water. I've heard of taking sand from another tank but not water. Is this still useful?
* My protein skimmer (Red Sea Prizm) has barely picked up anything. I assume this is OK since the LR was cured?
* With all the dust from the sand I bet my canister filter needs to be cleaned. When should I do it? After cycling?
* I want to add a cleaning crew as soon as the tank cycles. Can I add the whole thing (hermit crabs, turbo snails, maybe one of those red shrimp) at once?
Thanks in advance,
Patrick