wierd cycling

[fishboy444]

I started my cycle 3 days ago,so this is the 4th day.On the 1st day my readings were:no ammonia.2nd day were almost 1 ppm of ammonia and .25 ppm of nitrite.3rd day were ammonia 1 ppm and nitrite .25 ppm.4th day it was 0 ppm of ammonia
0 ppm of nitrite
5-10 ppm of nitrate
This is so weird!!!!!

[melosu58]

Did you already use cured LR?

[fishboy444]

Ya I did!!I put in about 70-80 pounds of cured live rock.Then I put in 3 raw shrimp.The guy at the lfs told me I didn't have to cycle the tank because the bacteria was already there,but I did anyway because I read that you should cycle every tank.

[melosu58]

If the rock is already cured then it already has the nitrifying bacteria on it. You still need some ammonia source to feed the already present bacteria. That would explain your quick cycle though.

[Kurt_Nelson]

Agree with Mike. Even with cured live rock, I still like to throw a shrimp in there and wait for the nitrates to show up. No better guarantee that you're cycled than that! And then doing a couple 50-75% water changes gets those nitrates right back down to undetectable and you're good to go!

[fishboy444]

Thanks guys.another question,my aragonite and base rock are kinda turning light brown and some of my live rock,any thoughts?Also when should I add my first fish?

[Kurt_Nelson]

Brown stuff = diatoms. Pretty normal in a new tank. They'll burn themselves out, or if you add some astrea or trochus snails, they'll eat it up for you.

When to add the first fish?... after its 4 weeks in a quarantine tank. (Hint, hint... nudge, nudge.)

[austinsdad]

It's called diatoms. Comes in all new tanks. It'll disappear as fast as it showed up. Hang in there.

[fishboy444]

Thanks!How do I feed my bacteria in the tank without fish or something?

Oh I can't get any inverts because I'm planning on this list:
x1 harlequin tuskfish
x1 regal tang
x1 radiata lionfish
x1 blackspotted puffer
x1 picasso triggerfish

[Mitchell0605]

Lionfish. NICE! A suggestion since you obviously have the room, how about a Emperor Angel Fishboy? They are truely beautiful. This is gonna be like your last tank where I kept nagging you about your stocking.

[CaptainAhab]

add fish food as if you had fish... Just feed your imaginary fish. The food rots/decays creating ammonia

[austinsdad]

Just drop a pinch of fish food in there every 2-3 days. Maybe others can give you a more difinitive amount. Guess I judged based on the amount of rock and my gut feeling. I got nothing scientific, but fish food will do the trick.

[fishboy444]

Ok thanks!1 pinch of food/2-3 days got it.What was the nudge hint stuff for lol.Emperor angel yes!Love it.How big do they get?If I take out the regal tang could I do the emperor angel?List:
x1 harlequin tusk
x1 radiata lionfish
x1 emperor angel
x1 picasso trigger
x1 blackspotted puffer

[Kurt_Nelson]

Originally Posted by fishboy444

....What was the nudge hint stuff for lol....

It was a subtle, yet not subtle, suggestion to use a quarantine tank. Seems like most folks don't take that step anymore. And then wish they had.

[fishboy444]

Ya I know what you mean.Do I have to quarantine the first fish but have the quarantine ready?I will give him/her a bath.Is that before the acclimation?Also one more thing is the emperor a good idea in the sense that it has swimming room and that sort of stuff?

[Mitchell0605]

Originally Posted by fishboy444

Ya I know what you mean.Do I have to quarantine the first fish but have the quarantine ready?I will give him/her a bath.Is that before the acclimation?Also one more thing is the emperor a good idea in the sense that it has swimming room and that sort of stuff?

If you can fit a Lion, you'll be able to fit an EMP.

[fishboy444]

Yup that makes sense.Would I have to take something away?

[Mitchell0605]

If your taking out the Regal you should be good.

[fishboy444]

The problem with the emperor angel and lionfish is that the angelfish gets to about 16" and the lionfish about 10".The emperor needs a lot of swimming room and the lionfish don't move around as much.That's the problem I can think of.