cycling and lr

[Ladybus301]

Hi , Im new to saltwater. Ive had my 55 gallon tank up for 31/2 weeks now. I have 2 damsels and a shrimp in there, thanks to a fish store giving me wrong info. I have 20 lbs of cured live rock. I also have live sand. Will this cycle my tank. It seems like i keep reading about uncured live rock and dont know if i put the right stuff in. also can i now add a raw shrimp to speed up the cycle, even if i have the fish in the tank. seems like its taking a really long time. My levels are amm o , ni2 0.50,ni3 .10, and ph 7.8 any help u can give me, im really confused!!!

 

[Ziggy953]

Your PH looks a bit low it should be more like 8.2-8.4. Have you had an ammonia spike at all? How long have the fish been in the tank? I would add a bit more LR. 1.5 to 2.5lbs per gallon for good filtration. What are you using for circulation on the tank? What kind of filter are you using? What is your specific gravity? Should be 1.019 - 1.025 1.023-1.023 is a good place to be. I would not add a raw shrimp as this would give you an ammonia spike and you don't want that!! I'm going to say that you are in the midst of your cycle right now. The live fish method is not perferred by most of us because of the stress it causes the animals. That LFS is looking to make money and not give good information.

Welcome to AA by the way. I'm sure that many more people will chime in and offer a lot of great advice! They will not steer you wrong!!

Good luck!!

 

[Devilishturtles]

My advice...take the fish back and throw in a shrimp or two. That will cycle your tank. Cycling with the fish is not only not nice to the fish, but sloooooooow. You could have been cycled by now almost if you'd added in more liverock and the shrimp.

Ziggy asked some good questions too. But I just wanted to add that pH won't be correct until after the cycle is done, so I wouldn't even worry about testing it until then.

Welcome to AA.

 

[roka64]

WELCOME TO AA!!!

I usually say, "please do not cycle your tank with live animals."

Can you tell us a little more?
What was your highest ammonia reading as well as nitrIte/nitrAte?
Where are they right now?

I have 20 lbs of cured live rock. I also have live sand. Will this cycle my tank.

If you used more cured LR, (1.5-2Lbs per gallon) you could possibly see a very small or quick cycle. Remember, the "live" really means, it contains the nitrifying bacteria that converts ammonia to nitrItes to nitrAtes.

also can i now add a raw shrimp to speed up the cycle, even if i have the fish in the tank.

Adding a raw, unseasoned shrimp right now, would cause your ammonia to spike (depending where you are in your cycle) and possibly kill your fish. I just finished cycling my 125G and it took about 6 weeks (I don't think I added enough raw shrimp). A cycle can take at least 4-6 weeks.
My advice, take back the shrimp (I'm surprised he made it this far) and the damsels (they will be a pain to catch once you add more rock) and add a small raw shrimp, then take some readings and post back.

 

[austinsdad]

I second the notion on taking the fish back. In adition to a slower and cruel cycle, you're gonna have 2 fish in there first that may very well stress all newcomers and wreak havoc.

Damsels can be very mean. Got 2 good reasons IMO.

 

[Ladybus301]

Hi, Thanks for the quick response. The fish have been in the tank for 2 1/2 weeks. the shrimp for 2 weeks. they seems fine. the shrimp has even molted. Yesterday my am was at 0.0, ni2 was .50, ni3 was .10 . specific gravity is at 1.023, and ph was 7.8 . today am is 0.0, ni2 is 0.0, ni3 is 5.0 and ph is 8.2 I bought more live rock , 10 more ibs and added that today. I do want to catch the damsels and take them back but they are giving me a hard time, and hide as soon as they see the net.
the highest my ammonia has ever been is 0.25. do u think i could be cycled already?

 

[melosu58]

The cured LR that you put in your tank might have caused it to be a mini cycle but you do not have enough LR in there for a proper biological filtration. As soon as you start adding your Bioload to the tank your filtration will not be able to keep up. And you will experience high levels of ammonia.

And by the way Welcome to AA.

 

[Ladybus301]

I only put the live rock in 15 min. before i tested the water. I now have 30 lbs. of live rock in the tank. I know i need more but cant i hold off and let ;my base rock become live rock

 

[melosu58]

How many total pounds of rock is in your tank? What type of LR do you have?

 

[Ladybus301]

58 lbs approx. I dont know what u mean by what type of lr.

 

[melosu58]

I was wondering if it was Fiji or Marshall Island or tonga or whatever. I think 58 lbs will be sufficent for starting off. Later on more will be better but you have enough to start. I was thinking you only had 30 lbs.

 

[roka64]

I do want to catch the damsels and take them back but they are giving me a hard time, and hide as soon as they see the net.

LOL! They are fast, aren't they? Try leaving the net in the tank for a few days, let them get used to it being there, feed them and snatch them when they come out. If that doesn't work, we'll try other ways.

 

[ellisz]

If the rock is cured and from the LFS, I don't think any type of cycle will occur. It will happen if there is some die off but this might not occur with cured LR. If you have any sort of cycle, the shrimp won't make it either. The damsels will most likely survive but inverts won't.

I have 2 damsels in my tank that have been there for 3+ yrs. They are not all bad

 

[necjeb]

you said no cycle if it is cured live rock from lfs. does that mean the lr cycled at the store and is further along "already cycled" or needs another form of bacteria "the raw shrimp" to start the cycle.

 

[roka64]

you said no cycle if it is cured live rock from lfs. does that mean the lr cycled at the store and is further along "already cycled" or needs another form of bacteria "the raw shrimp" to start the cycle.

LR from the store (the kind that is in the tanks with the fish) is already cured. If you bring it home and put it in your tank (assuming it is not that far) you should be ok. Mt LFS will wrap mine in wet newspaper.
If you were to cure rock yourself, you can use the shrimp method, to produce ammonia, or you could let it cycle with your tank.

 

[ellisz]

The cycle would occur from die off. If the rock is cured from the LFS and you take it home, there won't be any die off. You could see almost no cycle if the bacteria is already there.

It would be the same if you took an established healthy system and transferred it to a different tank. Uncured is good but some will save some money an get uncured if the tank is new nad nothing is in it.