Cycling then cleaning crew?

[bearpoole57]

Hi there,
Right now my 240 gallon tank is starting to cycle. I have 160 lbs of live sand and two pieces of raw shrimp encased in the toe of a line secured pantyhose. It is turning white as it decays. Question? Once the tank is cycled and the ammonia, nitrates and nitrites are zero, and all the other parameters are met, can I put in about one quarter or one third of the cleaning crew to start? Or should I add them even more slowly? Total there will be about 150 plus in the cleaning crew so I don't want to over bio-load it all at once.

Any help would be appreciated

Thanks,

Bear

 

[Atari]

Once the ammonia and nitrites are zero, your cycle is complete and you can do a 25% or so water change to bring the nitrates down, if they are high.

I would probably add a couple dozen critters at a time. They don't have a significant impact on bioload really, but it's good to do everything slowly in a new tank.

 

[scuba_steve]

i would add them all at one time ! save u on shipping ect.. bio-load on snails ect. are minimal !