Full Version: Shrimp cycling
I'm three days into a rotting shrimp cycle in my 34 gallon tank. I have about four pounds of live rock and a fair bit of lace rock. The ammonia was like 0.5 ppm yesterday and the water plain stinks today. It's getting hazy too. How bad should I let it get before flushing the rotten shrimp?
QUOTE (vresor @ Mar 10 2010, 10:18 PM) 
I'm three days into a rotting shrimp cycle in my 34 gallon tank. I have about four pounds of live rock and a fair bit of lace rock. The ammonia was like 0.5 ppm yesterday and the water plain stinks today. It's getting hazy too. How bad should I let it get before flushing the rotten shrimp?
I think it is time, when the water starts to get cloudy. No doubt you have enough ammonia to initiate a good cycle. I would flush it.
Flush it now. Bag the contents and send them to the person who told you to use decaying matter to cycle your tank.
Put a teaspoon of regular household ammonia in the tank, which spikes your ammo levels right now. When your tank is truly cycled and bacteria colonies have caught up your ammo will start to drop, and drop rapidly. You can't miss it. Nitrite will flutter for a bit, then level off.
Takes a couple of weeks. Maybe more if you're starting with dry rock. Been doing it this way for a long time, and it's a 1000x more predictable than using decaying matter which first requires bacteria to grow to start eating it and then converting the protein chains to ammonia. Then as the ammonia climbs it begins to stunt the decay process, blah, blah, blah.
Put a teaspoon of regular household ammonia in the tank, which spikes your ammo levels right now. When your tank is truly cycled and bacteria colonies have caught up your ammo will start to drop, and drop rapidly. You can't miss it. Nitrite will flutter for a bit, then level off.
Takes a couple of weeks. Maybe more if you're starting with dry rock. Been doing it this way for a long time, and it's a 1000x more predictable than using decaying matter which first requires bacteria to grow to start eating it and then converting the protein chains to ammonia. Then as the ammonia climbs it begins to stunt the decay process, blah, blah, blah.
Remove the shrimp. Decaying flesh can make disease-causing bacteria to proliferate.
Pure ammonia would be the best choice, but even then you really have no idea whether the amount of ammonia you're adding is equivalent to the livestock you will be keeping. If you add to much, all you did was make the cycle longer than necessary; too little and it was pointless.
If your live rock was cured/cycled already, then you could have just waited and added something like a small CUC to provided a small consistent ammonia source.
Pure ammonia would be the best choice, but even then you really have no idea whether the amount of ammonia you're adding is equivalent to the livestock you will be keeping. If you add to much, all you did was make the cycle longer than necessary; too little and it was pointless.
If your live rock was cured/cycled already, then you could have just waited and added something like a small CUC to provided a small consistent ammonia source.
Hmmm, I wouldn't have thought of household ammonia. On first blush I assumed it would have some impurities that shouldn't mix with reef life. Among other things, ammonia is quite corrosive to copper and I doubt there's much quality control in Walmart ammonia. You know what happens when you assume...
Okay, so the shrimp is gone. I'll follow the ammonia and nitrite for a few days and add a CUC. This tank is barebottom. I'm done with murderous hermits, so they are out. Ceriths have been faithful sand stirrers in my sand bottom BC14, but this tank has no sand to stir. What's the protocol for barebottom crews?
Okay, so the shrimp is gone. I'll follow the ammonia and nitrite for a few days and add a CUC. This tank is barebottom. I'm done with murderous hermits, so they are out. Ceriths have been faithful sand stirrers in my sand bottom BC14, but this tank has no sand to stir. What's the protocol for barebottom crews?
QUOTE (vresor @ Mar 10 2010, 11:41 PM)
Hmmm, I wouldn't have thought of household ammonia. On first blush I assumed it would have some impurities that shouldn't mix with reef life. Among other things, ammonia is quite corrosive to copper and I doubt there's much quality control in Walmart ammonia. You know what happens when you assume...
Okay, so the shrimp is gone. I'll follow the ammonia and nitrite for a few days and add a CUC. This tank is barebottom. I'm done with murderous hermits, so they are out. Ceriths have been faithful sand stirrers in my sand bottom BC14, but this tank has no sand to stir. What's the protocol for barebottom crews?
Okay, so the shrimp is gone. I'll follow the ammonia and nitrite for a few days and add a CUC. This tank is barebottom. I'm done with murderous hermits, so they are out. Ceriths have been faithful sand stirrers in my sand bottom BC14, but this tank has no sand to stir. What's the protocol for barebottom crews?
I think you already have enough ammonia to start your cycle. I would just wait a while and check parameters now and every 3 days for three weeks..
Your statement about ammonia being corrosive to copper, has me concerned. You do not want any copper in your display tank, it will kill inverts and corals. Never put any copper in your display tank.
Hermit crabs are usually ok as part of a CUC, did you have a bad experience with them? If so get smaller ones like red/scarlet legged hemits, you will want them when the algae bloom sets in.
That is a sm. amount of LR for that size of tank, if your BC 14 is up and running use some of the filter media or LR in that tank to seed your new tank.
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