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Innovative Marine Aquariums

when do i add cuc?


baksreef5

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that's when i added my cerith snails.

i think this would be a good time! be

sure to ask for advice on how much though.

maybe people get too many critters and they

end up starving.

 

good luck and have fun!

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If ammonia and nitrite are both exactly zero, and you're sure the cycle's over with, do enough of a water change to bring nitrates down below 10 and go for it. Keep in mind that if you don't have enough food, you should definitely start out small.

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thanx u guys!!!! goin to order some cuc. I have like 12 tanks running in my house but this is my first salt water tank. I have discus, and lots of planted tanks and african cichilds. and some shrimps too. Always wanted to try reef tank and just want to thank u guys for ur help. Im sure i'll be asking lot more questions. haha

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we'll you're recycling now. Just let it go for a few weeks now. It sucks, but you need to wait a month or two now. When nitrates and nitrites = 0 (pluss amonia =0) it might be time to try again. Whatever happened, you added creatures too soon.= for your tank. sucks, but well, here we are.

 

*edit, the cuc was probably ok, the damsel... assuming you wanted a fish in your tank as much as I did when I started... probably had something to do with it.

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yea i thought i was ready cuz the water test looked good and started to see diatoms on the tank and its been a month. I heard some people get cycled within days. So sad, have to wait another 2 months. I hear lots people quit this way. Haha, not me. So should I leave the dead fish in the tank? thanx

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If the fish is dead, pull it out. If you leave it in you basically have to wait until it decomposes completely in order to add stuff. (like leaving a shrimp for basic cycling).

 

After that's zero'd, then leave it near a month, maybe add a fish, and watch your levels like a hawk ( ready like a hawk for something going wrong (water changes ).

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Don't add too many things at once. Next time, only add the CUC, then wait a week or 2 before adding a fish. The tank needs time to adjust to each added bioload. It's young.

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Sorry to hear about the cuc and damsel, my tank was fine when I added my first live stock which was 1 snail and 2 blue/chromis after 3 weeks of it cycling, I only added fish at that point though because cuc is hard to find here. Hope you have better luck next time, it's great that you are not going to quit, it really is worth the wait :)

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thanx u guys. yea not goin to give up.I just dont understand when ur tank is cycled. cuz i thought if the water test show good numbers ur cycled. I have like 12 tanks tanks but all fresh water, discus, planted, african cichilds. But hardest time with this tank. They say its all about patience, which is fine, but I really just want to know how one can really tell if cycled? thanx again!!!!

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What I do is feed the tank as if it has a small bio load if ammonia and nitrites stay at zero for a few days, I do water change then add the cuc. Some of my tanks seem to need a bigger cuc than another tank.

 

Don't add any fish unless you know you really want them they are easy to had but a PITA to get out. Damsels are usually very aggressive and would be added last if at all. I know clowns are a damsel as well but usually aren't aggressive. I say usually because I have a tomato clown in a tank with a blue devil damsel and he is very aggressive towards my damsel.

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To know when the tank's cycled:

 

You know your tank can handle bioload when it can eat through ammonia/nitrite within 24 hours. Ammonia's much more important, since nitrite is basically a hundred times less toxic in saltwater. It's still good to make sure nitrite is zero, though.

 

-Make sure the tank's empty of all livestock and chemical filtration (livestock will suffer, carbon/purigen will filter ammonia/nitrite/nitrate out of the water).

-Get pure ammonia (no scents or surfactants) and dose it into the water until you've reached a concentration of 2-3ppm.

-Come back the next day around the same time, test ammonia.

-If it's not down to 0ppm, dose until you're back to 2-3ppm. Repeat.

-Once you have ammonia going from 2-3ppm down to 0ppm within 24 hours, you're basically cycled. It's still good to go a step further:

 

-Bring ammonia back up to 2-3ppm.

-Come back 12 hours later, test ammonia.

-If it's not down to 0ppm, dose until you're back to 2-3ppm. Repeat.

-Once you have ammonia going down to 0ppm within 12 hours, you're definitely good.

 

You're cycling because the tank needs to be able to handle it when something begins to decompose (whether that's fish waste, fish, food, plants, etc). If you're confident that the tank can bring a decent concentration of ammonia down to 0 within a day, you should be good.

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thanks again u guys. i will try that. where can i get pure ammonia and how much do i need to put in the tank? thanx

 

Usually a hardware store. Dr Tims also sells ammonium chloride specifically for aquarium use, but I'm not sure how easy it is to find. Start off at a drop per 5 gallons and test, then go from there.

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You have to be more patient. The fact that you're asking all of these questions AFTER you added organisms (and killed them in record time) is not good. Diatom blooms will subside on their own (to an extent) once a tank has been established.

 

You can learn about the nitrogen cycle, and reef tanks in general, much more quickly if you just research on your own instead of asking and waiting for replies. There's information all over the place, including on this forum. You're obviously not the first person to ask about tank cycling.

 

There's a new thread popping up every day, with someone asking, "Am I cycled yet?!" I, too, posted a thread like that once, but that was before I spent $20+ on livestock... You're only wasting your own time and money by rushing into things before you legitemately understand the process.

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/articles/_/beginners/cycling-your-tank-r8

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Also if you buy you're fish from a local store they will test the water you bring in

My shop won't sell them unless a sample is provided

Only for you're first fish and invertebrates anyway

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My local fish store tested the water and told me it was safe to add damsel. I can be patient. All i'm asking is if my water shows good number and my live stock still dies, when can u really tell if ur cycled. I will try "mariaface" method and will go from there. thanx again u guys

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My local fish store tested the water and told me it was safe to add damsel. I can be patient. All i'm asking is if my water shows good number and my live stock still dies, when can u really tell if ur cycled. I will try "mariaface" method and will go from there. thanx again u guys

 

Ask the LFS what the parameters actually are. Some people think it's alright to add CUC and hardy fish like damsels before ammonia and nitrite are down to zero, which really isn't okay. Better yet, get your own test kit. Even API will be good for cycling purposes, you don't need to be very accurate because all you're looking for is 'zero'. Good luck!

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