SaltWaterNewb Posted April 5, 2008 Author Share Posted April 5, 2008 Well, since the shrimp method of cycling does not seem to be working so well I went to the LFS and bought 2 pounds of LR rubble from the bottom of their holding tank and added that to my AC70 temporarily to help seed the tank. I hope this gets things going. Ammonia is still sky high and nitrites are moderately high and nitrates still holding at around 15. I guess I'll see what happens in the next few days. Link to comment
fiction101 Posted April 5, 2008 Share Posted April 5, 2008 Tanks looks great so far. I've seen people here mention that the shrimp method of cycling isn't recommended, I'm not really sure why though? Mixing live cured rock with your base rock seem to be a better idea, maybe you should switch a few pieces of base rock with live rock. Link to comment
lakshwadeep Posted April 5, 2008 Share Posted April 5, 2008 Looks good. The main reason of discouraging the shrimp method in a cycle is that there is already ammonia and wastes from the live rock itself and the shrimp will only prolong the time you have to wait because it provides tons (more like grams ) of ammonia as it decomposes. Link to comment
SaltWaterNewb Posted April 5, 2008 Author Share Posted April 5, 2008 Tanks looks great so far. I've seen people here mention that the shrimp method of cycling isn't recommended, I'm not really sure why though? Mixing live cured rock with your base rock seem to be a better idea, maybe you should switch a few pieces of base rock with live rock. Yeah, well, I was trying to do the setup on the cheap so I was trying to avoid buying any LR. I had LOTS of base rock from an old tank so I wanted to try to use that. The shrimp method worked great at creating the ammonia that I needed to start the cycle but the lack of LR and bacteria has really killed this thing. I am hoping that by introducing the rubble today that will be enough to get things moving again. I guess if that does not show results by next week I will have to suck it up and buy a few more pounds of actual LR. Live and learn I guess Link to comment
fiction101 Posted April 5, 2008 Share Posted April 5, 2008 Ah that makes sense, my tank is almost done cycling and it's only been about week. Sounds like the shrimp method will take around a month to finish. Link to comment
SaltWaterNewb Posted April 5, 2008 Author Share Posted April 5, 2008 Looks good. The main reason of discouraging the shrimp method in a cycle is that there is already ammonia and wastes from the live rock itself and the shrimp will only prolong the time you have to wait because it provides tons (more like grams ) of ammonia as it decomposes. I think you are correct. There must be about a POUND of ammonia in my tank right now. I could probably wash my floors with the tank water...lol The only reason I used the shrimp was because I used ONLY base rock so I didn't think there would be anything to decompose and start the cycle. Maybe if I would have left the shrimp in there only overnight I would have been better off. At this point I wonder if a water change to knock down the ammonia level would be advised? After nearly a month I am still showing the darkest green maybe even darker on my API test. Link to comment
fiction101 Posted April 5, 2008 Share Posted April 5, 2008 Yeah, well, I was trying to do the setup on the cheap so I was trying to avoid buying any LR. I had LOTS of base rock from an old tank so I wanted to try to use that. The shrimp method worked great at creating the ammonia that I needed to start the cycle but the lack of LR and bacteria has really killed this thing. I am hoping that by introducing the rubble today that will be enough to get things moving again. I guess if that does not show results by next week I will have to suck it up and buy a few more pounds of actual LR. Live and learn I guess You'll learn fast that you can't go cheap in this hobby. Invest a little money in good live rock, plus you're going to have to if you want any life on your base rock. Link to comment
lakshwadeep Posted April 5, 2008 Share Posted April 5, 2008 Your rubble will be adequate for all the seeding you need. Some nice, small pieces of live rock with coralline algae will help, too. Link to comment
SaltWaterNewb Posted April 5, 2008 Author Share Posted April 5, 2008 Well, in an odd development, things are progressing nicely. I just completed a water test series and I was going to take pictures to post but to my surprise things are on the down swing it seems. I tested the water two, maybe three days ago and ammonia was off the chart and nitrites were around 2ppt and nitrates were at about 10ish. Well, I just tested and ammonia was at .50, nitrites are 5ppt and nitrates are a solid 15. So either in the past couple days things started kicking or the addition of the rubble really kicked in to high gear. Could that be possible considering I just added it 5 hours ago? Anyways, looks like I jumped the gun a bit and things are back on track. Link to comment
NotGumbelWV Posted April 5, 2008 Share Posted April 5, 2008 Thanks for the note in my other thread. What part of WV are you in nowadays? Any good LFS there? Link to comment
SaltWaterNewb Posted April 5, 2008 Author Share Posted April 5, 2008 I am in the eastern panhandle, Romney to be exact. As far as good LFS, there are 5 plus a PetsMart and Petco and only one is even close to being decent and that is a stretch. Bad thing is, closest it 45 minutes away. I actually bought my 75g tank that I have FW in at the pet store over by WalMart. I can't remember the name but it reminds me of a PetsMart. They only had FW at the time but the guy working there then was trying to get SW in the store too. Link to comment
SaltWaterNewb Posted April 5, 2008 Author Share Posted April 5, 2008 Yeah, Petco, where the pets go. http://www.petco.com/Content/HomePage.aspx...m_pla=www.petco Link to comment
NotGumbelWV Posted April 5, 2008 Share Posted April 5, 2008 I am in the eastern panhandle, Romney to be exact. As far as good LFS, there are 5 plus a PetsMart and Petco and only one is even close to being decent and that is a stretch. Bad thing is, closest it 45 minutes away. I had heard there's a great one in Lavale MD, but hadn't visited it myself. Very nice job on the tank BTW! Link to comment
gojo531 Posted April 5, 2008 Share Posted April 5, 2008 Everything looks good! If only all the first-time reefers would take the time to pick what livestock they're going to have and make sure everything is compatible... I’m slowly getting the bits and pieces for my next tank which is going to be a 30g, and I couldn’t agree more. I can’t list the number of bone head things I had done that with a little more patients and planning would have totally been prevented. One of the biggest for me is I wish I spent ALOT more time thinking out my live rock formation (size and shape). That.. and that patients has nothing to do with the number of days, weeks, or months you wait. Link to comment
SaltWaterNewb Posted April 5, 2008 Author Share Posted April 5, 2008 I had heard there's a great one in Lavale MD, but hadn't visited it myself. Very nice job on the tank BTW! Thanks. There is a place called Pets and Ponds and they are pretty decent when it comes to FW but their SW is very lacking. Then there is Scales and Tails and they have a good bit of stuff but their tanks are not in the best of shape. The best place near me is in Winchester, VA and it is call Winchester Aquarium and Pet Center. Link to comment
SaltWaterNewb Posted April 6, 2008 Author Share Posted April 6, 2008 Well, just since adding a couple pounds of cured LR rubble to my AC70 yesterday, my ammonia has dropped from 8 to ZERO and nitrites have jumped from 2 up to 5. Looks like things are moving now and fast. Hoping for a nice diatom bloom in the next couple days and everything to finally level out so I can get some snails in there at least. Link to comment
SaltWaterNewb Posted April 10, 2008 Author Share Posted April 10, 2008 Well, nitrites STILL at 5ppm. I am probably just being impatient but it seems like this is taking forever. Tomorrow will be a month since I started. Link to comment
dabman Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 Yeah, Petco, where the pets go. http://www.petco.com/Content/HomePage.aspx...m_pla=www.petco Ha! Im at work reading through this and that made me chuckle. It is cool to see other people starting up tanks to track their progress and learn from others. Looking forward to seeing how things turn out.... Link to comment
mmelnick Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 Props on the homemade base and hood. I love DIY Link to comment
SaltWaterNewb Posted April 13, 2008 Author Share Posted April 13, 2008 Thanks everyone. My cycle is officially OVER (angels singing in background) !!!!!!! I am going to do a 50% water change and pick up a few snails to start cleaning up the algae and diatoms. I am so excited to finally have something alive in my tank, even if it is just some snails Link to comment
SaltWaterNewb Posted April 13, 2008 Author Share Posted April 13, 2008 I figure also since everyone likes pictures I will add a picture of some diatoms on my LR. Plus it gives me a chance to play around with my new macro lens. Link to comment
fiction101 Posted April 13, 2008 Share Posted April 13, 2008 What are your nitrates? I've had zero nitrites and ammonia for over a week now, but people keep saying to wait another week or two before doing a water change. Is the cycle over once nitrites hit zero? Link to comment
SaltWaterNewb Posted April 13, 2008 Author Share Posted April 13, 2008 Yup. It can't hurt to wait extra time to make sure I guess but IMO when its over its over. Just add livestock slowly so that the bacteria colony can catch up to the added bioload. Link to comment
noobofreefs Posted April 14, 2008 Share Posted April 14, 2008 Good, your cycle is finally ending! I've been reading this thread since you helped me forever ago...just haven't replied. I love your DIY stuff, it looks great! Good shot of the wondrous diatoms Looks like I'll only be a little bit behind you in terms of livestock , considering my ammonia is nearing zero and nitrites are topping. Oh and BTW if you ever see anything in my tank you like (or I may see something I like) let me know, your only a couple of hours away. I would make you drive though Good luck and post pics of your snail, NOR Link to comment
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