Setting Up A New Tank

[Charith1986]

I am building up a 16g salt water tank. plan to maintain live rock and fish only.

What should i do to speed up the tank seasoning process ?

Is it recommended to run the tank with salt water first for one month or to use some chemicals to add the fish immediately ?

your support is highly appreciated.

 

[Tired]

If you were to add something, it wouldn't be chemicals. When you're cycling/seasoning a tank, you're trying to build up bacteria that will turn ammonia from fish waste into nitrites, and then those nitrites into nitrates. They live all over your live rock. You can buy that bacteria in a bottle, but it isn't always fresh enough to work, so the slow way is generally better.

 

Get your live rock now, and put it in with suitable salt water. Run it with the filtration and light and everything, and put food in every day like you have fish in there. Test the water every couple of days with a good water test kit, not the strip kind. When you see 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and some nitrates, your tank is cycled, and you can start adding livestock. It's best to start with snails and hermit crabs to help keep things clean, then fish after a month or so. There's lots of info on the forum about cycling.

[Charith1986]

17 minutes ago, Tired said:

If you were to add something, it wouldn't be chemicals. When you're cycling/seasoning a tank, you're trying to build up bacteria that will turn ammonia from fish waste into nitrites, and then those nitrites into nitrates. They live all over your live rock. You can buy that bacteria in a bottle, but it isn't always fresh enough to work, so the slow way is generally better.

 

Get your live rock now, and put it in with suitable salt water. Run it with the filtration and light and everything, and put food in every day like you have fish in there. Test the water every couple of days with a good water test kit, not the strip kind. When you see 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and some nitrates, your tank is cycled, and you can start adding livestock. It's best to start with snails and hermit crabs to help keep things clean, then fish after a month or so. There's lots of info on the forum about cycling.

Thanks, I have "Pro Bio S" bacteria with me now, so shall i add few drops every day during the cycling period ? and for how many days i should cycle the tank?

[Tired]

Pour the bacteria in all at once to get it going.

 

How long the tank needs to be cycled will depend on how much bacteria there is, in the bottle and on the rocks. There's no way to be sure. Cycle it until you see 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and more than 0 nitrates, for several days in a row, after feeding. It may happen right away, it may take a month. 

[Tamberav]

25 minutes ago, Charith1986 said:

Thanks, I have "Pro Bio S" bacteria with me now, so shall i add few drops every day during the cycling period ? and for how many days i should cycle the tank?

When ammonia is 0 and you have detectable Nitrates it is generally cycled. Usually takes a few weeks.

 

Nothing will instantly cycle your tank and make it safe for fish except seasoned live rock. 

 

Add fish slowly...clean up crew first then one fish. If you put them all in at once you may cause another mini cycle.

 

Go slow. Rushing is where problems happen.

[caleb.barger1]

On 10/6/2019 at 12:23 PM, Charith1986 said:

I am building up a 16g salt water tank. plan to maintain live rock and fish only.

What should i do to speed up the tank seasoning process ?

Is it recommended to run the tank with salt water first for one month or to use some chemicals to add the fish immediately ?

your support is highly appreciated.

 

PATIENCE! Its funny because everyone told me the same thing, and I always blew it off, and thought I was patient enough... NOPE! this hobby takes lots and lots of patience to be successful,  I'm still learning myself!  I've used the bacteria you have in the past with no issues! Even adding fish hours after adding the bottle. I wouldn't do this today though. I would follow the directions on the back of the bottle, then disregard them and test the tank to figure out when the cycle is done. Patience now could mean an easier time for WHEN you start getting into corals (it's only a matter of time before you get too curious)

[Charith1986]

On 10/6/2019 at 10:33 PM, Tired said:

Pour the bacteria in all at once to get it going.

 

How long the tank needs to be cycled will depend on how much bacteria there is, in the bottle and on the rocks. There's no way to be sure. Cycle it until you see 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and more than 0 nitrates, for several days in a row, after feeding. It may happen right away, it may take a month. 

The bottle instructions to drop only one drop for 100 litres, so my tank is 90 litres and therefore poring the entire bottle at once would be asking for trouble, ystd i started running the tank and i put around 5 drops per day. meantime as you said i will add some frozen mysis every other day to the tank. the wave maker also running. Is it necessary to run the skimmer at the same time ? pls advise.

[burningmime]

This is the guide I followed. Took about 3 weeks to be able to add ammonia in the morning, and see 0 nitrites that evening. You can use ammonia from the hardware store:

 

http://www.drtimsaquatics.com/resources/fishless-cycling

 

I just dumped the whole bottle in on day 1 along with the ammonia. You might want to dump like half the bottle right now so they get started, then keep doing the few drops per day until it's done cycling. I don't think it's possible to overdose the bacteria; if there are too many the balance will die off and become ammonia pretty quickly.

[j.falk]

 

Also....

 

https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/video/budget-reef-tank/

 

^ All the videos in this series deal with setting up, stocking and maintaining a nano saltwater aquarium.

[mcarroll]

On 10/11/2019 at 12:05 AM, Charith1986 said:

The bottle instructions to drop only one drop for 100 litres, so my tank is 90 litres and therefore poring the entire bottle at once would be asking for trouble, ystd i started running the tank and i put around 5 drops per day. meantime as you said i will add some frozen mysis every other day to the tank. the wave maker also running. Is it necessary to run the skimmer at the same time ? pls advise.

I think folks may have misinterpreted what you used to start, which was this:

Bio S

How are things going in the tank now?

[Charith1986]

On 10/22/2019 at 10:26 PM, mcarroll said:

I think folks may have misinterpreted what you used to start, which was this:

Bio S

How are things going in the tank now?

the tank looks okay. i cycled the tank for 10 days without fish and did a 8 litre watre change. after that put two clowns to the tank. they do fine. plan to do another water change on this saturday. meantime adding one drop of pro bio s daily. and my plan is to do weekly water changes in that case tank condition would be perfect

[Charith1986]

Adding to the loop, is it necessary to keep the wave maker on ? 

[Tired]

I'm pretty sure you only need a wave maker for corals. For fish and live rock, you just need enough flow (from regular pumps and powerheads) to keep there from being any stagnant areas.