Guru_Del Posted November 4, 2002 Share Posted November 4, 2002 Hey all, I have had the tank cycling for over a week and still no algae or anything really. I got some growth on my LR but it is almost clear and not of any color. The LR I got was cured and is covered in purple. Should I be happy or worried? Do I need to add a fish to give the cycle a kick? Thanks, Vince Link to comment
Physh1 Posted November 5, 2002 Share Posted November 5, 2002 Your tank is likely still cycling but with your tank having cured rock it will be very minimal if close to nothing noticable. You should be happy....there is no reason to be worried. No reason to put a fish in there. I'd be patient and still wait another week or so and everything seems stable you could probably add a fish or maybe a coral or two. Do you have any light on there yet? Cameron Link to comment
LSUtiger Posted November 5, 2002 Share Posted November 5, 2002 I am also cycling now, and I was told the cycle may be small in my tank as well since I am using cured LR. If it is small or unnoticeable, will there be enough bacteria build-up to handle the waste once a fish is added? I was curious about this, and since Del is asking some similar questions, I figured I'd "steal" his thread. : ) Mark Link to comment
harbingerofthefish Posted November 5, 2002 Share Posted November 5, 2002 If it is small or unnoticeable, will there be enough bacteria build-up to handle the waste once a fish is added? Okay here's my belief. You get the cured LR and you never notice anything of a cycle. But if your using "dead" sand it's going to take a while for lifeforms on the rock to migrate and colonize on your sand. So if you drop in a fish to a newer tank tank that has supposedly "skipped" it's cycle b/c of cured LR, the fish waste is going to kick it off, probally killing the fish due to amonia. My rock I got was supposedly cured too. I still did the dead shrimp thing. Got a few diatoms and such. After a few weeks of not really any spike in anything, and after the apperance of some small feathers and such, I started to feed a little. Now I know a little too much . Algae everywhere. No big deal to me. After testing over and over and no noticable changes, I added a conch and relaxed on the feeding. Basically I forced my tank to cycle. So after being so wordy, a conclusion. Using "cured" LR is great. But in the long run I think the tank will take longer to get established. Not nessecarily a bad thing. But by forcing the cycle, and building up the tanks natural filtration, it gives you a better idea of when it's right to add some more inhabitants. And also limits the suprise factor you might get by dropping that $30 tank raised clown in, and watching it flipover in a day. Link to comment
PFB Posted November 5, 2002 Share Posted November 5, 2002 I am at week 3 and just noticed some brown diatoms forming on sand. I used well established LR, 1 lb of LS (5 lbs of fresh sand) and just started to lt tank. Link to comment
LSUtiger Posted November 5, 2002 Share Posted November 5, 2002 hmmm.....interesting. I was thinking that I would still notice a rise in ammonia, nitrites, and then nitrates, but reading this and another post suggests that it isn't always noticeable. That's why I asked if there would be enough bacteria build-up to support a fish and not shock the system. I guess if I don't notice anything, I may add some fish food to the tank as suggested to me by Hubu to get a spike in the ammonia. The rock has been in since Saturday, so if by Friday I haven't noticed anything, I will consider adding the food. Thanks for the feedback. Mark Link to comment
BustytheSnowMaam Posted November 5, 2002 Share Posted November 5, 2002 I had cured rock when I set up my tank. My "mistake" if you want to call it that was that I mis-read something in a book or on this board and I added my hermits (6 of them) when I put the rock in. I never had any sort of algae outbreak and my water parameters have been perfect. I do get a bit of brown film occasionally on the side of my tank, and patches of coralline. I waited about 2 months and then added my pair of clowns. So, maybe add a couple of hermits? It would be less of a bio-load than fish. Tasha Link to comment
Guru_Del Posted November 5, 2002 Author Share Posted November 5, 2002 Hey thanks all, I went to my LFS yesterday and got some uncured LR that they had just got it. Normally they only have cured rock and it is pretty plain with nothing growing. I got this uncured and already I am seeing some life. So I will let the uncured LR help the cycle and I will wait another 2 weeks min before I add anything or when should I add some crabs, snails, conch, etc? Edit: yes I do have lights on it 12 hours a day on a timer. thanks, Link to comment
harbingerofthefish Posted November 6, 2002 Share Posted November 6, 2002 As far as clean up crews go, I notice a lot of people with like 12 different things in a 5 gal. I have a 5 and over the past 3 months have only added 5 things (one's a bumbleebee so we'll say 4 ) I would wait until you start to get some diatoms before adding anything. If you can get astreas or the like I would go with them. I unfortunatly have only found turbos so I have 1. He likes the glass so he's all good right now. As for conches...mine's a frickin' hoover and after seeing his appetite would suggest only adding them when you have ample food for them to eat. This guy mowed down some calepra (sp? I know), hair, and this funky brown s*** I had all over one rock. One thing to look into is what your intended crew eats. Link to comment
FCLymond Posted November 9, 2002 Share Posted November 9, 2002 Going to chime in here though this thread is a bit old now... I am also experiencing the "one week and nothing" phenomenon, but I used uncured LR (with LS) to set up my tank. I have seen a good bit of life popping up on the rock. Featherdusters, little white bugs, a couple of tiny crab-looking guys. Also some purplish covering developing on the rock (corraline algae?). I'm using Salifert test kits, and have measured no ammonia or nitrite at all (unless I squint real hard and hold my breath, then I see all kinds of colors... ). Ph holding steady at 8, sp.grav at 1.023. How much longer should I wait before adding cleanup crew? Tank specs: Eclipse 6 gal, 1x36w PC, 9lbs Fiji LR, 7-8 lbs (about 1") LS. Link to comment
Guru_Del Posted November 9, 2002 Author Share Posted November 9, 2002 To give everyone an update, It is now 2 weeks and the day after my last post my tank went through it's cycle I started seeing amonia, nitrite and nitrate cycle respectively. I have add since then to test some zoos, xenia, ricordea, mushrooms and some tree leather and all is well. I got a blue hermit as a hitchhiker and so far everything is good. (i got all the corals as frags cheap so I am not worried If I loose em). give it a day or two more and then test again you will probably see something soon, Vince Link to comment
Guru_Del Posted November 13, 2002 Author Share Posted November 13, 2002 1 Cr@py pic of the tank so far here we go Link to comment
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