Ammonia
- Thread starter Leo
- Start date
Snelly40
Well-Known Member
ammonia in a liquid form is often used to start the cycle in a tank, it does take constant dosing and this will start the nitrification cycle (ammonia -> nitrite -> Nitrate).... old live rock will not have the same bacteria on it now that it had when it was "alive"....
i just recently cycled my tank with my old rock in the water however instaed of the liquid ammonia i used 3 deli shrimp to start the cycle...
i just recently cycled my tank with my old rock in the water however instaed of the liquid ammonia i used 3 deli shrimp to start the cycle...
Leo
Active Member
I assume you mean raw shrimp. I have the rock cycling for three weeks already. I've put in a few damsels and a few snails but I'm certain 3 out of four damsels are dead. Do you think the dead fish will suffice in this case. I have not tested this cycling water. Should I bother? It's all in a rubber garbage container. Including 2 Pumps for water movement and a heater. I plan on having the tank ready to start cycling possibly this weekend. With the rock and aragonite live sand. Any thoughts?
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Leo, if you have live fish in to cycle the tank, don't add the raw deli shrimp.
The ammonia given off from anything dead in your holding container will give off the ammonia needed. The older way of cycling a tank usually recommended by LFS (local fish stores) they sold damsels to customers because they are the hardiest of SW fish. Still it sometimes kills them to go though a harsh cycle. Ammonia & nitrites are deadly to fish. That's why using a raw (people food grade) deli shrimp is more humane. Nothing that we would put in our tanks has to die. And getting a mean damsel out after the cycle of the tank is not easy either. Damsels are an aggressive fish, unless you are going to keep an aggressive only fish tank, Damsels should not be on your list of fish.
Please start a tank thread & let us help you through the steps of your tank cycle.
Ask all the questions that come up as they happen.
Just wanted to chime in here before you added another ammonia source.
You really do need to get a test kit that includes Ammonia, Nitrite, & Nitrate before you get your tank filled with water. Doing your own testing will help you understand the nitrogen cycle and make sure when your tank is ready for live critters. The ones you put in before it cycles are in danger of dying.
The ammonia given off from anything dead in your holding container will give off the ammonia needed. The older way of cycling a tank usually recommended by LFS (local fish stores) they sold damsels to customers because they are the hardiest of SW fish. Still it sometimes kills them to go though a harsh cycle. Ammonia & nitrites are deadly to fish. That's why using a raw (people food grade) deli shrimp is more humane. Nothing that we would put in our tanks has to die. And getting a mean damsel out after the cycle of the tank is not easy either. Damsels are an aggressive fish, unless you are going to keep an aggressive only fish tank, Damsels should not be on your list of fish.
Please start a tank thread & let us help you through the steps of your tank cycle.
Ask all the questions that come up as they happen.
Just wanted to chime in here before you added another ammonia source.
You really do need to get a test kit that includes Ammonia, Nitrite, & Nitrate before you get your tank filled with water. Doing your own testing will help you understand the nitrogen cycle and make sure when your tank is ready for live critters. The ones you put in before it cycles are in danger of dying.
Pat24601
Well-Known Member
The damsel thing was actually recommended to me by someone at my LFS with the intent of not having the fish survive, athough I doubt it's official policy.
As Diana said, if you have dead fish in there, just leave it be. That should create your ammonia source.
Glenn normally comes along and posts a great reference on the cycling process that explains the ammonia thing in detail. If he doesn't do that, I'll steal his link.
As Diana said, if you have dead fish in there, just leave it be. That should create your ammonia source.
Glenn normally comes along and posts a great reference on the cycling process that explains the ammonia thing in detail. If he doesn't do that, I'll steal his link.
Ok, so if you do not intend to put the live Damsel in your tank once it is filled.
Then a dead damsel or a dead anything, should work the same as putting in a deli shrimp.
Damsels are pretty fish & I get emotionally attached to fish if I feed them more than two days LOL!! So I don't like the idea of killing them
.
It's best to use a test kit & test your water daily instead of going by the day's posted on the bottom of the chart. The time varies by the die off & the good bacteria that is introduced to the tank in the beginning.
Then a dead damsel or a dead anything, should work the same as putting in a deli shrimp.
Damsels are pretty fish & I get emotionally attached to fish if I feed them more than two days LOL!! So I don't like the idea of killing them
. It's best to use a test kit & test your water daily instead of going by the day's posted on the bottom of the chart. The time varies by the die off & the good bacteria that is introduced to the tank in the beginning.
Leo
Active Member
Dianakay, I did just purchase the API ? Saltwater and reef test kits. I didn't realize that there is some redundancy in these kits. My bad for not being thorough. I am returning the reef kit and buying the essential two testers only. I do have some experience with all this, from approx 8 years back. Did pretty well but with a lot of dumb luck. Did lose expensive corals and fish along the way, and I absolutely do not want to go down that road again. I'm already prepping for a small 10 gallon holding tank so as not to introduce sick or stressed out fish to the main tank. And corals as well.
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Leo
Active Member
It was a 120 gallon Tenacor pentagon tank that I eventually had drilled and had a pump built for the bottom. Ironically, it was a similar setup to the Red Sea tanks In that one of the back walls held all of your filtration. Of course I decided to get fancy. Drilled the bottom, had a 20 gallon custom acrylic sump made. Large skimmer, huge pump, chiller, UV, 5 Stage RODI with auto fill straight to the sump with top off. ( life changing I might add). But honestly. I did very few tests considering what I'm now reading. I would just attack the problems as they came on. As I said, lots of dumb luck. But overall I had corals and fish that lasted several years. I would honestly blame the fish store if I brought something home and it died in a week or so If all else was healthy. that was my attitude. Bad attitude no less. I feel right now like a kid again and relearning all I really never learned in the first place. [emoji2]
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I have BOTH test kits also, I've been happy enough using them.
What you want to do is test & write the test results down daily.
You will be able to see the rise & fall of ammonia, then nitrite, before they convert to nitrate. Nitrates are then reduced by your 1st WC (water change). How much WC you do will depend on how high your nitrates climb to.
My 1st go-round was 20years ago & I relied on LFS for doing my testing and didn't learn as much doing that.
Stick around Reef Sanctuary...learn as you go.
This forum is the only reason I have a tank that looks like this:
i
What you want to do is test & write the test results down daily.
You will be able to see the rise & fall of ammonia, then nitrite, before they convert to nitrate. Nitrates are then reduced by your 1st WC (water change). How much WC you do will depend on how high your nitrates climb to.
My 1st go-round was 20years ago & I relied on LFS for doing my testing and didn't learn as much doing that.
Stick around Reef Sanctuary...learn as you go.
This forum is the only reason I have a tank that looks like this:
i
Pat24601
Well-Known Member
hey! it was never an intention to kill the damsels
Oh, I know it wasn't!
I was saying I actually got that advice.
hey! it was never an intention to kill the damsels
Yes, the 66Gal tank seemed like the perfect size for me.
i usually tell anyone who asks, Get as big a tank as you have a perfect place for in the room you want it in. Keeping in mind with tanks over 100gal your WC amount is more than you can mix up easily. I like 10gal WC's that's all I want to do every week.
Do you think you'll be happy with the limits of a 35gal tank?
How many fish do you want?
Pat24601
Well-Known Member
I do really like the size of the RSM 250. Maybe I'd go 90 gallon if I were doing it again, but not larger.
Larger would look gaudy in my room and be a bigger water change than I really want to mess with. A 5 or 10 gallon water change a week is no biggie.
Of course, that is very dependent on the size of your room and your budget. But, if you have the room and the funds (and do keep funds in mind because it matters), I tend to think 250 is an awesome size.
Larger would look gaudy in my room and be a bigger water change than I really want to mess with. A 5 or 10 gallon water change a week is no biggie.
Of course, that is very dependent on the size of your room and your budget. But, if you have the room and the funds (and do keep funds in mind because it matters), I tend to think 250 is an awesome size.
Leo
Active Member
I'm actually rethinking everything as we speak and shopping for a used rs 250 or a tank 50-65 gallons! Ugh I really should have trusted my gut! As I stared into my rock tank, I thought How in the hell am i going to pick these pieces without sacrificing others!! (very attached to my rocks
I'm actually rethinking everything as we speak and shopping for a used rs 250 or a tank 50-65 gallons! Ugh I really should have trusted my gut! As I stared into my rock tank, I thought How in the hell am i going to pick these pieces without sacrificing others!! (very attached to my rocks
Well, it is much better to re-think it now than to set up have to keep what you can't be happy with. Don't be hard on yourself tho...this hobby is just TOO EXCITING to want to wait. I understand your feeling on it!
