Hello All...

[Rep. Day]

Hello Dave ,Welcome to RS. Glad you joined us.. Definetely waite on the clean up crew..Your tank is gonna cycle and alot of the clean up crew wont live through the water changes.. If you are not sure what a cycle is for a fish tank, do a search on here for nitrogen cycle or cycling a tank and you will pull up alot of info.. The water needs to be very stable for the clean up crew. Good luck and keep the questions coming.

I understand the part about it needs to cycle. That will start this week when I add my live rock and from what I am being told on here, a piece of shrimp from the store. (By the way, do I remove the shrimp or let it desolve over time?).

I was more asking about a cleaning crew for after it cycles and before I put in a fish or two...I should have been more clear, sorry. Do I want a few fish in first before cleaners or should they go in first?

thanks again,
dave

 

[goldenmean]

Put the clean up crew (CUC) in after the cycle and before you add your first fish.

 

[Rep. Day]

will do....thanks!

Dave

 

[Frankie]

Hmm. I see a lot of people using dead shrimp from the food store to cycle there tanks. I am not to sold on this method yet. I have fears of dead stuff rotting away in a tank and bringing in contaminates like copper and such in there flesh to a system. I have always used just the live rock like i did this time with fast results or a few damsels. I know a lot of people think this is cruel letting a fish go through this but i have not lost any when i did do this. Also i use damsels to feed my angler fish. Also i like to fish, kill them and eat them.
I would go with the live rock if your not up to tossing a few live fish in. Just my opinion.
also there are some great books out there to help you learn in a step by step process along with using forums. John Tullock has one out that helped me a lot called "Natural Reef Aquariums". Awesome stuff to start with even for a fish only set up.

 

[Craig Manoukian]

Using an old nylon stocking to put the shrimp in eliminates the problem of unwanted detritus. I strongly recommend this over using fish. Damsels can be the least desirable fish as they are super aggressive and if they are determined to be the fish of choice they should be added last on the stocking list. Use 3 or 4 large raw shrimp to ensure a good ammonia spike.

Cheers!

 

[caitrina]

Hi Dave and Welcome to this "addiction." Ditto on the damsels for sure. Not a good fish.

 

[Rep. Day]

Origionally I was going to just use the live rock (before I heard of the shrimp idea) since I am not in a hurry. I am going to add the LR later this week and am actually going to be out of town Aug. 1-9, so I wouldn't be here to deal with life fish anyway. If it will cycle OK with just LR, I will probably do that.

Should I decide to go with putting the shrimp in a stocking, when do I take it out? After a certain period of time or after the levels have all gone back down?

Thanks,
Dave

 

[lcstorc]

Sorry, I apparently confused your post with one from someone who was getting an established system that was being torn down.
If the LR has a lot of die-off then you can just let the rock do the cycle on it's own. Basically you need something dead and rotting that will produce amonia to start the cycle. I would remove the shrimp once the amonia is starting to become trites. Probably a week or maybe two. A lot depends on your LR.
You will want to add your cleanup crew first so they can start doing their jobs and then slowly add fish. Have you decided yet what you are going to keep? This is a great time to make those decisions and haunt the lfs to see what they have and then come home and do research. It gives you something tank related to do while you wait and helps you to have a more balanced system as well.

 

[Craig Manoukian]

It generally takes a month for a tank to cycle - ammonia to nitrites to nitrogen gas.

Add your clean up crew first, then about every month you add a fish least aggressive to the most aggressive. Your tank will experience a mini cycle every time you add bioload and overstocking will lead to unwanted ammonia levels which are toxic to fish. Nitrites are very toxic to invertabrates. Your tank needs time to balance it's bioload with an increasing population of denitrifying bacteria.

Have I said go slow and let it grow?

 

[Rep. Day]

If I have learned nothing else so far, SLOW is a good thing. I didn't realize how important it is, but must be because that is always the advice above almost all other.

I am wanting a community tank, FO. I am not sure what all fish go in that catagory and know I won't be able to have all I want, but ones I like are clowns, damsels, some of the butterflies and angels. Also like things like the banded crab (think that is what it is called, red/white body). I would also like to eventually have a few anemones in the tank. Of course, I would like a yellow tang also but don't know if that will work with the other things I want.

Now a question...another question. Are there any chemicals that I should go ahead and buy in advance (prior to fish that is) to treat the water incase of an "emergency". Is there some common treatments that I should have on hand for more common problems? As was said before, that gives me stuff to do while I am waiting.

Thanks again to all!

Dave

 

[blue_eyes53813]

You shouldnt need any chemicals/treatements. The best spent $ is on salt to do water changes.. Get into a water changing schedule and your tank will do fine.. Most salts have the elements that are needed for a healthy tank... IF and when you start to add corals you may need some supplements but right now you dont.

 

[Rep. Day]

You shouldnt need any chemicals/treatements. The best spent $ is on salt to do water changes.. Get into a water changing schedule and your tank will do fine.. Most salts have the elements that are needed for a healthy tank... IF and when you start to add corals you may need some supplements but right now you dont.

Understood. So, with my 55 gal, how much and how often would you change the water? Also, this tank is in my office on the 3rd floor of the house, the water I will use is on the first floor, is it OK to mix in a 5 gal. bucket (clean of course) and use that to put the new water in? I guess put the water in it, mix in the salt and let warm up. I will take it out of the tank and simply run it out the window.

Dave

 

[Rep. Day]

And another question, can a CUC handle being in the tank when going through cycle or should I wait until it is done?

Dave

 

[BigAl07]

Your water changes will be based on your test results initially. As your params go UP you do a water change to help relieve the issue. Then you get on a schedule. some people do weekly some do every other week. You'll learn you tank and what works best for you.

If you don't test for something don't DOSE/Supplement for it. You run a HIGH risk of doing more harm than good.

Keep in mind that the water coming OUT of your tank is heavily loaded with SALT which will kill grass and other plants. In fact I recover my WC left over and put it in the driveway on un-wanted pesty plants. Not as STRONG as "Round-Up" but after a couple of doses it does the job. Keep that in mind.

Don't put your CUC through a cycle... it's potentially deadly to them and just not very cool. Also the extreme chemical fluctuations are usually hardest on inverts (what your CUC is) and I just wouldn't want to go throught that or put my new found friends through it. The only thing I would put through that is a piece of dead shrimp from the local deli to LAUNCH the cycle.

Allen

 

[Frankie]

A good test kit is something you will need. Also investing in a ro/di unit would be great for the top off of fresh water and mixing salt.

 

[Rep. Day]

Your water changes will be based on your test results initially. As your params go UP you do a water change to help relieve the issue. Then you get on a schedule. some people do weekly some do every other week. You'll learn you tank and what works best for you.

If you don't test for something don't DOSE/Supplement for it. You run a HIGH risk of doing more harm than good.

Keep in mind that the water coming OUT of your tank is heavily loaded with SALT which will kill grass and other plants. In fact I recover my WC left over and put it in the driveway on un-wanted pesty plants. Not as STRONG as "Round-Up" but after a couple of doses it does the job. Keep that in mind.

Don't put your CUC through a cycle... it's potentially deadly to them and just not very cool. Also the extreme chemical fluctuations are usually hardest on inverts (what your CUC is) and I just wouldn't want to go throught that or put my new found friends through it. The only thing I would put through that is a piece of dead shrimp from the local deli to LAUNCH the cycle.

Allen

Thank you. Great advice.

Dave

 

[lcstorc]

Also you may want to re-think the anemones at least short term. They are one of the most difficult animals to keep. They are very light demanding and require near perfect water parameters to live. It is recommended that you let your tank establish for a year before adding them. If however they are on your long term plan you want to be sure not to add anything incompatable now.
It is great that you are spending the time up fron to do the research. I am sure you will have a wonderful tank as a result.

 

[Rep. Day]

Also you may want to re-think the anemones at least short term. They are one of the most difficult animals to keep. They are very light demanding and require near perfect water parameters to live. It is recommended that you let your tank establish for a year before adding them. If however they are on your long term plan you want to be sure not to add anything incompatable now.
It is great that you are spending the time up fron to do the research. I am sure you will have a wonderful tank as a result.

Thank you for that, I really want some but will focus on getting fish to live before that. Thanks!

 

[Rep. Day]

well, the live rock is in and the sand/coral is put in the bottom. VERY cloudy but I am sure that will clear up in a day or two. I have a 55 gal, bought 50lbs rock, figured out I probably need another 20lbs, it still seems kinda empty.

But I am excited, getting it going!

Dave

 

[blue_eyes53813]

Congrats. The water will clear in a few days.