Hai guise,
Just wanted to say whats up to you all. I just picked up a nice 37 gal aquarium that I plan on making into a reef (bought it Sunday night 12/7). I have found tons of great information here and wanted to thank you guys for putting together those extensive write ups on how all the cycling and everything works.
I do have a few questions:
1)I see many of you recommending throwing in some deli shrimp to give the tank cycle a jump start. How many shrimp? how big should the shrimp be? how long should i leave them in there for (until fully decomposed?)? is it a must to put the shrimp into a bag while in the tank?
I went to the fresh market today and picked up 2 huge deli shrimp...i just want to make sure im not overdoing it. Just as an idea, the 2 shrimp are about 3 to 3 1/2" long each and are pretty bulky (they were the biggest the store had).
2)I bought about 65LBS of rock, some live, some base. Does the cycling of the tank correlate directly with the curing of the rock? or is that totally separate? Just want to make sure that if my ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels are good to support animals that my rock will also be good to go.
I'm sure I'll have a ton more questions because this is my first aquarium and I want to make sure I do it right the first time. I will also post the aquarium specs and some pics when I get out of work =)
thanks!
-Jason
Just wanted to say whats up to you all. I just picked up a nice 37 gal aquarium that I plan on making into a reef (bought it Sunday night 12/7). I have found tons of great information here and wanted to thank you guys for putting together those extensive write ups on how all the cycling and everything works.
I do have a few questions:
1)I see many of you recommending throwing in some deli shrimp to give the tank cycle a jump start. How many shrimp? how big should the shrimp be? how long should i leave them in there for (until fully decomposed?)? is it a must to put the shrimp into a bag while in the tank?
I went to the fresh market today and picked up 2 huge deli shrimp...i just want to make sure im not overdoing it. Just as an idea, the 2 shrimp are about 3 to 3 1/2" long each and are pretty bulky (they were the biggest the store had).
2)I bought about 65LBS of rock, some live, some base. Does the cycling of the tank correlate directly with the curing of the rock? or is that totally separate? Just want to make sure that if my ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels are good to support animals that my rock will also be good to go.
I'm sure I'll have a ton more questions because this is my first aquarium and I want to make sure I do it right the first time. I will also post the aquarium specs and some pics when I get out of work =)
thanks!
-Jason
), grandmother, whom ever! Put the shrimp in and tie a knot at each end.
Cured rock has already been through a "cycling" process, but if you introduce enough to the tank it will probably still spark a cycle. Essentially, the cycle is sparked by something dying. Transporting live rock, exposing it to air, etc, will all generate some die off. To be certain you will get the cycle, you can add the shrimp (I'd probably only add one). Make sure you've invested in a decent test kit, so you can track the progress.
