Once you add fish to a cycled tank you will be fine, they will have waste & you will be feeding them. If you want to wait longer, just add another deli shrimp - when you add a cuc, it will be gone over night
One more good read...
http://reefsanctuary.com/forum/index.php?threads/the-mature-aquarium.29836/
leebca:
The Mature Aquarium
One of the most common errors new aquarists make is to try and rush their tank in order to stock it. It's understandable. Often the purchase of a marine aquarium is a more or less spontaneous or impulsive event and the newbie wants instant fish swimming merrily around. This, however isn't Nature's way. The whole starting up process of a marine aquarium is dependent upon Nature, and Nature has its own time schedule.
Rushing the process can produce sick livestock, stressed livestock, injured livestock and aquarium crashes, together with outbreaks of a variety of nuisance microbes and algae.
A normal sequence of events, and what is happening, goes something like this:
1. Tank and equipment is up and running for first time.
Some time must pass for everything to run and settle in to its life-long pattern. The aquarist has to be sure that the lights are on/off when wanted, the pumps are doing their job, flow rate is suitable for the livestock, no leaks in the system, and any final 'junk' finds it way to the filtration process. Aquarist would do well to begin maintenance routine (water changes, etc.) during this time.
2. With live rock for nitrification, the aquarium must show good water quality.
No livestock (other than what comes with the live rock) should be put into the aquarium until ammonia and nitrite levels show zero. Adding frozen foods to the tank in small quantities starts the organic cycle. Not only will a large variety of microbes come and go in the next few months, but they will wax and wane in numbers. DO NOT CONTINUE TO 3. until ALL ammonia and nitrite readings are zero "0." (That is not NEAR ZERO, but ZERO).
3. Clean up crew introduction
Some of the hardy clean-up crew members are to be introduced and fed. Just snails (herbivores and carnivores) to start. More food is introduced into the aquarium now. Bacteria are getting a good foot hold. Brown algae and nuisance growth may be apparent. Aquarist keeps removing it and continues with good and diligent maintenance. Aquarist now tests for all important water chemistry parameters according to the livestock wanted. The aquarist practices making adjustments to alkalinity, calcium, magnesium, pH, salinity, and temperature.
4. Introduction of more sensitive invertebrates
Now can come shrimp, larger snails (e.g., conch), hardy brittle stars, and selected crabs. Feed them well. (No hermit crabs ever)! The tank shows signs of a thriving pod population. They seem to be everywhere.
5. Nuisance 'algae' and microbes seem to settle into a small population.
The tank is getting older. The microbes are not shifting in kinds and in numbers as often as they were before. Pollutants are finding their way out of the system or being processed by organisms in the system, at nearly the rate they are being introduced. Delicate brittle stars and additional hardy non-fish livestock may be added, if desired.
6. Hardy fish livestock is introduced, after its quarantine.
This is now a challenging time. The aquarist has waited a long time for this. This is the time the aquarist's patience will be truly tested. The introduction of fish should be as they come out of a 6-week quarantine. That means one fish every 6 weeks can be added to the aquarium. Hardy non-fish reef livestock can be slowly added at a faster rate.
7. Aquarium has maturity.
No (or very little) signs of nuisance microbes or algae. Water quality is stable and where it should be. For larger aquariums, larger clean up crew members may be added (e.g., starfish, cucumber, etc.). The frequency of testing the water for chemistry can be relaxed since now the aquarist knows what changes normally occur. The aquarium and aquarist are 'seasoned.' The aquarist needs to make decisions about any additional equipment needs. Is a calcium reactor going to be needed to keep up with those additions? Is a phosphate removal system needed? Are the water changes good enough?
8. More sensitive fishes
At this point in time, the mature aquarium is ready for more sensitive fishes like the large Angelfish, Butterflyfishes, more sensitive Tangs, etc.
What kind of time is needed?
1. Two to three weeks.
2. Variable from two weeks to two months.
3. Two months.
4. One month.
6. Four months.
7. Two months.
8. Ongoing.
NOTE: The progress stops at any time ammonia and/or nitrites are detected. After these return to 0 (zero) readings for two to three weeks, the progress may continue.
Before the first hardy fish is put into the aquarium, the aquarium should be no less than 3-4 months old -- or at least 3 months past the time the water quality showed no ammonia or nitrites. Hardy fishes and invertebrates may be introduced for the next four to six months and then after that, the more sensitive fishes.
The aquarist can hasten the second step (2.) by seeding with bacteria or choosing live rock that is aged and not decaying, and choosing to stock the aquarium with 'living substrate' but these don't always work, or may not work well. Frankly, I don't see the value in these kinds of products.
It takes time for an aquarium to mature. Maturity is basically when the tank no longer has shifts of bio-matter wastes, but they tend to remain level with the exporting of them (e.g., water changes, macro algae growth, etc.) and the action of microbes processing organics (not just the nitrification bacteria).
So much emphasis is placed on getting the tank to the point where there is no ammonia and nitrite detected by test kits, that it is forgotten that there are hundreds of other types of microbes that need time to also settle in to the routine of the aquarium. These microbes don't start their job until the tank is up and running, and can't settle in until the nutrients in the water come to a sort of equilibrium with the things removing or using them. This is Nature's way and Nature's time frame. If the aquarist wants great success and minimum frustration, time and patience is needed.
One more good read...
http://reefsanctuary.com/forum/index.php?threads/the-mature-aquarium.29836/
leebca:
The Mature Aquarium
One of the most common errors new aquarists make is to try and rush their tank in order to stock it. It's understandable. Often the purchase of a marine aquarium is a more or less spontaneous or impulsive event and the newbie wants instant fish swimming merrily around. This, however isn't Nature's way. The whole starting up process of a marine aquarium is dependent upon Nature, and Nature has its own time schedule.
Rushing the process can produce sick livestock, stressed livestock, injured livestock and aquarium crashes, together with outbreaks of a variety of nuisance microbes and algae.
A normal sequence of events, and what is happening, goes something like this:
1. Tank and equipment is up and running for first time.
Some time must pass for everything to run and settle in to its life-long pattern. The aquarist has to be sure that the lights are on/off when wanted, the pumps are doing their job, flow rate is suitable for the livestock, no leaks in the system, and any final 'junk' finds it way to the filtration process. Aquarist would do well to begin maintenance routine (water changes, etc.) during this time.
2. With live rock for nitrification, the aquarium must show good water quality.
No livestock (other than what comes with the live rock) should be put into the aquarium until ammonia and nitrite levels show zero. Adding frozen foods to the tank in small quantities starts the organic cycle. Not only will a large variety of microbes come and go in the next few months, but they will wax and wane in numbers. DO NOT CONTINUE TO 3. until ALL ammonia and nitrite readings are zero "0." (That is not NEAR ZERO, but ZERO).
3. Clean up crew introduction
Some of the hardy clean-up crew members are to be introduced and fed. Just snails (herbivores and carnivores) to start. More food is introduced into the aquarium now. Bacteria are getting a good foot hold. Brown algae and nuisance growth may be apparent. Aquarist keeps removing it and continues with good and diligent maintenance. Aquarist now tests for all important water chemistry parameters according to the livestock wanted. The aquarist practices making adjustments to alkalinity, calcium, magnesium, pH, salinity, and temperature.
4. Introduction of more sensitive invertebrates
Now can come shrimp, larger snails (e.g., conch), hardy brittle stars, and selected crabs. Feed them well. (No hermit crabs ever)! The tank shows signs of a thriving pod population. They seem to be everywhere.
5. Nuisance 'algae' and microbes seem to settle into a small population.
The tank is getting older. The microbes are not shifting in kinds and in numbers as often as they were before. Pollutants are finding their way out of the system or being processed by organisms in the system, at nearly the rate they are being introduced. Delicate brittle stars and additional hardy non-fish livestock may be added, if desired.
6. Hardy fish livestock is introduced, after its quarantine.
This is now a challenging time. The aquarist has waited a long time for this. This is the time the aquarist's patience will be truly tested. The introduction of fish should be as they come out of a 6-week quarantine. That means one fish every 6 weeks can be added to the aquarium. Hardy non-fish reef livestock can be slowly added at a faster rate.
7. Aquarium has maturity.
No (or very little) signs of nuisance microbes or algae. Water quality is stable and where it should be. For larger aquariums, larger clean up crew members may be added (e.g., starfish, cucumber, etc.). The frequency of testing the water for chemistry can be relaxed since now the aquarist knows what changes normally occur. The aquarium and aquarist are 'seasoned.' The aquarist needs to make decisions about any additional equipment needs. Is a calcium reactor going to be needed to keep up with those additions? Is a phosphate removal system needed? Are the water changes good enough?
8. More sensitive fishes
At this point in time, the mature aquarium is ready for more sensitive fishes like the large Angelfish, Butterflyfishes, more sensitive Tangs, etc.
What kind of time is needed?
1. Two to three weeks.
2. Variable from two weeks to two months.
3. Two months.
4. One month.
6. Four months.
7. Two months.
8. Ongoing.
NOTE: The progress stops at any time ammonia and/or nitrites are detected. After these return to 0 (zero) readings for two to three weeks, the progress may continue.
Before the first hardy fish is put into the aquarium, the aquarium should be no less than 3-4 months old -- or at least 3 months past the time the water quality showed no ammonia or nitrites. Hardy fishes and invertebrates may be introduced for the next four to six months and then after that, the more sensitive fishes.
The aquarist can hasten the second step (2.) by seeding with bacteria or choosing live rock that is aged and not decaying, and choosing to stock the aquarium with 'living substrate' but these don't always work, or may not work well. Frankly, I don't see the value in these kinds of products.
It takes time for an aquarium to mature. Maturity is basically when the tank no longer has shifts of bio-matter wastes, but they tend to remain level with the exporting of them (e.g., water changes, macro algae growth, etc.) and the action of microbes processing organics (not just the nitrification bacteria).
So much emphasis is placed on getting the tank to the point where there is no ammonia and nitrite detected by test kits, that it is forgotten that there are hundreds of other types of microbes that need time to also settle in to the routine of the aquarium. These microbes don't start their job until the tank is up and running, and can't settle in until the nutrients in the water come to a sort of equilibrium with the things removing or using them. This is Nature's way and Nature's time frame. If the aquarist wants great success and minimum frustration, time and patience is needed.
