Jeremy0322's 55 gallon build

[tbittner]

Wow! You've been busy! Everything looks great! Test results look good too, except for the ammonia but that will disappear as the cycle commences.

[Jeremy0322]

The ammonia actually does not need to go down from what I have read. one tenth of a point is really good, that is what the other tank has in it and that has fish. I will let it go a few more days and then toss a piece of a cocktail shrimp in to help the bacteria take hold. Then the CUC in a week or so hopefully.

[elliottb]

Wow, everything is coming together really well!

The only thing I would change is the position of the fuge light. Make it RIGHT over the plants that will be in there. I experimented with mine (Ihave the same thing you have) and it grows better directly over the plants(cheato).

[Jeremy0322]

Yea, it is definitely not permanent where it is. I just wanted to see the lighting output on the light because the one i had before this one was horrible and wondered if there would be a difference. It was a big improvement. Thank you for all the kind words though guys and girls, and I promise there will be more pictures to come as it progresses.

[Jeremy0322]

Alright, the test results that I actually poster were from Tuesday night, so i tested again tonight(my every other day regiment) and this is what i got.

Temp - 80
Salinity - 1.027(fix it when i fill the tank the rest of the way)
Nitrates - 5
Nitrites - 0
PH - 8.0
Ammonia - 0
Phosphates - 0

What is my next move? I will get the bulbs and pumps that i need this Friday, so the tank will be ready Saturday morning. Are you supposed to jump start the process with something that can be broken down of if you just add one fish will that do the same trick? The reason I ask is because I have a sad little clown in a 10 gallon that has been dying for his new home? Thanks for the help guys.

[Chris3859]

I guess the humane thing to do is the whole uncooked shrimp thing, but live rock doesn't swim very quickly and the sand kinda sits there. I say drip the clown and then don't feed hiim for several days. Then just feed once a day for a while. I would then test at least ammonia and nitrites every day until the tank is cycled. Just my 2 pennies.

[Jeremy0322]

That was kind of what I was thinking, and if something goes horribly wrong I will keep the other tank running so that I can just move him back. I just didnt know if there was a step that I was missing. And more good news, all of my stuff should be delivered today, so I will probably have more pictures up as well as a running system, so there will be pictures of that as well. One question though, how do you get pods to start growing in a fuge because a few months from now I would like to buy a small mandarin. Do you need to seed pods or will they just show up on their own? Thanks for the help!

[Jeremy0322]

Does anyone see a huge problem in just putting nemo in the tank right now? I think that is what I am going to do.

[tbittner]

How would you like to live in a room with a cars exhaust pipe pumping fumes into the air in the room? That's what you would be doing to Nemo if you put in the tank at this point. Sure, it might live, but it won't live anywhere near as long as normal.

[Dentoid]

Looking good! Your fish are going to like that spray bar, they'll get a water massage. It's like those showers where the water comes from all sides

[elliottb]

I agree, dont add the fish yet. I would rather live in a closet for a little longer than a toxic waste dump.

[Jeremy0322]

I am not trying to start an argument, I am just a little why you guys are saying no when all of the levels are great. I would just like the know the reasoning behind it? Thank you for the help

[tbittner]

"I quickly learned that the setup he had was not the greatest. There was no sump, the condition of the rock was relatively bad, and the health of the fish that came with the system looked iffy."

You just set everything up a week ago. Seriously, you should give the rock a minimum of 3 weeks to cycle before fish go in. It's no where near cycled yet. It could take 6 weeks. If you add a fish the tank will REALLY cycle then and it will most likely kill the fish, and at the least, greatly shorten it's life because it will damage it's gills.

I'm not trying to start an argument either and I appologize for my strong statement earlier but that is a good comparision of what it would be like for a fish to try to live in a tank that isn't completely cycled.

At least give it another week and if your levels stay at zero (and nitrates below 20) then it would probably be safe to add the little fellow to the tank. Just be prepared to do massive water changes (50%) if the ammonia or nitrites show anything on your tests.

[Jeremy0322]

I see where the mix up was at. You said the tank has only been up a week, but that was just the date that i started this thread because that was the date that i jeoined this forum. The rock was in a rubber main container from December 20th til about feb 15th, and then went into another one with RO saltwater and a powerhead and did water changes every week for three weeks until march 6th. That was when the sand came in so that was the day the water went in the tank(new water) with the rock and the sand. From there i have been testing the water every 2 days since. So the rock has been cycling for about a month and a half, and in the tank for three weeks as of tomorrow. I would not have even contemplated a move like this at a week old, that would have just been mean. Also, if anything does go bad i will still have the 10 gallon up because my fire shrimp needs somewhere to chill, but if i was going to start adding I was going to go slow. There are even time stamps on some of the pictures from march 7th.

[tbittner]

AHHHH!!!! Ok, I didn't know that so I made a big mistake and assumed. Sorry about that.