5 gallon fishless cycle

[Dimitrios91]

Hi everyone. I joined RC a month or so ago, awesome info center for sure. Alot of knowledge passes through here for sw aquariums. I'm about 6 weeks old as for sw aquariums. I know all about the nitrogen cycle, but it has thrown me for a loop in sw. I tried searching for posts regarding water parameters throughout the internet and can't seem to find the answer to my exact situation, so hopefully someone can help me out here.
I started this 5 gallon tank for the mere fact of trying it out without rock, sand, etc. So it's barebone with a bank hob filter. I dropped a jumbo shrimp in and let it decompose to the point I had no choice to remove it, the smell was awful. My ammonia spiked to 8.0 with ease. After which a couple weeks later the nitrite kicked in. Nitrate was 0 at this time which I expected. Anyways, now I am at week 6 and my nitrite level has been spiked for the past two weeks and nitrate has spiked to about 60. Whew. Okay, so my question would be, what now. Nitrite seems to be stuck in a lull state. Should I add some food so more decomposition happens ? Should I do water changes to drop the levels down. Only thing I have done is topped off with ro/di water since the start which was maybe 4 cups. I keep the temp at 78 degrees and Ph is at 8.2. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks in advance

 

[Michael]

what filtration media have you put into the hob filter?

 

[Dimitrios91]

It's a small nano filter, so it has a small sponge is all. I used to use this aquarium as my quarantine for few, so the filter worked perfectly with it.

 

[Dimitrios91]

It's a small nano filter for up to 7 gal. It has a rectangular sponge which was new at the time I started this small adventure using this filter and aquarium. I used to use it as my fw quarantine tank.

 

[Chaotic Reefer4u]

Please start your water changes now, your very well ready to start the tank up as soon as your parameters are all in compliance. Hope this help's...

 

[Dimitrios91]

Please start your water changes now, your very well ready to start the tank up as soon as your parameters are all in compliance. Hope this help's...

Thank you for the swift reply. What would you suggest for the first water change ? 10% or more ?

 

[Michael]

The sponge won't be adequate IME, I would recommend crushed coral for a hospital or quarentine tank which you can throw away after use, if you intend to use the tank for livestock and a DT, then live rock combined with flow and a skimmer is required, even in a small tank, as for water changes, 10-15% weekly in a small tank is paramount, you could get away with less frequent changes in bigger aquaria.

Mike

 

[Dimitrios91]

The sponge won't be adequate IME, I would recommend crushed coral for a hospital or quarentine tank which you can throw away after use, if you intend to use the tank for livestock and a DT, then live rock combined with flow and a skimmer is required, even in a small tank, as for water changes, 10-15% weekly in a small tank is paramount, you could get away with less frequent changes in bigger aquaria.

Mike

Thanks Michael for the help. Besides water change I'm gonna have to decide which way to go now. Do they make Skimmers that small ? When you mention flow, I'm assuming you mean power head, correct ? Definitely left me with an interesting ponderment now lol. If it were decided to use as a DT, what on earth would live in such a small environment besides a hermit ? I'll do some research on this as well though. I'm up for a good challenge

 

[Agu]

What do you have against live rock and sand ? I'd say you're doomed to failure if you're exclusively depending on a sponge filter.

You don't need a skimmer if you you do regular maintenance. Scooping out a cup of water and adding a cup of water weekly is a lot cheaper and easier than buying and maintaining a skimmer. If things don't look right change two cups of water.

My 5.5 has a yellow tailed damnsel, five LPS, and has been set up for eight years.

 

[Dimitrios91]

What do you have against live rock and sand ? I'd say you're doomed to failure if you're exclusively depending on a sponge filter.

You don't need a skimmer if you you do regular maintenance. Scooping out a cup of water and adding a cup of water weekly is a lot cheaper and easier than buying and maintaining a skimmer. If things don't look right change two cups of water.

My 5.5 has a yellow tailed damnsel, five LPS, and has been set up for eight years.

Hi Aqu, thanks for responding. Your tank sounds really cool.
I have nothing against LR or sand lol. The nano hang-on was merely for keeping the water moving and I kinda hoped it would add a bit of mechanical filtering as well. I merely didn't have the means to worry about it for the initial N cycle. Now of course, I think it would be a great idea to add some small LR pieces and live sand. I did a 1/2 water change and that dropped the levels pretty signifcantly, approx. half the original parameters I added earlier. I can add cured LR and Nature's Ocean LS to wipe the rest of the Nitrite lvl.
What do you use for the circulation in yours ? Would I need a powerhead that adjusts down so it's not to powerful ? I figured the skimmer was a bit of an overkill, much easier to remove and add water as needed, not like I need gallons for this project.

 

[Michael]

personally I would always use a skimmer even in tiny aquaria, it will give the tank oxygen and flow, however I do totally understand that small aquaria does not need a skimmer if regular water changes are undertaken, a few soft corals and a small clown or goby plus a couple of crabs or snails would fair well in small aquaria if your husbandry skills was routine and regular.

Mike

 

[Dimitrios91]

personally I would always use a skimmer even in tiny aquaria, it will give the tank oxygen and flow, however I do totally understand that small aquaria does not need a skimmer if regular water changes are undertaken, a few soft corals and a small clown or goby plus a couple of crabs or snails would fair well in small aquaria if your husbandry skills was routine and regular.

Mike

I like the Skimmer idea, I'm just seeing alot of bad reviews on the small ones. Any advice on a Skimmer brand and size ? I like your idea with the softies and fish. Seems good. I already have two clown fish in my 55g. Would it get to big for a 5g ?