cycling tank questions

[jag1979]

How do you cycle your tank?

I put about 200 lbs of live sand and 200 lbs of live rock into my 180. Right now I have just the pumps and heaters running.

should I run the lights? or some of the lights?

should I run the skimmer?

should I run the UV?

should I add a shrimp (grocery store shrimp)

should I add a cheap, hardy fish?

 

[Mr31415]

No don't run the lights since it will cause algae blooms. If you want to keep your coralline going maybe a very short photoperiod?

Skimmer - yes cause there might be some die-off from the LR

UV - dunno

Nope the LR should have enough die-off

Nope for the fish - it is considered cruel.

 

[jag1979]

thanks, how short if very short for the lights? 1 hour a day?

about the skimmer, I thought that the die off induces the cycle, so if I skim it out it seems it would take longer?

 

[Trigeek]

I probably would reommend against the UV for now as you don't want to take out anything in the larval stages (pods etc.). You want this population of the microfauna to explode right now. UV may hinder this. Some of the normal algae blooms will help this.

 

[jag1979]

skimmer yes or no? anyone else have a suggestion?

 

[HowardW]

I would run the skimmer 24/7 throughout the cycle, and would run the lights about 4-6 hrs. per day.

I would also recommend dosing Seachem Stability daily which will help to speed up your cycle, and never let the free ammonia go over 1.0 PPM and do partial water changes when it approaches 1.0

I am assuming this is not bare base rock and real live sand (not the bagged stuff), and you have stuff on the rocks and critters in the sand you want to survive.

 

[Mr31415]

Just remember that if the LR and LS had been cured by the LFS you might never see a cycle. I know I never had one with my tank.

 

[TekCat]

Yes on skimmer! why keep junk in tank, let it be skimmed out.

No on UV. UV kills bacteria, and we need bacteria to grow. Later on, after cycle completes UV may be turned on.

 

[drives300]

Run skimmer right away. I would add a few damsels in about a week when ammonia should be zero.. This way you at least have something to look at. Use the lights about 5 hours a day to start and you should be fine.

 

[jag1979]

thanks a lot. The sand and 70 lbs of the rock is from a tank that was 1.5 yrs old. The rest of the rock is from the LFS. So what happens if I never have a cycle?

I do have critters crawling around already...I even saw a tine (dime sized) star fish trying to get sucked into my overflow! This after 1 day of the tank being set up.

as far as the lighting do you think I should run the whole 990 watts for 5 hours a day now or maybe just the t5's or a mh or two or what?

 

[petoonia]

Its best to introduce lighting gradually. I would start your lighting at an hour a day, and gradually work your way up adding an hour every 4 or 5 days. I started my tank out this way and have never had any problems with algae.

I would skip the damsels, they look cute now but when they get bigger they can become very aggresive. They are very very hard to get out of the tank, without taking out all of your live rock.


Good Luck!!!