I want to get my tank properly cycled as quick as I can

[Caurimare]

Thank you very much for a helpful solution suggestion. Everyone's input is great, even the negative stuff. Overall I took a risk, I know it wasn't very smart. Chevrons are not easy to come by and juvis online run $250 or more. I was able to get this fish for $100. I hate gambling with an animal but for that price it's worth it if he can stay alive. I have been in the hobby(despite a break while I was in grad school) so I know that here aren't any definites in this hobby. There's no guarantee it will get ich or die. Every tank is uniqueI just want do what I can to keep The fish alive. I never want a fish/coral/invert to die but in this hobby it's inevitable that you will have some loss. It's just making an effort to manage the risk, which I'm not doing a great job in this instance but it is unique and will NOT be something I do regularly.

you will be ok people tend to overthink it ..... honestly just use the bacteria I personaly like turbo start and you should be ok.

 

[Sk8r]

My advice, belated, is now that you've done it,is keep that water fanatically stable (I keep pretty fair parameters in my sig line for convenience) and do NOT add any other fish for 72 days. With good luck, you have a healthy fish, and 72 days of stability in good parameters will give you a good start. After this, qt everything, because you need to protect that fish from some other bringing him a case of ich.

 

[stingeragent]

If you read he said the ammonia was 0 and nitrites were 0 so it only need it nitrate to be 0 then cycle is done.

Edit
he said it was tested never said 0 on ammonia or nitrites, my bad

This is incorrect , when the cycle is complete there will be nitrates. If they are 0, the cycle isn't complete. Nitrates are the byproduct of the cycle of ammonia, and nitrite.

Back on topic, OP, you have way too many CUC already. What do you expect 60 snails /hermits to eat? Diatoms isn't it. That would be a nice size clean up crew for your tank several months from now. They need some algae, detritus to feed on. Also, get your own test kits. Not sure how much you spent to set up a 125 gallon tank, but when did it not occur to you to get test kits? It is of my oppinion your tank wasn't ready. Maybe it will work out for the best, maybe it won't, but getting a sweet deal on a fish to toss into a non established tank is just dumb. If it dies in a week, your out a 100 bucks, and your prize fish is no longer swimming. Also, you clearly aren't doing a QT which is even more foolhardy. Even if your chromis didn't have ich, the tang might, and if so, all your chromis will then have it, and then you gotta pull them all and wait 72 days to the ich to be gone. Just makes no sense IMHO. Clearly too late now, but if it doesn't work out exactly as you think it will, you will at least know why and hopefully not make the same mistake in the future.

 

[azcrazy]

This is incorrect , when the cycle is complete there will be nitrates. If they are 0, the cycle isn't complete. Nitrates are the byproduct of the cycle of ammonia, and nitrite.

When your filtration is ready doesnt rid of nitrates?

Sorry OP last post for me here

 

[stingeragent]

No. Thats what water changes are for or biopellet reactors or vinegar/vodka dosing

 

[CStrickland]

When your filtration is ready doesnt rid of nitrates?

The bacteria can rid the tank of nitrates, but those bacteria take longer to get going if you start from scratch because they are pickier about their environment. Since nitrates don't hurt fish, it's not really necessary to wait until that part of the filtration is ready to start adding animals. Most people are able to keep the tank safe for a CUC and fish by just changing the water to keep nitrates safe. I would say anything under 40ppm is fine for the first additions to a tank. Some of the more delicate critters like anemone, urchin, and some corals are not going to be happy at that level.

This is part of why people say the cycle never really ends, and why we wait a while for the tank to "mature" to add more delicate animals. So you can be "ready" for some things, but not others yet.

 

[mcginnisandrew]

The bacteria can rid the tank of nitrates, but those bacteria take longer to get going if you start from scratch because they are pickier about their environment. Since nitrates don't hurt fish, it's not really necessary to wait until that part of the filtration is ready to start adding animals. Most people are able to keep the tank safe for a CUC and fish by just changing the water to keep nitrates safe. I would say anything under 40ppm is fine for the first additions to a tank. Some of the more delicate critters like anemone, urchin, and some corals are not going to be happy at that level.

This is part of why people say the cycle never really ends, and why we wait a while for the tank to "mature" to add more delicate animals. So you can be "ready" for some things, but not others yet.

Bacteria do not "rid" a tank of nitrates. They can take up nitrates (hence why carbon dosing works) but the nitrates will not be exported from the system until you remove the bacteria. Skimming, water changes, removing macroalgae, etc are all common methods of exporting nutrients such as nitrates or nitrogen containing compounds.

I agree that it is important to wait for a tank to mature (i.e. your parameters are stable and you've nailed down your husbandry routine) before adding delicate animals.

 

[CStrickland]

I'm honestly stunned that you guys are telling new reefers that denitrification is a myth.

So how does a dsb work if it isn't providing a low-oxygen enviro?
Also, why do bioballs and filter socks and floss and canisters raise nitrates if they aren't providing a high oxygen enviro?
Also, if the bacteria mostly populate the rocks and sand, how do they get in the skimmer?
Also, how come when I didn't have a skimmer or algae or dose carbon, my nitrates didn't outpace my 10% changes even though I fed a ton?

The concept that nitrogen is not off-gassed is a weird idea that goes against our basic understanding of tank chemistry. We rely heavily on facultative heterotrophs to manage our nitrate levels and everything from carbon dosing to live rock is based on those assumptions. I think the idea that this has all been a fantasy is interesting, and I would love to hear some empirical support for it. Though I'm not sure whether this thread is the right place for it, maybe we should chat in the reef chemistry forum?

In the meantime, here is some basic info about how tanks use nutrients: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-08/cj/index.php
And a quote from it:

While new aquarists are always taught the importance of nitrifying bacteria in their aquariums, in reef tanks (which tend to have excellent lighting), algal uptake of ammonia is likely happening much faster than nitrification. In situations where gaseous oxygen is depleted, nitrate often is used in lieu of oxygen as a final electron acceptor in a process called denitrification. Nitrate (NO3-) is converted to nitrite (NO2-), then to nitric oxide (NO), then to nitrous oxide (N2O -a small amount of this tends to escape), and eventually to dinitrogen gas (N2) (Davidson et al., 2000). Thus, nitrogen returns to the atmosphere and potentially can be fixed again into combined forms.

 

[mcginnisandrew]

My mistake i thought you were referring to aerobic bacteria! My apologies, how could i forget about denitrification.