Is it too soon

C

Chi Town Reefer

Member
Well I have had my tank up and running for about 5 days now. 240 gallon tank, 75 gallon sump, 400 lbs of Marco rock, 440 lbs of sand. Temp is at 79.0, PH is at 8.09. Seeing that the rock and sand that I put in it was not live is it too soon to put in a few fish?


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Have you been charting your cycle? Ammonia, nitrate, nitrite levels. 5 days is really quick to add a fish. If the rock and sand were not alive I think you need to let beneficial bacteria build up. Did you drop in a deli shrimp to set off your cycle? Did you use any bacterial additives?
 
Well from the first three post I guess I'm not ready. It's been 7 years since I had my last tank and I have forgotten a lot since then. I will take more readings as soon as I get off work.
 
Unless you have thrown in food, deli shrimp, or dosed straight ammonia you haven't started the cycle. Take your time to cycle the tank, which can take a month or two since you started wih all dead rock and sand.

In the mean time I suggest you look at setting up a QT tank and QT the first planned additions to the tank. This step is VERY important with this hobby.
 
The tank looks great! I agree with Ambition about the QT, I wish LFS would almost require QT's when they sell setups.. but this is no perfect world :D Good luck with your tank, you should throw some pics up here in a few months!
 
Ambition is right on about a QT. Since you started your tank with all dead rock and all dead sand you have a unique opportunity to add only what you want to the tank. If I had started a tank that way I would QT everything including coral. You have the potential to have no pests, parasites or disease.
 
Nice looking tank, but if I was you I would work on the rock scape a bit so it has some open areas to allow more swimming room and allow more room for coral grow out and a more natural look. It is really up to you though, there is nothing wrong with what you have. Here is the 220 I just bought.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1367345532.939960.jpg
 
That is a slick looking setup. But yes, I agree with the others. Take your time. I would wait at least 2 weeks, and then start SLOWLY adding fish. I mean one small fish every 2 weeks or so. I am only recommending this because you have a pretty big tank and large water volume so you can probably get away with adding one small fish at a time to an uncycled tank because there is so much water to dilute any ammonia. Starting with dry rock and sand like you did means right now there is no biofilter in the tank... so any waste will turn straight into ammonia.

In the mean time, play around with the rockwork a little to keep you busy.... I'm sure you can come up with something better than a wall along the back of the tank! :p:D
 
Now throw in a deli shrimp to start a cycle. If you add fish now their waste will turn into Ammonia due to the lack of nitrifying bacteria. Allow your system to cycle and break down the shrimp so the beneficial bacteria can colonize the tank.
 
Since you started with dead rock it may take several weeks to cycle. You will need to be testing ammonia nitrate and nitrite to watch for the spikes. There are threads that explain what the cycle looks like, I wish I could link them for you, but I am on my phone. You can get some bacteria cultures like Dr Tim's to make it happen quicker, but just waiting is fine too.
 
I want to start with thats a badass setup man but if i were you I would take some on that rock out of the display and put it in your sump (but that is definitely your choice) and also whats the rush man you seem a little too eager. Take a breath relax let the cycle run correctly and like you said you've been out of the game for awhile so take this month or so while your tank is cycling and research research research and get back up to speed on the hobby. Good luck on the tank and keep us posting I would love to see how great it turns out:fish1:
 
Dr. Tim's need fish in order to work. It even says it on the label. I would suggest waiting a couple of more weeks on your cycle. When you add your first small fish, add Dr. Tim's as well. Good luck and keep us posted.
 
jBugg said:
Dr. Tim's need fish in order to work. It even says it on the label. I would suggest waiting a couple of more weeks on your cycle. When you add your first small fish, add Dr. Tim's as well. Good luck and keep us posted.
Click to expand...

No, it just needs an ammonia source. A shrimp or regular doses of ammonium chloride work.
 
Do you think I should add more than three large dead shrimp in the tank, I am still not seeing any rise in ammonia from 0 after two days.
 
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