Need help with game plan

[Aceaviator182]

Hello all,

I have a biocube 29 and have had a dead raw shrimp in the tank for a week and a half now. Tank parameters are as follows:

• Ammonia: 0ppm
• Nitrite: 5ppm
• Nitrate: ~60ppm

I have about 25 pounds of live sand and 20 pounds of real reef live rock.

I think i'm nearing the end of the cycle but i'm not sure what my game plan should be. I have not had any algae blooms yet but the tank is full of Copepods swimming around and on the glass.

Would a CUC be a good plan to start thinking about? And if so when should I add them and what should the CUC consist of? Also, when should I remove the shrimp?

Thanks in advance!

 

[DavidGraves]

Did you measure an ammonia spike? If so wait for nitrite to reach zero then add a CUC.

Nitrate will read false high in the presence of nitrites.

With my BC29 I added 1 trochus, 1 mexican turbo, and 1 nassarius. They have been keeping the tank spotless for a month. I will add more as needed to combat outbreaks. The pre picked crews sold online seemed like such overkill.

I never removed the shrimp. Once the snails found it it was gone shortly after.

 

[Aceaviator182]

Yes, the ammonia spiked to around 5 or 6 ppm last Friday before I left for the weekend. Will the CUC have enough to eat in the tank?

 

[DrewHaus]

I would wait until the nitrite hits 0 before adding anything. As far as clean up crew for a BC29 goes, you could start with a few different types of snails. I like mexican turbos, nassarius, and astraea's (these guys fall over all the time and can't right themeselves). I'm not big on hermits. Start slowly with the CUC (maybe 1x of each), if there is no food for them, they will starve.

 

[Aceaviator182]

I would wait until the nitrite hits 0 before adding anything. As far as clean up crew for a BC29 goes, you could start with a few different types of snails. I like mexican turbos, nassarius, and astraea's (these guys fall over all the time and can't right themeselves). I'm not big on hermits. Start slowly with the CUC (maybe 1x of each), if there is no food for them, they will starve.

So if my tank is light on algae would fish flakes do the trick to keep them fed?

 

[DrewHaus]

Astraea and Turbos aren't flake eaters (maybe algae based, but typical reef flakes will probably be ignored). You can add in some dried seaweed if there isn't much algae.

 

[scooter31707]

I agree. Take a piece Nori and rubberband it to a small piece of rock and they will eat off that.

 

[Aceaviator182]

I agree. Take a piece Nori and rubberband it to a small piece of rock and they will eat off that.

Would this stuff work?

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+7927+7932+5026&pcatid=5026

 

[scooter31707]

Yep, that's it.