New tank cycle

[FRANKENSTIEN]

I started my 75 gallon tank with 130 pounds live rock that i recieved from my LFS that was still in box just recieved from airport prem fiji and 60 pounds of live sand in the bag carb sea i think. I did scrub off all my live rock with a toothbrush the dead stuff my ammonia, nitrite and nitrates all spiked high during first week and the last 3 days ammonia is at .25, nitrites at 1.0, and nitrates at 40 so i went ahead and dusted off the brown diatom stuff with my hand and did a 20 gallon water change cleaning up all the debri my new readings ammonia .25, nitrite .5, and nitrates at 20 my question is should i go ahead and add some snails and crabs now and is my cycle over thanks

 

[HanoverFist]

Nitrate test kits can also read nitrites to some extent (no idea the details). So the presence of nitrates in a test isn't an indicator for cycling. Just keep waiting until ammonia and nitrites are 0. Ammonia can be toxic even in small amounts so you don't want to expose anything to it. If it dies it will just add more ammonia and make the problem worse anyways.

The diatoms are a good sign though.

Just be patient. The last week or so of my cycle was torture. But then it was obvious it was done and I was glad I'd waited it out.

 

[muttley000]

Wait until Nitrites and Ammonia read zero! Use the time to read and finzalize your plans for the tank

 

[bluezx636]

Once everything hit zero how long would you wait to put fish in right away or wait a week or two to be safe?

 

[FRANKENSTIEN]

My plan is to add as soon as they hit zero then.
thanks for the advice will try to wait

 

[James404]

When everything hits 0 you can start to SLOWLY add livestock. If you add too much, too quick you will overload what your nitrifying bacteria can handle and your tank will crash.

 

[FRANKENSTIEN]

yes for sure i will start with clean up crew, anemone, couple fish, coarl then rest of fish,waiting prob a month between each couple things i add making sure to check water before adding more

 

[cm11599ps]

No anemone right now. Wait at least 6 months to add one. They need to be added to a tank that has been established for a few months.

 

[meco65]

This is how I would do it. When all is at 0, add the clean up crew, in a week if all is OK add one fish, wait a week or two, then add another fish and so on. Also I would wait a few months on the Anemone as new tanks tend to have mini cycles that we don't even see. The cycle process is continual, it fluctuates with Bio-Load, so you need to build it a little at a time and wait till the filter catches up and is more stable for corals. JMO.

 

[FRANKENSTIEN]

why is that should i go ahead and add my clean crew then couple fish by that time it will be close to six months

 

[FRANKENSTIEN]

ok that sounds good

 

[meco65]

If you add to much to fast the bio-filter wont be able to keep up and the tank may go back into a cycle again and can kill the fish. Look up new tank syndrome.
http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/waterquality/a/aa051799.htm

http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/filtration/l/blbac_bioloadch.htm

 

[spieszak]

why is that should i go ahead and add my clean crew then couple fish by that time it will be close to six months

If your asking why to wait on the Anemone, its because they are much more sensitive to tank fluctuations, which you are naturally going to have when getting started, plus you will have a "mini-cycle" with each new fish addition as your tank catches up to the bio-load.

 

[FRANKENSTIEN]

ok thanks but with so much live rock wont the bioload become very large fast

 

[spieszak]

The good bacteria balances your tank, and grows and shrinks with that balance. It can't outgrow what it "eats", so you lose it when it doesn't have enough, and it will catch up when it has more than enough, but this happens slowly... adding too much at once can kill what you already have.. its all about balance... the LR will give you good and bad, and that needs to settle. The slow additions give your tank time to handle the new.
Lets say for example your body can handle eating 10 pounds of raw potatoes in day. (exaggerated) If you eat them all at 9am, how you going to feel for the rest of the day? If you eat them in pieces over 12 hours.. you'll be fine.

 

[FRANKENSTIEN]

ok yeah i get the picture thanks spieszak

 

[FRANKENSTIEN]

NEW question why would my water start getting cloudy all of a sudden

 

[FRANKENSTIEN]

help

 

[James404]

what color cloudy is it? green...white...etc...

Green could be algal/phyto bloom

White could be bacterial or possibly calcium precip.

 

[FRANKENSTIEN]

its kinda white i have put 2 little doses of calcium in my tank since it has been up 2 weeks maybe it is calcium precip should i do a little water change or let it go