should i add a clean up crew

[rcranf1]

i believe my tank has cycled now its been going since oct 16th, am and trites went as high as 1.0 and trates at 20, i tested the water tonight and am and trites are at 0 and trates are at 20 and ph is 8.0, the current readings have been this way since 28 OCT. I used 80lbs of live sand and 10 live rock and 70 lbs of base rock to cycle this tank. I have not seen a diatom bloom at all. Should I add a clean up crew? im not sure if i should as there is nothing in the tank that I see for them to graze on. my sig contains info on my tank.

 

[zmckenzie]

Nitrites and Nitrates should be at zero. If your base rock was dry rock then cycling takes a little longer imo. You just need to remember bio 101 and the nitrogen cycle. As organics are broken down it creates ammonia. Bacteria brakes down the ammonia which then becomes Nitrites. A different bacteria brakes down the nitrites into nitrates. I can’t recall the exact bacteria names. I would say you are still in your cycle but if you start to have a algae problem feel free to add CUC. They can make it through a lot but I would still wait a while to add fish or coral.

 

[89Foxbody]

Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter are the names of the bacteria.

Nitrate doesn't have to be at 0 for fish to live in. 0 would be ideal obviously but if you have absolutely zero nitrate then you probably don't have a biological filter either...

If your ammonia and nitrite are both 0, and your nitrate doesn't get any higher than 20, you'd be fine to add a CUC, but if you don't have algae in the tank for them to eat, then what sustains them?

 

[rcranf1]

Nitrites and Nitrates should be at zero. If your base rock was dry rock then cycling takes a little longer imo. You just need to remember bio 101 and the nitrogen cycle. As organics are broken down it creates ammonia. Bacteria brakes down the ammonia which then becomes Nitrites. A different bacteria brakes down the nitrites into nitrates. I can't recall the exact bacteria names. I would say you are still in your cycle but if you start to have a algae problem feel free to add CUC. They can make it through a lot but I would still wait a while to add fish or coral.

my trates have been at 20 since the start i believe because i used tap water to start the tank

 

[89Foxbody]

If your tapwater is high in nitrate (20 i would consider high for just straight tapwater) consider an RO/DI unit...If it has nitrate its possible that it contains phosphate as well which will inhibit stony coral growth as well as provide nutrient to nuisance algae.

 

[rcranf1]

so should i add the cuc?

any thoughts or suggestions

 

[zmckenzie]

I wouldn't add the CUC untill you need it. At least that is what I did.

 

[rcranf1]

I wouldn't add the CUC untill you need it. At least that is what I did.

thats what i was thinking but i wasnt sure

 

[scubasteve06]

I'd say that you could, but as another said what would they be sustained on? I'd wait until you start to see some type of diatoms or other algae bloom. Then again I'm sure others will say that it would be better to get a jump start on it because it will happen sooner or later. Maybe start very small and work your way up as it progresses.