Advice for New Tank Cycling

[sytanek]

Our 45L Tank is approximately 2.5 weeks along, we have 40lbs live sand, 36 lbs live rock, very active with lots of different algae. We also have 2 damsels. Our water levels are reading 0 for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. Our ammonia has not risen at all.


We have 36" Nova Extreme 4x39W T5 HO w/3 Lunar Lights, running 9 hours a day. I cannot remember the model of the wet/dry filter, or the pump we have, but was told they both can handle up to 125 gallons.


Any suggestions?

[casingbill]

i would give it just a couple more days to make sure trates stay at 0 then add a small cleanup crew and get ready for the diatoms

[sytanek]

So the ammonia never spiking isnt a problem? Our PH is running a little bit high, and algae blooms have increased. Thanks for your help!

[reef2]

i would say that with 2 damsels in it for 2.5 weeks then u prolly r not going to see one .maybe it did cycle but it was to low to read it on the tests also if u used cured rock or established rock from another tank chances r u wont have a cycle

[sytanek]

We started with 4 damsels, and lost two due to what we believe was lack of eating, they just wouldn't eat. The rock we purchased wasn't cured, it was fresh just shipped in from fiji(our store is a wholesaler and distributor, so he gets it shipped directly to him). Almost all of our Live Rock, is covered in brown/bubble/hair algae, and reaching quite a bit of cytobacteria.

[sytanek]

Forgot to mention we have a growing number of pods, inhabiting one corner of the tank.

[reef2]

sounds like ur cycled. id add a small cuc and see how they do.the damsels proly were killed by one of the other damsels.my0.02

[sytanek]

Thanks for everyones help! Were pretty sure they died from not eating, my wife is home most of the time, and they never went after the two damsels that died, and they refused to eat the food. They both had kind of slow deaths :(

But thanks for your help, about to get the cleanup crew!

[poppin_fresh]

I dont want to be the bearer of bad news, but those damsels probably died from ammonia. I'm not bashing... I've been there and done that. I've killed a few Chromis from tank cycling, its all part of learning.

Unfortunately, some beginners are given not such good advice from their local fish store (LFS). They should have told you to wait a few weeks before adding fish, but they didn't and thats not good on their part. I'm not saying its a bad store, but they could have done a little better job. Hopefully those damsels dont bully everything you add to the tank later. Do you know what kind they are?

The still living damsels will probably be fine from here on out. As long as you are seeing no more ammonia, most fish will be ok. I agree that you should go ahead and add some snails and a few crabs. I wouldn't add too many, just in case your tank has some kind of swing (which is normal in a new tank).

Bottom line is your willing to ask questions and learn about this hobby. That in itself will help you be sucessful.

[sytanek]

The two that are left are domino damsels, but are trading them in once we are certain that the cycle is complete. We knew that the cycle could be harmful to the fish. I was just trying to explain everything that had occurred in the tank during the cycle. The LFS didnt give us bad advice.

[krafty]

I would suggest that you take the rocks out that have the bubble algae and remove the bubbles. Valonia is the name of that algae and once the bubbles pop (they have spores inside of them) it will spread and get harder to deal with. I have seen tanks with this problem. It begins with thinking they are neat (which they are) and ends with wishing they werent there.

Good luck!

Josh

[dawnskaybug]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8875234#post8875234 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sytanek
The two that are left are domino damsels, but are trading them in once we are certain that the cycle is complete.


How do you plan on catching them??

[kass03]

I agree with it was prolly the ammonia that killed the damsels and the reason they did'nt eat.
Years ago people started fish only tanks with damsels.
When you start with enough live rock and sand like you did it is'nt necessary or even recommended to start with any fish.
The live rock will have die off if it is'nt cured and the tank will cycle from that. If it was from an established tank or cured it won't have a cycle and doesnt have to because there was enough good bacteria in it already to keep up with the tank.
Sometimes it just has a small cycle from a little die off.

I started my nano with rock and sand from my 150 and it never cycled. 2 weeks later I put in coral frags from my other tanks (not recommended for newbs to do).
I did'nt add a fish until about 2-3 months later.

I would do as others suggested and either wait a bit longer to be sure or add a clean up crew and see how they do. I would'nt add any more fish for awhile yet until it gets more stable.
Fish have alot more waste than corals and inverts.

kass

[sytanek]

Is an ammonia level that wouldn't register on a test kit high enough to kill them? We were unable to get a reading of any ammonia at all, which I guess now may be a good thing. Our Nitrates are completely zero, and nitrates are almost 0, so low it will probably be zero in the next couple days. They wouldn't eat from the first day we brought them home, which is why we assumed it was from not eating, but anything is possible.

The rock wasnt cured, so not sure about that.

[sytanek]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8876435#post8876435 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dawnskaybug
How do you plan on catching them??

I noticed you have a 1" octo, he gets along with your fish? I thought they had to be kept solo. Just wondering