Tank cycled; can I let it sit a few days b4 adding a fish/cuc?

[Dcon912]

Hi all,
Recently set up my first SW tank. It's a 30g with 45lbs of Live Aquaria premium Fiji LR, real nice stuff once you clean it a bit. Anyway as of yesterday I'm cycled. Ammonia-0 Nitrite-0, did a water change/sucked debris off bottom. I know I should be quarantining, but I'm not for this tank, or at least for the first fish or two. The situation is:
I don't have time before work today to allow for a proper acclimation time. And I won't have time tomorrow also because of work. Monday is the earliest I can add a fish plus some of my CUC. How long before I start having more die off? What can I do to keep the tank cycled? Thanks for any advice.

[mbell09]

as soon as you add life the bioload increases and then you will get a mini-cycle then stabilize you can wait to add fish a good cleanup crew needs something to eat when you put them in there anyways hows the diatom bloom going ? brownish algea looking stuff

[pimpinitup6969]

you can wait to add fish. i personally would add one or 2 fish and then wait awhile before adding anymore. you could also add the cuc whenever

[Sisterlimonpot]

<img src="/images/welcome.gif" width="500" height="62"><br><b><i><big><big>To Reef Central</b></i></big></big>
+1 with pimpinitup6969. couple days is fine

[macchicks]

You can wait 2 days you can wait a month. To keep some sort of bioload in there sprinkle a teeny-tiny amount of fishfood once or twice a week.

[BlastoEric1589]

the longer you wait the more stable the system becomes before adding any bioload into it.

i waited 3 weeks after cycle and added fish slowly.

just remember to take it slow.

[username in use]

slow sucks, and it feels like forever, but it works. and in the end youll have a better tank because you took your time.

[camaro5026spd]

in this hobby i have learned having patience and going slow is what it takes. trying to rush things only leaves you with frustration and more money wasted. if you think you are ready for fish start with some damsels or someting. you can get most damsels for around 5 bucks and they are pretty hardy and once you throw them in will only help your tank out. i would acclimate all fish though and since you have no fish now there really is no point to quarantine them. just in the future i would set up a quarantine to protect any valuable fish you might get

[LockeOak]

One thing I learned the hard way: don't buy a full-sized CUC all at once. It's too likely that you'll overshoot the amount you need and a large portion of snails, crabs etc. will starve. Buy them in stages and gradually ramp up until they're keeping up with the algae/waste buildup.

I recommend just getting a small crew to start with with no fish. A lot of the hermits and snails are actually pretty interesting to watch all by themselves. Enjoy that part of setting up a tank before moving on to the fish.

[Michael]

id stick 4-6 snails in your 29 gal at the mo, and theres no rush to add anything else if your prepared to wait, when you do start adding fish and inverts then you may need to add a few more snails as well, welcome to the forum Dcon

[welcome]

[turretdr]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14808528#post14808528 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by camaro5026spd
in this hobby i have learned having patience and going slow is what it takes. trying to rush things only leaves you with frustration and more money wasted. if you think you are ready for fish start with some damsels or someting. you can get most damsels for around 5 bucks and they are pretty hardy and once you throw them in will only help your tank out. i would acclimate all fish though and since you have no fish now there really is no point to quarantine them. just in the future i would set up a quarantine to protect any valuable fish you might get


Don't start with damsels, unless it is something that you want to keep permanently. It is ridiculous to add an animal that you may not want to your tank. It is also additional unnecessary stress to the fish if you remove it later.
No point in QTing if its the first fish????? The QT process is to avoid bringing anything that the fish may have into your tank, it doesn't matter if there are other fish in the tank or not, it's a matter of checking for disease and/or infections.

[Brooxe]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14805576#post14805576 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mbell09
as soon as you add life the bioload increases and then you will get a mini-cycle then stabilize you can wait to add fish a good cleanup crew needs something to eat when you put them in there anyways hows the diatom bloom going ? brownish algea looking stuff

What is the "diatom bloom" My new tank is cycling and I am beginning to see the brownish algea looking stuff on top of my sand. Should I syphin this stuff off? I also noticed these very small looking worms that have attached themselves to my front glass just hanging in the current. Anyone know what they are?

[Sisterlimonpot]

Brooxe

The diatoms are part of the new tank cycle it will disappear as fast as it appeared. the worms on your glass could be any one of many. post a pic to help identify what it is.

[Dcon912]

Ok so it's now Sun...Monday morning rather. I think I will go ahead and add about 5 snails (type?) and maybe a hermit later on today. Another concern of mine is:

Suctioned up as much debris (detritus?) from around the rocks, but as I refilled the tank much from under the rock is now visible. I mean should I move/remove the rock for a bit and get it all?

Also are there any negatives towards going bare bottom? Besides the fact that it is visually more appealing with sand. I'd really like to have sand (interested in keeping a yellow watchman/pistol shrimp pair) but being as it is such a short tank, 12" high, I'd rather not lose say 3" to sand, and 3" of my LR.

Just to give you an idea of what I'd like to stock:
Definitely 1 ocellaris clown and 1 purple psedochromis
I'd like 1 watchman goby; would really like either flame/cherub/coral beauty angel. Any comments on the angel or stocking in general?
Suggestions if I don't get the goby?

Anyway again thanks for the replies, any new comments/suggestions much appreciated.


edit: Since I just remembered, for my skimmer I'm planning on getting an AquaC Remora, theres just so many different ones. Which one do you think would be best for my tank, and is there a good place to order from? Have ordered a lot off of DrsFS but they don't carry the AquaC. When is the best time to start skimming?