dumb 1st cycle question

[smspring]

I've put in a large frozen tiger prawn into my tank to help jump start the initial cycle. How long do I keep it in there? Is it after the ammonia level drops down to zero?

Thanks.

[Floowid]

As soon as you see an ammonia spike, you can take it out.

[lordofthereef]

I would just leave it. No harm in that. Who wants to fish out a rotting shrimp anyway! ;)

[smspring]

Floowid - how high for the ammonia spike? currently it's about .75

lordofthereef - so will it just eventually desintigrate?

Thanks for the responses....

[juicesay]

More like preserved than desintigrate.

Majority of the shrimp and clams I leave in my tank is eaten up by my scavengers.

Afterall, salt is used to preserve :)

[Floowid]

I like to take them out. All you need to do is get some decomposition going. Given the size of some of the grocery shrimp, you end up with a nasty slime covered mess, when all you really meant to do was get a little ammonia in the water. But you can also leave it in, its your call.

.75 is fine, the nitrogen cycle should take over, and it's like a snowball rolling down hill.

[Palting]

I shredded my shrimp(s). I figure the more ammonia, the more bacteria, the better to handle the future fish load.

[tosteetos]

I don't mean to hijack this thread but I am in the same situation, it's my first tank and I am pretty much clueless as to how does the nitrogen cycle takes place - in terms of time frame that is.

My ammonia lvls seem to have been at around .25-.50 throughout the entire first week and a half, I think nitrites and nitrates are showing at 0ppm so far -- if I'm not mistaking the colors, I've never done this before. I have a 90g tank with 100lbs of dead fiji rock (once live, 1 week and a half out of water before I put them in my tank to cycle) and 120lbs of dead (once live) sand ( about 3" sand bed ).

My ammonia lvls have not changed since then, when should I expect to see a change? at least in nitrites/nitrates? I have put 2 jumbo shrimps in a little saucer inside the tank by the way...

Thanks in advance.

[Palting]

Takes about 6 weeks or a little longer, for the first cycle. No need to test, unless you WANT to, for the first 4 weeks.

[robs.mark]

Once your nitrite and ammonia are at zero and your nitrate is stable your cycled, I would probably leave the shrimp in there, the best thing you can do is wait as long possible before adding fish. The more time you wait the more stable the tank will be.. I would test at weekly intervals.