should I add something to start cycle?

[AmberKG]

HI all,
I got a 30G from my brother last week, he also gave me some nice live rock and about 10 g of "used" water ( from his established 180g) , I bought a few more live rocks from the LFS and also bought live sand (about 1 finger, not deep) I have since been testing my water daily (Ph, saline, Nitrates, Nitrites, and temp) everything looks perfect. I have feather dusters and mushrooms and brittle stars(at least 5!) as the only hitchhikers (so far!) and they are all doing really good. Also 2 mussels on one of the rocks, they open a little in the day and close at night, I thought they were dead but guess not :)

So, everything is always the same (not showing anything!) should I add something to cycle the tank? is it already cycled? I have read people using prawns or dead fish to cycle the tank? or fish food? should I do this?

I was wanting to add 1-2 clown fish as my first residents of the new tank, think I can already? or is my cycle just not started yet?

Thanks!

[brandon429]

add nothing

cycling is to establish bacteria

since you have living animals to preserve, you should be doing large water changes while things settle in.

the shrimp decay is only for dry live rock surfaces you are trying to get bacteria established by creating sustained ammonia conditions.

your tank has a full complement of bacteria.

[Puffersayhi]

Just continue to monitor water, checking Ammonia, Nitrites, and Nitrates. The first two should be low/0 and the last you can take care of by water change outs.

Once you have the first two taken care of and Nitrates are building you, you should be ready to add your first fish. I started with a Molley and then Chromis since they are very durable (but I also had a mostly dead tank) and cheap.

I'd also recommend adding fish slowly and only after the tank has stabilized. After each fish addition, the bio-load goes up and your bacteria have to reach their new equilibrium.

[FTDelta]

HI all,
I got a 30G from my brother last week, he also gave me some nice live rock and about 10 g of "used" water ( from his established 180g) , I bought a few more live rocks from the LFS and also bought live sand (about 1 finger, not deep) I have since been testing my water daily (Ph, saline, Nitrates, Nitrites, and temp) everything looks perfect. I have feather dusters and mushrooms and brittle stars(at least 5!) as the only hitchhikers (so far!) and they are all doing really good. Also 2 mussels on one of the rocks, they open a little in the day and close at night, I thought they were dead but guess not :)

So, everything is always the same (not showing anything!) should I add something to cycle the tank? is it already cycled? I have read people using prawns or dead fish to cycle the tank? or fish food? should I do this?

I was wanting to add 1-2 clown fish as my first residents of the new tank, think I can already? or is my cycle just not started yet?

Thanks!

Your tank hasn't even started a cycle. A typical cycle last anywhere from 6 - 12 weeks depending on the quality of live rock. Raw shrimp is a good method to cycle. Don't rush into it and don't add any additives to speed up a cycle. There is no such thing as a quick cycle. You will get diatom blooms before you see any stablized results across the board.

[brandon429]

Let's peel the onion

Did the live rock have Bacteria established in the old tank?

If you move rock from one tank to another, how does that kill bacteria? Post a reference link other than someone's Web post about how that works

I want to see how lifting wet rock out of one tank and putting it into another kills all the bacteria

Isn't it interesting how the bacteria supposedly die, but coralline, pods and worms don't

The threads and books that mention quick start seem to have a technique that does work.

[Mark9]

I used a fresh wild caught shrimp, got it from the grocery store.
Left it in until I registered ammonia, then I had to take it out, too stinky.
Worked well.
The store even gave it to me free.
I added fish after ammonia and nitrite dropped to 0.

[Daimyo68]

Agree with Brandon429 on this.

You got live rock from your brother established 180g tank. You added more LR from the LFS and live sand. Chances of seeing a cycle are close to none.

Monitor you params for the next couple weeks, and water changes.

Do you have snails in the tank already? If not, I would add a few to keep things clean.

[gone fishin]

Let's peel the onion

Did the live rock have Bacteria established in the old tank?

If you move rock from one tank to another, how does that kill bacteria? Post a reference link other than someone's Web post about how that works

I want to see how lifting wet rock out of one tank and putting it into another kills all the bacteria

Isn't it interesting how the bacteria supposedly die, but coralline, pods and worms don't

The threads and books that mention quick start seem to have a technique that does work.

I agree sound like the LR came from an established tank. IMO established LR is very resilient. I think I would add a couple fish when you are ready. After adding I would wait awhile before adding any more. Just my 2 cents

[brandon429]

Caution is always safe bet can't hurt to take slow. I think I care most about not ever letting algae exist in a new tank vs how quickly its started. My advise, kill all your algae by hand rely on animals and chemistry only as hopeful preventatives

[AmberKG]

Thanks for all the input, I am going to go to LFS today and get a few (2-4?) snails, and then if everything is good going to get a clown fish next week. (think I can add 2, or just one and make sure everything stays stable?)

[AmberKG]

Brandon, short of picking it off the rocks, keeping lights off how do I not let algea exist without a cuc? thanks :)

[brandon429]

Amber that question spans the ages

Whole boards are dedicated to discerning that. What I use isn't what others use but if you want to not jerk around you can always do this

Pico reef pest algae challenge thread

[brandon429]

Some choose a clean up crew :) they are too lazy for my taste I want fast clean