cycling with shrimp

[jpa0741]

I am currently cycling my tank with a couple raw shrimp. Do you leave the shrimp in until the levels all drop to zero or pull them out at some other point. Any advice would be great.

Thanks, Jeff

[dtaranath]

the shrimp will continue to breakdown until they no longer exist.

[bertoni]

If you have live rock in the tank, I wouldn't recommend using shrimp at all. It's not necessary, and will likely kill animals on the live rock. In any case, I'd pull the shrimp now.

[jpa0741]

They have been in for 5 days now with cured LR. I am trying to cycle with turbo start which suggest you add livestock. I was thinking the shrimp would act like the livestock.

[NetFish]

I assume you put the shrimp to get the ammonia spike. If you already had that then its time to pull it out. Its job is done :)

[bertoni]

Live rock doesn't need fish or shrimp to get a cycle going. Just wait for the ammonia to hit zero, if any is ever seen. Then you're ready to go, after some water changes.

[PatMayo]

Jonathan hit the nail on the head. I started my 90 with cured live rock from the local "Reef" store and moved the rock from my 46 to the 90. Never saw anything. I moved the 2 clowns right from the 46 to the 90. Zero on all accounts. If you do not have live rock then you need to seed the cycle.

Regards,

Pat

[NetFish]

Jonathan
Will that apply even for cured live rock. I thought if the live rock is already fully cured you wont see a ammonia spike. sorry, i'm new to this

[jpa0741]

I have removed the shrimp and the ammonia is .25 should I wait until this reaches zero before doing water change.

[jpa0741]

ammonia=.25
nitrite=.05
nitrate=5.0

Should I wait until ammonia and nitrite reach zero before doing water change? Any info would be great.

Thanks, Jeff

[bertoni]

I'd do some water changes immediately to remove the ammonia and any other toxins in the water.

"Fully-cured" live rock sometimes generates ammonia spikes. Removing a piece of rock from the water can doom sponges instantly, for example, and the decay can cause some problems. So many people, including me, have set up tanks with no ammonia, but it's never guaranteed, IMO.

[jpa0741]

I have read that when cycling a tank ammonia will spike then come down. I thought this was normal.

[jpa0741]

Also in the last day the sand has started turning brown on top see pics. I think this is normal but would like to double check. Do you still think I should do water change?

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e336/jpa0741/100_0262.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e336/jpa0741/100_0261.jpg

Thanks, Jeff

[bertoni]

The brown film is normal, and is usually a mix of diatoms, dinoflagellates, and cyanobacteria.

The ammonia should drop over time, if the tank ever shows any.

I would do some water changes, but they're optional.

[jpa0741]

Do you think It would be o.k. to wait until tommorow and do a 10% water change? Do you think the cycle is coming along?

[bertoni]

I don't think you're having a "cycle", really, you're just seeing the effects of overfeeding the tank. You can wait as long as you want for the water changes, really. The ammonia isn't all that high.

[jpa0741]

also should I leave the white daylight light off for now?

[bertoni]

That's another personal choice. If you leave it on, the extra light might help algae grow, and that could help process nutrients to less toxic forms. On the other hand, the light might encourage nuisance algae to grow and become harder to eliminate. You'll find people on both sides of this issue.

Leaving the lamp off is probably the safer choice.