hi guys... help on newly cycled tank + update

[pana]

hi everyone, thankyou once again for all your help in the past, my tank finally finished its amonia/nitrate cycle around 2 weeks ago. and since than ive added afew critters into my tank.
will update you guys with afew pics, if your interested in my progress, its coming along nicely but also costly!

just afew questions as i progress along.

a) i firstly added 4 trochus! which i was told the next day are not the most appropriate critter to add to a newly set up tank. i had a small one die within 24 hours and 4 days later which is today, one of the big ones keeps looking like hes dead but when i turn him back to his normal side he sticks onto rock. so hes sorta dieing... should i just remove him?..or should i wait to see if he pulls through?

b) i also added 4 hermits which are alot more hardy, they love the tank but is it sufficient food for them just to eat on algae, or should i begin to feed them something? suggestions....

c) i bought an urchin today which seems very lively, he seems to love the algae on my tank glass...but should i feed him anything else?

d) i also borrowed a damsel today from my LFS just to see how he goes in my tank, hes not my ideal fish thus why i borrowed him, but i was thinking hed be a great starting fish to see how my tanks sufficiency is....but as soon as i put him into my tank i havent seen him! hes dissapeared somewhere into my LR, and no hes not in my filter or poweheads or jumped out....are they usually so timid when in a new tank, i think he must be seriously stressing wherever he is!!! what can i do?? its been around 4 hours....


e) i also have afew air bubbles forming, heard this sometimes happens at ends of a cycle.....are these deadly? suggestions on getting rid of them? possibly shorter light cycles?



levles

amonia < .25

nitrite 0

nitrate between 5 - 10.

carbon is fine

also did a top up today.


THANKS ONCE AGAIN FOR EVERYONES HELP :):):)

posting pics soon.

[rkelman]

I'd wait to see if he pulls through. You haven't stated the size of the tank so its hard to tell if the hermits will have enough to eat... In a nano maybe not but in a 65 no probs. I'm not an expert on urchins but I think they eat coraline algae mainly. He may starve.
Get rid of the damsel they are trouble. I assume by air bubbles you mean bubble algae? Green? Suck them out with a baster if there isn't too many..

[pana]

tank size is 165L which in gallons is 44 or so. i have around 37 kg of LR which is around 81.5 lbs.

will get rid of the damsel in afew weeks when i introduce a fish of my own, unless he will kill of my hermits or the urchin etc?

the urchin has a fair bit of coraline algae to go for, concidering i have excess amounts of LR with a fair bit of it on each. but he hasnt started to go on the lr yet, just on my glass... :(

looks like the trochus that was playing up today is showing signs of life! really wierd all day he has been unstuck at times and looking dead, than i turn him back and he looks ok!

[jag1979]

isn't amonia supposed to stay at zero after the cycle?

[Shagsbeard]

Getting rid of a damsel is easier said than done... have you tried catching him yet? I advise spot feeding your tank next to the net that you're going to use to catch him so the fish start associating the net with food.

[pana]

jag due to the few creatures ive added to my tank, my bio mass has gone up abit which has caused a slight raise in my amonia, im talking quite small increase though, its sitting i think less than < .25, hopefully it doesnt go higher :confused: which is nothing compared to the amounts of amonia i had during my cycle, i had amonia off the charts for over 3.5 weeks.


is my nitrate dangerous at 10?

with the spot feeding, i really cant spot feed him yet, hes too scared to come out where-ever he is! i caught a slight glimpse of him about an hour ago, hes jumping around at the back of my LR.

[pana]

bump

[Tang_Cool]

No, I wouldn't worry at 10ppm for Nitrate