Cycling a tank

[Dmitry]

I have a question about cycling. If you put fully cured live rock into a small aquarium of newly mixed water...is the cycle necessary or is it pretty much all set? I'm trying to set up a QT for new fish and have a small 5 gallon tank that I've put a few pieces of cured live rock into. Yesterday I threw in a few pieces of frozen food into it to see if it did anything to ammonia, but this morning the ammonia is at 0. Can one just put in new fish??

 

[marrone]

When setting up a QT tank just mix new water and place some things for the fish to hide behind, like pvc or rocks in the tank. The rocks don't need to be live rock but if you use live rock it may cause an ammonia spike even if the rock is cured so it's best to just use dead rock. Then either run an air pump, power head of small filter to water movement and water breakage. The tank will be fine as long as you don't over stock it and feed alot. You should also chance some of the water weekly so the ammonia doesn't build up.

When some people have setup new tank, using cured live rock, they have seen that the tank has cycle right away others have had small ammonia spikes and then the tank cycled shortly after. Alot depends on the quailty of the live rock that you use and what is growing on it. If the rock has alot of sponges or plant life you may get some die off in a new tank.

 

[Dmitry]

If one doesn't put any live rock in the tank...won't there be high ammonia, etc. since there are no bacteria to break it down? I mean, I'd have just one fish in there (Six Line Wrasse - already acclimating). I put in the live rock yesterday and today there was no ammonia in the tank. I thought putting it in there would be better for water quality and I wouldn't have to do daily water changes to keep it from cycling... I bought the rock (just some rubble, really) fully cured - in the store it was in a tank with a bunch of inverts, all of them were doing ok, so the rock should be good quality. (And it doesn't smell.)

 

[House of Laughter]

Dmityr,

there will be amonia based on fish, but what Marrone is saying it is a tolerable level unless you don't do water changes - then it will build up since you have no breakdown mechanism (bacteria, rock ect).

Also, if you don't feed heavily, it should remain tolerable - recommended weekly water changes, though.

House

 

[Dmitry]

Well, it doesn't look good! The Six-Line Wrasse isn't doing well - this morning (12 hrs) after being put into the tank he was bumping into the glass, the LR, and the PVC pipe I got in there. As I left this morning he was sitting still, wrapped around a piece of rock. The water readings are fine, so perhaps he wasn't well when I him - though he looked fine at the store. Argh! We'll see what he's like when I get home later tonight. Any suggestions on what to do? (If he's still alive!)

 

[Dmitry]

Well, as of this morning the Wrasse was still swimming and much more steadily than yesterday. He even ate a little cyclopeze. I put in MelaFix (isn't it the cure-all medicine or something?) yesterday and again today. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Incidentally, anyone know if MelaFix makes live rock radioactive to inverts? I didn't see copper listed among the ingredients...

 

[yessongs]

Dmitry , Tell us about your main tank.
Its best to think of live rock as a source of filtration, put it in your tank and wait DONT use fish to cycle. You can use a piece of fresh shrimp from a fish market or just wait until the water is safe. Don't add medicine to get the tank stable as it will go through different stages for around a year.
This hobby requires patience!
I dont believe in QT tanks because moving fish from tank to tank causes stress. I would think PVC and a HOT filter should be enough for a QT tank.
Also i dont know much about using cyclopeze i think they make a flake food which can lead to problems in a small tank.
IMO, i would not add pieces of frozen food without rinsing it first, in my 25g with a big skimmer a half of cube rinsed with RO/DI water can cause PO4 & NO3 problems, i would check for this before ammonia along with pH and a temperature swing of more then 4 degrees in a day.
BTW, its 3:50 in the morning and I've been drinking since 7PM so this might not make sense, maybe someone else can help!!!!

 

[Dmitry]

Thanks! I already have fish in my main tank, two Clowns, Anemone, some corals. The Wrasse is in the QT - I understand what you mean about transferring the fish over and over again. (If he reacts to the transfer into the main tank like he did into the QT...scary!) But one really never knows if the fish is well to begin with and I don't want to risk bringing a disease into the main tank. So...we'll see how it goes.

Cyclopeeze seems to be great. My Clowns love it and the Wrasse has been eating it also.

My question about MelaFix making LR uninhabitable for inverts has to do with the fact that I put some LR rubble into the QT tank, but used MelaFix in it. I'm now not sure if it may be ok to put the rocks into the main tank.

 

[House of Laughter]

Melafix won't affect the rock to my knowledge. I have used it many times without ill affect on any tank inhabitant.

Turn off your skimmer though.

House

 

[Dmitry]

Thanks House of Laughter! How long did you turn the skimmer off for? The rocks will be in the QT tank for as long as the Wrasse is (though I'll probably keep using MelaFix for 7 days...it can't harm him if it's too much, can it?) And then perhaps keep the tank going while I get and QT another fish (a Coral Beauty) who, hopefully, won't need any medication. But I'm glad to hear I can put the rocks into the tank without killing any snails, shrimp, etc!