If you get some uncured live rock in there, after a few days your levels should be well. But you also don't want to go fancy right away. Usually damsels are good to test the water. Clownfish should be fine too. Just depends on how much your willing to risk then to be conservative.
When do you think a tank is ready to hold livestock?
- Thread starter Kedd
- Start date
Way off dude!
You will not be fine a few days later after adding uncured Rock in a tank.
We DO NOT use fish as a means to cycle or to "test the water"!!
- Location
- Stamford CT
I agree Rich "feeler frags".
I'm not so worried about when I can add, I don't plan to for some time.
I see a lot of "feeler fish" with a tragic end, not Damsels, going in 2 week old tanks.
I was at store( not the one in Greenwich) the other day and some guy was on a shopping spree for a 9 day old tank.
It just made me feel bad for the poor fish knowing they were doomed.
I'm not so worried about when I can add, I don't plan to for some time.
I see a lot of "feeler fish" with a tragic end, not Damsels, going in 2 week old tanks.
I was at store( not the one in Greenwich) the other day and some guy was on a shopping spree for a 9 day old tank.
It just made me feel bad for the poor fish knowing they were doomed.
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- Location
- Stamford CT
- Location
- poughquag, ny
cycle
ok this thread is for me, i am in the process of switching my tanks, current 29g has around 60 lb's of lr going from it to new tank, also have around 40-60 of new cured rock that i have had for 2 months{ did 2 water changes on it, was stored in a tub with powerheads. } rock came from another's holding sump} my new tank has been running for 2 weeks. over this time i have been adding piece's of rock from my old tank to it. 1\3 of the water is from my old tank. i plan to let it run for another 2 weeks before i i switch 80% of my old rock to new tank and another week before i switch live stock over. few piece's every couple of days. the coraline part i dont think matter's. im one of the softy tanks that doesnt have alot of flow with slow growth of coraline. i will continue to test new tank for cycle to end, then wait another week for additional mini spike. just my opinion. as i am new to reefing but not tanks{ ive had a snail in new tank since a week after tank set-up, he is still alive
ok this thread is for me, i am in the process of switching my tanks, current 29g has around 60 lb's of lr going from it to new tank, also have around 40-60 of new cured rock that i have had for 2 months{ did 2 water changes on it, was stored in a tub with powerheads. } rock came from another's holding sump} my new tank has been running for 2 weeks. over this time i have been adding piece's of rock from my old tank to it. 1\3 of the water is from my old tank. i plan to let it run for another 2 weeks before i i switch 80% of my old rock to new tank and another week before i switch live stock over. few piece's every couple of days. the coraline part i dont think matter's. im one of the softy tanks that doesnt have alot of flow with slow growth of coraline. i will continue to test new tank for cycle to end, then wait another week for additional mini spike. just my opinion. as i am new to reefing but not tanks{ ive had a snail in new tank since a week after tank set-up, he is still alive
- Location
- Upper East Side
I think that's a little unfair. Okay, if a person has a tank for nine days and goes to the aquarium and buys a huge colony of SPS, a flame scallop, a green mandarin, a Copperband butterfly and a leopard wrasse, then yes. That livestock is doomed.
But if a person starts a tank with cured LR and nine days later their levels are all zeros and they go to the store and buy a toadstool leather, some zoanthids, a few chromis and maybe a tank-bred false perc, do I think that LS is doomed? No. I think he might be stocking too quickly, but there's no reason that group of animals couldn't survive in a tank that just finished cycling.
I might get flamed for this, but I started stocking my tank within a week of putting water in it. Granted, my rock had been curing for over a month elsewhere, but I know a lot of people would say this was way too soon. Yet, most of my LS is still alive. I've lost one coral, due to a sponge suffocating it while I was on vacation, and I've lost a couple of fish to disease/poor quarantine procedures. I've had almost no problems from poor water quality. (I've been having some NOW, but it's because I've been overfeeding in an effort to get my mandarin on frozen foods.)
I admire your patience and your well planned out tank switch. If you have test kits, you don't need to leave that poor snail in there. They are more sensitive than fish so he may be in pain.
Without knowing how big the tank is or how much live rock it has, this is a silly comparison. But if this person is a newbie reefer, than there is a better chance that it is doomed than that it will live. IMO of coure :smile:
The reason we stock slowly is to give the beneficial bacteria in our tanks time to catch up with the bioload as we add it. Add too much too fast and it doesn't matter how long your rock has cycled or how mature your tank is. You will get an ammonia spike.
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- Location
- Westchester, NY
No flaming here
I upgraded my tank from a 29 to my 55 in one day. Lost one fish
I think it was because I stressed her out too much I re-used all of my old live rock, and water and some (top layer) of my old live sand. I also added new live rock that was cured. I think the stressed caused by the move on the fish was lessened by my move method. I am going to eventually downgrade this tank and when I move upgrade to a bigger tank so I think I am gonna employ the same methods since it worked once.I would say with a completely new start tho the best thing to do is to let the tank cycle and test every day and when the water param's are in check that is the time to add livestock it could be a week it could be 2 months but it depends on how your water is.
Great that you shared your experience, but that is not something we want to encourage beginning / future reefers to do.
Do you think that is the best thing to do for live-stock?
If your set up went smoothly with not one problem, you are the exception of many who have failed that tried to do the same.
Not to use Duke as example, but he felt he had completed his cycle, used LR & water from his previous system.....but stocked way too fast & understands now.
http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/reefs-beginners/23519-ich-one-more-question.html
Patience is very hard to have, especially in this hobby.....but that is something that we should pass on to everyone in this hobby religiously.
- Location
- Upper East Side
My point was simply that there are difficult fish and corals and easy fish and corals. Regardless of tank size, if a person starts by stocking easier fish and corals, the chances of those fish living is much higher than if a person stocks more difficult fish immediately.
I don't think it's fair to say across the board that a person who stocks their tank immediately after the cycle is finished is dooming their livestock. Was my livestock doomed? Judging from the way all of my fish are swimming around and eagerly come to the glass when I feed, and the way most of my corals have grown substantially in size, I would say ... No. And I am not an experienced reefer.
I think it doesn't matter WHEN a person starts stocking their tank. When a cycle is over, it's over. It's a matter of what they start with, how many things they start with, and how quickly they add more.
I don't think it's fair to say across the board that a person who stocks their tank immediately after the cycle is finished is dooming their livestock. Was my livestock doomed? Judging from the way all of my fish are swimming around and eagerly come to the glass when I feed, and the way most of my corals have grown substantially in size, I would say ... No. And I am not an experienced reefer.
I think it doesn't matter WHEN a person starts stocking their tank. When a cycle is over, it's over. It's a matter of what they start with, how many things they start with, and how quickly they add more.
You did your homework & had the help of MR members.
You had the upper hand than most coming to the hobby.
ellebelle said:
That's exactly the point of this thread.
- Location
- Upper East Side
I'm not encouraging people to go out and stock their tanks as soon as their levels are at zero. Like I said, I think the key is to start slowly, and have read a lot of information about the things that you are adding. If a person's levels are at zero, they go out and buy a tank bred false perc, I don't think that livestock is necessarily doomed. If they continue adding at the same speed for the next month, then fine. The LS is doomed and that person will probably not continue to have SW tanks.
I think telling a person they have to wait three months when they started with cured liverock is ridiculous. And, besides that, even after three months if they start with the wrong fish or haven't cared to learn about the husbandry of the animals, they are still doomed.
Anybody can has as much experience as I had when I set up my tank if they want to learn. All I did was ask the advice of more experienced people, and read some books and articles. It's sad to me that other people setting up tanks don't do the same, as it's really minimal effort to expend for much better results.
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- Location
- Stamford CT
Ellebelle, I never meant be unfair, just my thoughts.
NYreefNoob, sounds well planned, good luck.
NYreefNoob, sounds well planned, good luck.
No-one here said that.....& I have yet to see that said from any expirenced member.
I happen to believe ANY live stock, be it fish or coral / easy or hard...has a better survival rate & thrive more in a stable / mature system.
That's just me. Maybe I'm the odd-ball.
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- Location
- Westchester, NY
Well now that you put it that way..............................:lol2:
- Location
- Stamford CT
I said (fully stocked) in 3 months.
Again this thread was never meant to bash people, just to hear their thoughts.
I was at a store up north and was suprised at what I saw.
That's all it was.
Again this thread was never meant to bash people, just to hear their thoughts.
I was at a store up north and was suprised at what I saw.
That's all it was.
- Location
- Franklin Lakes, NJ
There's also a big difference between a tank move or upgrade and a new tank. When moving / upgrading a tank, there's often not an option to slowly stock unless you have another tank setup or have someone hold all of your livestock.
With a new tank, I feel that once your cycle is over, you can stock slowly, although the longer you wait, the more stable it will be. Ethics aside, from a strictly financial standpoint, the longer you wait, the less likely you are to lose money on the loss of livestock, so if for that reason only, it makes more sense to wait.
Out of curiosity, since this guy made it public knowledge that his tank was 9 days old, did you or any of the employees try to dissuade him? Some people can't be reasoned with, but it's worth a shot.
With a new tank, I feel that once your cycle is over, you can stock slowly, although the longer you wait, the more stable it will be. Ethics aside, from a strictly financial standpoint, the longer you wait, the less likely you are to lose money on the loss of livestock, so if for that reason only, it makes more sense to wait.
Out of curiosity, since this guy made it public knowledge that his tank was 9 days old, did you or any of the employees try to dissuade him? Some people can't be reasoned with, but it's worth a shot.
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