I have started my tank cycle... I put fish in (3 damsels) my 55gal about 4 weeks ago. About 1.5 weeks ago the last of them died. Does there need to be constant ammonia producing liveforms, or decay for the cycle to finish out or should it be about time for me to get the test kit (nitrate, nitrite) and be on my way to some longlived fish? I have no live rock and a 5-6" sand bed. The sand bed had no live sand in it yet it's more for looks now than anything. Thanks
Cycle lifeforms to be maintained?
- Thread starter Pierce09
- Start date
Damsels ARE longlived fish, subjecting them through conditions like that is cruel.
In the future try finding other ways of cycling your tank.
To answer your question, you don't need a constant supply of ammonia, what you had should be enough for an initial cycle. Definately get a test kit and don't add anything else to the tank until your nitrites are at 0 and your nitrates aren't too high.
After your nitrites are down, get yourself some Live Rock. If it's fresh you shouldn't have to worry about any die off. If it's mail order, well more than likely you're going to go through another cycle.
Don't add anymore fish until your ammonia=0, nitrites=0, and nitrates are somewhere under 50.
Welcome to the hobby.
In the future try finding other ways of cycling your tank.
To answer your question, you don't need a constant supply of ammonia, what you had should be enough for an initial cycle. Definately get a test kit and don't add anything else to the tank until your nitrites are at 0 and your nitrates aren't too high.
After your nitrites are down, get yourself some Live Rock. If it's fresh you shouldn't have to worry about any die off. If it's mail order, well more than likely you're going to go through another cycle.
Don't add anymore fish until your ammonia=0, nitrites=0, and nitrates are somewhere under 50.
Welcome to the hobby.
I'm not sure you shouldn't have something in there, not meaning a fish but meaning some source of ammonia. Most people use live rock to cycle. Die-off provides the necessary by-products to run a cycle. The other option is to just add a tiny bit of fish food each day. Tiny, tiny bit.
If I were you, I really would just add some rock now and let it cycle. Or add whatever you plan on using for decoration. Regardless, when you do add fish again it should be one at a time, with a few weeks between fish, so your biological filter has time to mature with growing demand.
Tim
If I were you, I really would just add some rock now and let it cycle. Or add whatever you plan on using for decoration. Regardless, when you do add fish again it should be one at a time, with a few weeks between fish, so your biological filter has time to mature with growing demand.
Tim
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