Cycle help

[bvega789]

My tank has been cycling since 9/20
I got live rock and live sand from an established tank that came with an infestation of bristle worms. I put the sand in my sump and the rock in my tank and Now they're in my display tank in my new black sand I bought from petco

Should I worry about them?? Three everywhere all throughout my tank I don't even really see that much of them in my sump


I'm On phase two of the cycle, my nitrates and nitrites are high, ammonia is down

I also have some a snail, sea serpent, two clowns, and 3 live rock in a bucket that came from the established tank last Friday with a heater and a powerhead and an air stone bubble

Since I'm cycling wouldn't these things die??

 

[marrone]

Some of the bristle worms may die, which will add to the ammonia in the tank, but some will probably make it. The die off from them may cause the cycle to take longer but it will build up more bacteria so you wouldn't have ammonia swings going forward once the tank is cycled.

As for the things in the bucket, they may be already as long as the live rock is still OK and contains the bacteria needs to keep the ammonia and nitrites down. Just check to make sure that you don't have any die off on the live rock. I would do a water change in the bucket maybe once a week, but just check the levels to make sure everything is OK in there.

 

[CORALBEAUTY]

The bristle worms are deff a pain in the ***. Some people believe they are beneficial, but thats usually a minority, as they are unsightly and an unnecessary bioload that can get out of hand quickly.

The good news is there are several species of wrasse (six line wrasse is particularly effective), puffers, and crabs that will make quick work of them and control the infestation. If these fish don't fit into what your livestock plan or will harm other fish/coral/invertebrates that you plan on putting in your tank, then consider first adding the wrasse, puffer, or crab, letting them make quick work of the problem over the course of a week or two and then removing them.

As far as your cycle. I would add some bacteria in a bottle (BioSpira or similar), wait a two or three days, and then do a water change. After that I would wait another 2-3 days while continuing to test your water to see if your cycle is complete. It seems like its near the end. Adding your fish now is probably not a problem if you're aggressive about your water changes and monitoring, but its best to wait until your cycle is complete.

On the same note if you plan to leave that livestock in the bucket you should be doing a 40% water change on the bucket every day or so until you can move them. Alternatively you can add some Seachem Prime to keep the ammonia in check. You can do the same for you display tank in case things get out of hand.

In the future, it pays to be cautious before adding anything in to your tank that you get from fellow hobbyists or the store. When/if you begin to add coral, dip them in CoralRX first to kill all the annoyances.

Hope this was a help

 

[bvega789]

Some of the bristle worms may die, which will add to the ammonia in the tank, but some will probably make it. The die off from them may cause the cycle to take longer but it will build up more bacteria so you wouldn't have ammonia swings going forward once the tank is cycled.

As for the things in the bucket, they may be already as long as the live rock is still OK and contains the bacteria needs to keep the ammonia and nitrites down. Just check to make sure that you don't have any die off on the live rock. I would do a water change in the bucket maybe once a week, but just check the levels to make sure everything is OK in there.

I did a water change yesterday

 

[bvega789]

The bristle worms are deff a pain in the ***. Some people believe they are beneficial, but thats usually a minority, as they are unsightly and an unnecessary bioload that can get out of hand quickly.

The good news is there are several species of wrasse (six line wrasse is particularly effective), puffers, and crabs that will make quick work of them and control the infestation. If these fish don't fit into what your livestock plan or will harm other fish/coral/invertebrates that you plan on putting in your tank, then consider first adding the wrasse, puffer, or crab, letting them make quick work of the problem over the course of a week or two and then removing them.

As far as your cycle. I would add some bacteria in a bottle (BioSpira or similar), wait a two or three days, and then do a water change. After that I would wait another 2-3 days while continuing to test your water to see if your cycle is complete. It seems like its near the end. Adding your fish now is probably not a problem if you're aggressive about your water changes and monitoring, but its best to wait until your cycle is complete.

On the same note if you plan to leave that livestock in the bucket you should be doing a 40% water change on the bucket every day or so until you can move them. Alternatively you can add some Seachem Prime to keep the ammonia in check. You can do the same for you display tank in case things get out of hand.

In the future, it pays to be cautious before adding anything in to your tank that you get from fellow hobbyists or the store. When/if you begin to add coral, dip them in CoralRX first to kill all the annoyances.

Hope this was a help

I did a water change yesterday for the bucket, I added prime and microlift xtreme as well to the tank, I added a whole gallon of fritz zyme to the tank since it started

Nite out Ii whole bottle gone
And I still have some special blend in about to dump

I was going to the pet store today to get the biospira and tetrastart

I order photoplankton and pods..can they be entered into the tank while cylcing ??

 

[marrone]

Is it a 5gal bucket? Is so just don't over feed, feed just a little. If the LR is good, without any die off, then you should be OK but I would just check it with your test kits.

 

[marrone]

At this point don't add anything else, you've added enough, just let the tank finish cycling. Once everything is done cycling you can start to add the pods and such.

 

[bvega789]

At this point don't add anything else, you've added enough, just let the tank finish cycling. Once everything is done cycling you can start to add the pods and such.

So the pods would die during the cycle ??


And yes it's a 5gal

 

[marrone]

Anytime you have ammonia and nitrites in the tank there is a good chance that most living things will die. Just wait until everything is done cycling and then add them. They'll be find in the bottle that they come in until you're ready.

 

[bvega789]

Understood, should I keep a powerhead in the sump??

 

[bvega789]

Mook

 

[bvega789]

Anytime you have ammonia and nitrites in the tank there is a good chance that most living things will die. Just wait until everything is done cycling and then add them. They'll be find in the bottle that they come in until you're ready.

That's what I used

 

[nycearnestchink]

bristle worms are great in dsb from what i heard !

 

[samster]

I don't mind my bristles, they eat all the crap inside the rocks. Don't add anything into the tank as it'll take a longer time for the cycle to finish. The more stuff you Put in, the more die off, the longer till tanks to stablize. You prolly need more Liverock for the BB to grow also looking at your pics.

 

[bvega789]

bristle worms are great in dsb from what i heard !

I got 80 pounds in the main tank and about 40 in the sump

And they're all over the place

 

[bvega789]

I don't mind my bristles, they eat all the crap inside the rocks. Don't add anything into the tank as it'll take a longer time for the cycle to finish. The more stuff you Put in, the more die off, the longer till tanks to stablize. You prolly need more Liverock for the BB to grow also looking at your pics.

So no more prime??? Or special blend???


And this is the LR in the tank right now. And 3 more in the bucket with the clowns

 

[samster]

That last pic is 80lbs of Rock in a 75 bow???

 

[samster]

What are your current water parameters? Is your ammonia at 0? Nitrites at 0?

 

[bvega789]

Yes sir 72 bowfront and just about 80pds lil more in the bucket but I checked the water at the LFS and the ammonia was 0 and the nitrite was 2.0 and nitrate was 20

 

[bvega789]

What are your current water parameters? Is your ammonia at 0? Nitrites at 0?

I also asked if I should do a water change but the said no