Cycle Question

I did a partial water change yesterday and the ammonia is still at .25.
Should I keep doing water changes? (theres only live rock and sand)

or if I just wait it out---will the tank simply go through the cycle and
bring itself to equalibrium?

StringerBell wrote:
I did a partial water change yesterday and the ammonia is still at .25.
Should I keep doing water changes? (theres only live rock and sand)

or if I just wait it out---will the tank simply go through the cycle and
bring itself to equalibrium?

If you only have rock and sand, just wait it out. The tank will balance out
eventually.

George Patterson
All successes in conservation are temporary. All defeats are permanent.

StringerBell wrote:
I did a partial water change yesterday and the ammonia is still at .25.
Should I keep doing water changes? (theres only live rock and sand)

or if I just wait it out---will the tank simply go through the cycle and
bring itself to equalibrium?





Don't do any more water changes. The best thing you could do though is
get a cup or two of sand from another established tank. That will let
you move a good head start of bacteria into your tank and cut the cycle
time way down.

Kim
www.jensalt.com

"kim gross" wrote in message
...
Don't do any more water changes. The best thing you could do though is
get a cup or two of sand from another established tank. That will let
you move a good head start of bacteria into your tank and cut the cycle
time way down.

Thanks for all your advice. The sand in my tank is Carib sea
Agra-Alive---It`s supposed to have bacteria. Should I still get some stuff
from another tank?

People go back and forth on the bagged "live" sand. It's what I did and
things worked out fine, but I'll never know if it was my rock, my chemicals
or what that got me through the cycle. I do know to stop water changes if
you don't have purchased animals to save. You WANT the process to happen as
large or small as the rock, etc. dictates. If you want to speed things up
just throw in Bio-Spira (I've had no experience with this item) or Biozyme
(I've had great experience with this one.) But honestly, don't stress
yourself. You could just sit back and watch...

Go grab a book and do some reading during this phase. One important thing I
learned when starting, everyone has different opinions and techniques on
aquariums. They all may work too. But you cannot take one's advice here
and piece it together with another's advice at different stages. You need
to pick a path and stick to it or you probably will have problems. A book
will give you a full set up advice from start to finish.

B


"StringerBell" wrote in message
...

"kim gross" wrote in message
...
Don't do any more water changes. The best thing you could do though is
get a cup or two of sand from another established tank. That will let
you move a good head start of bacteria into your tank and cut the cycle
time way down.

Thanks for all your advice. The sand in my tank is Carib sea
Agra-Alive---It`s supposed to have bacteria. Should I still get some stuff
from another tank?

"StringerBell" wrote in news:0VhQg.14$V51.6
@newsfe10.lga:

I did a partial water change yesterday and the ammonia is still at .25.
Should I keep doing water changes? (theres only live rock and sand)

0.25 ppm NH3 is not very high for a cycling live rock tank. Just wait it
out. Trying to water change out all the ammonia will actually hinder the
development of your nitrifying bacteria within your sand and rock--bacteria
needs food in order to populate.

0.25 - 0.5 ppm NH3 is probably the ideal range for cycling live rock. That
puts in you in a range where your rock can populate itself with bacteria
well, but the levels are not so high that they are likely to cause a
massive sloughing off of dead material from the rock. If your NH3 levels
get very high you will lose some of the good stuff that comes with uncured
rock and it will take much longer to regenerate all that beauty it has in a
natural living reef.

I suggest you continue doing water changes only when it is necessary to
remove any dead rotting material that is sloughing off the rock. You can
try using a turkey baster to get that material out of deep crevices, but
don't be too aggressive with it less you remove desirable living material
too.

A good protein skimmer and active carbon can help prevent sky-rocketing NH3
levels too by removing organic sludge before it gets broken down, but once
the rock is cured I would skip using the carbon unless there is a specific
need for it.

Go to your LFS (Local Fish Store) and have them give/sell you a couple
cups of the sand and grunge
out of the bottom of one of their tanks. Or if you have any friends with
established tanks, snag a couple
cups from one of them. There is some question to those "live sealed &
bagged sands". I don't doubt they work,
but for no more trouble of getting a couple cups from a tank you know is
established. I'd do that also.

StringerBell wrote:

"kim gross" wrote in message
...


Don't do any more water changes. The best thing you could do though is
get a cup or two of sand from another established tank. That will let
you move a good head start of bacteria into your tank and cut the cycle
time way down.



Thanks for all your advice. The sand in my tank is Carib sea
Agra-Alive---It`s supposed to have bacteria. Should I still get some stuff
from another tank?





--
Ric Seyler
Online Racing: RicSeyler
GPL Handicap 6.35

http://www.pcola.gulf.net/~ricseyler
remove -SPAM- from email address
--------------------------------------
"Homer no function beer well without."
- H.J. Simpson

"StringerBell" wrote in
:

Thanks for all your advice. The sand in my tank is Carib sea
Agra-Alive---It`s supposed to have bacteria. Should I still get some
stuff from another tank?

What you have is adequate. Adding some live stand from a well established
tank may help introduce a good quantity of handy micro-fauna to your tank
too, but you may want to wait until your current setup gets the NH3 under
control first.

Wow,
this place is great---everyone is so helpful.

I guess it`s a good idea to let the tank percolate a bit.
I thought I was seeing a lot of air bubbles----but I think I am seeing
"pods" ---something very new to me. There are hundreds of them----- am I
right for taking that as a good sign? They are so tiny it`s hard for me to
visually identify if they are animals or not.
Also---there seems to be stuff on the walls of the tank---like super-tiny
snails-Is that possible?
----- again---they are so small I cant really discern if this is the case.


"dc" wrote in message
...
"StringerBell" wrote in news:0VhQg.14$V51.6
@newsfe10.lga:

I did a partial water change yesterday and the ammonia is still at .25.
Should I keep doing water changes? (theres only live rock and sand)

0.25 ppm NH3 is not very high for a cycling live rock tank. Just wait it
out. Trying to water change out all the ammonia will actually hinder the
development of your nitrifying bacteria within your sand and
rock--bacteria
needs food in order to populate.

0.25 - 0.5 ppm NH3 is probably the ideal range for cycling live rock.
That
puts in you in a range where your rock can populate itself with bacteria
well, but the levels are not so high that they are likely to cause a
massive sloughing off of dead material from the rock. If your NH3 levels
get very high you will lose some of the good stuff that comes with uncured
rock and it will take much longer to regenerate all that beauty it has in
a
natural living reef.

I suggest you continue doing water changes only when it is necessary to
remove any dead rotting material that is sloughing off the rock. You can
try using a turkey baster to get that material out of deep crevices, but
don't be too aggressive with it less you remove desirable living material
too.

A good protein skimmer and active carbon can help prevent sky-rocketing
NH3
levels too by removing organic sludge before it gets broken down, but once
the rock is cured I would skip using the carbon unless there is a specific
need for it.

Like most of the responses you are getting,....leave it alone and let nature
take it's course. You will notice as you go along that you will most likely
notice trace amounts of amonia after every new addition. Stock slowly and
let your nitrifying bacteria catch up to the biological load.
Glenda :0)
The sea-witch of wise county

"dc" wrote in message
...
"StringerBell" wrote in news:0VhQg.14$V51.6
@newsfe10.lga:

I did a partial water change yesterday and the ammonia is still at .25.
Should I keep doing water changes? (theres only live rock and sand)

0.25 ppm NH3 is not very high for a cycling live rock tank. Just wait it
out. Trying to water change out all the ammonia will actually hinder the
development of your nitrifying bacteria within your sand and
rock--bacteria
needs food in order to populate.

0.25 - 0.5 ppm NH3 is probably the ideal range for cycling live rock.
That
puts in you in a range where your rock can populate itself with bacteria
well, but the levels are not so high that they are likely to cause a
massive sloughing off of dead material from the rock. If your NH3 levels
get very high you will lose some of the good stuff that comes with uncured
rock and it will take much longer to regenerate all that beauty it has in
a
natural living reef.

I suggest you continue doing water changes only when it is necessary to
remove any dead rotting material that is sloughing off the rock. You can
try using a turkey baster to get that material out of deep crevices, but
don't be too aggressive with it less you remove desirable living material
too.

A good protein skimmer and active carbon can help prevent sky-rocketing
NH3
levels too by removing organic sludge before it gets broken down, but once
the rock is cured I would skip using the carbon unless there is a specific
need for it.