Bug in my tank?

[Dragon780]

hi guys, today i saw a bug like critter in my tank and crawled into my live rock, its the size of a ant, and has alot of legs lol more then 10 for sure, its white i believe, i dont know what it is. can anyone tell me? and also my still cycling, so i have nothing in there besides rocks, some rocks i bought from someone, and some are new rocks from local supplier.

my second question is, my tanks been cycling for about weeks, but the waters still so clear, is that normal? and when do i know my water or rocks are ready for fish?

thank you everyone

[marie]

That would be a pod of some sort and beneficial to the system. You should be checking for ammonia and nitrates and when ammonia level is no longer readable you will be able to start adding fish. Go slowly, add 1 fish at a time and wait a couple of weeks before adding the next.

While you wait for your cycle to be finished, research what fish you would like to keep and add the least aggressive fish first

[marie]

Here's a link to the various different hitch hikers you might find in your tank over the coming months

http://www.chucksaddiction.com/hitchhikers.html

[Dragon780]

thanks
thats really helpful,
and ya im thinking of taking it slow and adding a fish at a time too
and so pods are normal?
and just ammonia? what about the ph and nitrite and all that

[lastlight]

first you'll detect ammonia (really toxic), then it'll be zero and you'll detect nitrite (less toxic) and then when that is zero you'll have nitrates. Ammonia and nitrites need to be zero before you think of adding anything.

[Dragon780]

Originally Posted by lastlight

first you'll detect ammonia (really toxic), then it'll be zero and you'll detect nitrite (less toxic) and then when that is zero you'll have nitrates. Ammonia and nitrites need to be zero before you think of adding anything.

thank you what about nitrate then? and also will those testing strips work?

[lastlight]

Originally Posted by Dragon780

thank you what about nitrate then? and also will those testing strips work?

The nice thing is you get to battle nitrates for the rest of your hobby life =) Water changes being your simplest approach.

I use Elos kits... have never used strips but imagine they're a little less trustworthy.

[Dragon780]

Originally Posted by lastlight

The nice thing is you get to battle nitrates for the rest of your hobby life =) Water changes being your simplest approach.

I use Elos kits... have never used strips but imagine they're a little less trustworthy.

so nitrates fine?

[marie]

Originally Posted by Dragon780

so nitrates fine?

Nitrates won't harm fish (as long as they aren't completely out of control) but you want to keep the nitrates as close to 0 as possible because all kinds of nuisance algae thrives on nitrates