What to do - thoughts appreciated

[gregzz4]

OK, I get what you're pointing out, but you've still lost me ....

I've added rock that cured for 3 months
It has run for almost 2 weeks and there are;

0 ammonia
0 nitrites
0 nitrates

Plus, there's;
0 phosphates

I know it will cycle when I add something now, but, unless I'm missing something here, you are telling me that my fallow tank will still cycle on it's own ??????

It has not done so in 11 days

[gregzz4]

Of course I'm not gonna rush anything, but I'd like to get it started !!!!

[lockrookie]

it should onits own but you can jump start it by droping in a non live shrimp. you need to cycle your tank before fish its very hardon the fish and some will take it as cruel. this is why someppl buy damsels to start the cycleinhpes they die in the process cause they are evil fish. well so are my clowns but we wont go there. you have added criters. enjoy them for now throw in a raw shrimp it willjump start it and the rest of the rw shrimp cook on the bar-b and hurry up and wait. you will be better off

[lockrookie]

as i say you have added a few snails and crabs wait a week test for ammonia and nitrates if all is good add a fish .. do all this in baby steps your rock itself has been cured but if you add too much to fast you will get a spike you could lose something.

[gregzz4]

Thanks
I'm sure I follow ... we are just talking time lines ....
I will not rush anything
I just wanted to know what some would suggest for my first critters

So ... you think fish over corals first ?

[lockrookie]

corals dont really crapin your tank to add alot of bioload unlessits lps and nems. alot of corals are filter feeders and will help withthe whole thing.. so when yu get to the point of adding saveyour self the decition.. buy a fish and a coral that filter feeds and problem solved. fish polutes coral eats win win lol

[PurpleMonkey]

If I had to choose between fish and coral first. I say fish.

Go with something non territorial or not as aggressive. I started with some green chromosome and a bicolour blenny. The bicolour is one of my favorites.

[gregzz4]

Ya, it would be LPS. Something that poops
Something like a frogspawn would be nice
I'd also like some rics later
And a nice clown. I'm not going to start with a picasso but I saw some nice blacks Saturday

So, tomorrow, we'll see what the store has

I don't think I'm ready for a blenny yet Harp

[daplatapus]

Originally Posted by gregzz4

OK, I get what you're pointing out, but you've still lost me ....

I've added rock that cured for 3 months
It has run for almost 2 weeks and there are;

0 ammonia
0 nitrites
0 nitrates

Plus, there's;
0 phosphates

I know it will cycle when I add something now, but, unless I'm missing something here, you are telling me that my fallow tank will still cycle on it's own ??????

It has not done so in 11 days

I think I now understand part of your question. I've never tried cycling with any product in a bottle. So my following remarks may not even apply to your situation, and if so sorry for wasting everyone's time if they read this
Understanding the cycling process is key to knowing what's going on and any future spikes you're going to see. Ammonia is the first stage of your cycle. Without it your tank will sit there and evaporate water and that's it. So unless whatever is in the bottle has a decent about of ammonia your cycle can't progress. Ammonia can come from several sources. Dead and decaying matter or pure ammonia poured in. If you have cured live rock, everything on it is very much alive and thus no ammonia. But it still needs to eat so if not fed will die rot and produce ammonia. So what sometimes happens is if the tank isn't fed, either by ghost feeding, adding a non-living shrimp, etc, you cycle stalls out before it even starts. The organisms must be fed to keep alive and for the cycle to continue to it's next stage. Once the 2 main bacteria have developed in your tank your cycle is complete. If you have a DSB there are 3 bacteria. But the 2 bacteria that feed on ammonia and nitrite must be cultured and their growth promoted in your tank for that cycle to complete. W/C's and or a DSB will remove your nitrate's.

It seems to me your tank either hasn't cycled yet or if it did, you blinked and missed it Which is possible. I put in 120 lbs of pure Tonga live rock in mine then over 3 weeks threw in 2 cocktail shrimp which completely liquified and disintegrated in my tank. I never once saw any ammonia, nitrite or nitrate. Puzzled the hell out of me until someone pointed out the step by step process of cycling. If the bacteria is there in sufficient quantities, you'll never see a cycle.
But IMO, (I don't remember exactly what you put in there for LR and dead rock) I doubt you have enough LR in there to have accomplished that. Start dropping fish food or a cocktail shrimp in your tank for a week or so and see if there's any spike. If not, you may have cycled already.

Fish poop will also feed the bacteria chain. Corals eats fish poop so the more I think about it, they may actually hinder the bacteria building process by eating that food source. I know there are certain challenges with coral only tanks so starting with fish seems to be the wisest choice.

Hope that helps.

[gregzz4]

Thanks everyone for the great input
Just to clarify - although I'm new to SW, I have decades of FW knowledge and have been voraciously reading about SW since last fall.
I do understand the chemistry and bacterial functions. I've posted this as I know I need to grow my bacterial colonies and want something to feed

I do have my QT running and I've already stated I will definately use it

I see the point of not trying lps yet and will look at maybe some 'shrooms, but I'm not going after any zoas right now as I'm not sure I want any

We haven't made it to the LFS yet but if we grab any fish it will only be 1 ( or 2 at most )

All that's growing right now is turf and HA, so it looks like the cycle is further along and I guarantee you it's stalled. This is why I want to get something to feed into it. I'll ponder ghost feeding while the new purchases are in QT, and will be hooking up the GFO reactor today to see how the algae reacts

There are some feather dusters and sponge that made it through cooking so I didn't kill everything

As for what I've already done;
I have 2 Astreas and 1 Red Scalet Hermit
All are milling about on the largest pile of LR. I guess they'll be my canary for now

And don't worry, I am taking this slow, but I have to add something after a QT, right ?