how long to wait b4 fish?

Finaddict · #1 09-17-2007, 05:20 PM

Just wondering how long I should wait to add fish..

added 2/3 water from a cycled tank. 46lbs cycled rock, new sand mixed with 3cups live sand.
has 2 snails.
do i just check for an ammonia spike. or is it be cyclyed already?

tank is a 26g seamless bowfront.

was going to be a fututre home for a fuzzy lion or a fu manchu lion but from research they are hard to get to eat frozen foods...so

Jason McK · #2 09-17-2007, 06:01 PM

Basically you should treat it like a new tank. the Amonia spike should be minimal but I would monitor to ensure all is good. Odds are you will also expirence the nornal aglae blooms as well.

J

bv_reefer · #3 09-18-2007, 03:18 AM

supposedly in a smaller tank ammonia spikes are minimal to undetectable, which was true for me, for the first month and a half my nitrate was undetectable, however my nitrites were through the roof, and then followed as jason mentioned the hair algae and cyano, which i got rid of with water changes and red slime remover, but eventually the hair algae went down and now stopped all together with only a few tiny patches left, however for some reason my nitrites are still a little high, good luck with the tank

justinl · #4 09-18-2007, 07:36 AM

bv_reefer, seriously i think that, for everyone's sake, you really ought to just stop posting for a while. read other people's posts and figure out what is and isnt correct. please.

oh and to clear things up, if anything, ammonia spikes and nitrate rises... basically any chemical swings... will be more severe in tanks with less volume. think of the volume as a sort of buffer... it will take more time to contaminate/change to a significant level than it would in a larger tank.

fin, i assume you are just starting out? if so then i suggest you reconsider your stocking choices. Fu manchu lions are suited only for the most experienced at getting finicky fish to eat... they do not do well in captivity. fuzzies are a bit more forgiving but i still wouldnt suggest them to a beginner unless you are able to find a healthy one that is already trained to eat frozen food.

my advice would be to just let the tank sit fishless for a week or two... just to let things settle out. other than that, the already cured rock should be able to handle a single fish by then... only add single fish at a time though, especially in such a small tank. oh and fyi, when a tank cycles and matures, it refers to the rock and sand which has bacteria living on it to deal with ammonia. whether the water is newly mixed or aged in a tank, has nothing to do with cycling... if anything, it's worse since it will have the old tank's waste in it... i do hope you didnt BUY that.

Finaddict · #5 09-18-2007, 02:51 PM

thanks, I am not new, I have a 90g reef for a few years.

I added sand from my reef to help the sand become live.

I will wait a few weeks. And do not not want to feed live food. so fuman chu is out!

bv_reefer · #6 09-19-2007, 12:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by justinl

bv_reefer, seriously i think that, for everyone's sake, you really ought to just stop posting for a while. read other people's posts and figure out what is and isnt correct. please.

oh and to clear things up, if anything, ammonia spikes and nitrate rises... basically any chemical swings... will be more severe in tanks with less volume. think of the volume as a sort of buffer... it will take more time to contaminate/change to a significant level than it would in a larger tank.

fin, i assume you are just starting out? if so then i suggest you reconsider your stocking choices. Fu manchu lions are suited only for the most experienced at getting finicky fish to eat... they do not do well in captivity. fuzzies are a bit more forgiving but i still wouldnt suggest them to a beginner unless you are able to find a healthy one that is already trained to eat frozen food.

my advice would be to just let the tank sit fishless for a week or two... just to let things settle out. other than that, the already cured rock should be able to handle a single fish by then... only add single fish at a time though, especially in such a small tank. oh and fyi, when a tank cycles and matures, it refers to the rock and sand which has bacteria living on it to deal with ammonia. whether the water is newly mixed or aged in a tank, has nothing to do with cycling... if anything, it's worse since it will have the old tank's waste in it... i do hope you didnt BUY that.

-cool....don't care...