ready for phish?

lwaxman · #1 01/03/2008, 07:07 PM

so i have been cycling my tank with lv and ls. when can i add fish.

thanks

bertoni · #2 01/03/2008, 07:09 PM

I'm assuming by "lv" you mean live rock. I'd wait for three weeks of zero ammonia, and do some water changes along the way.

lwaxman · #3 01/03/2008, 07:16 PM

a lfs said that one week of cycling would be sufficient. not good, should i definitely wait longer, and why

bertoni · #4 01/03/2008, 07:18 PM

Well, ammonia is toxic, and many tanks show ammonia for more than a week. Waiting for a few more weeks reduces the chance that a secondary ammonia spike will kill the animals, and also gives time for more of the decay to complete.

uscharalph · #5 01/03/2008, 07:37 PM

Test for Ammonia till it reaches 0, then test for Nitrites till they reach 0. Then test till your Nitrates lower. You're ready for a cleaning crew and maybe your first fish.

george81 · #6 01/04/2008, 12:47 AM

no tank could cycle in a week. even though i hate putting a time frame on cycling...because cycling takes as long as it take...you should wait a minimum of 4 weeks..before you even think of adding a fish. you re cycle is done when ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are all zero...no sooner read up on denitrification and cycling

Mavrk · #7 01/04/2008, 01:15 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by george81
no tank could cycle in a week. even though i hate putting a time frame on cycling...because cycling takes as long as it take...you should wait a minimum of 4 weeks..before you even think of adding a fish. you re cycle is done when ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are all zero...no sooner read up on denitrification and cycling

Cycles can be cut down to a matter of days if using fully cured rock. This is not to say the tank is mature (there's a difference).

The "cycle" is done when ammonia and nitrite are consistantly 0. Nitrate being 0 is only part of the cycle if you are using a deep sand bed and that will take 6 months. It is good to aim for 0 nitrates with water changes, skimming, macro algae, etc.

That being said, the longer you can go without fish, the bettter.

Test daily to see if you have an ammonia spike and/or nitrite spike (sometimes you don't even see the ammonia spike). Then if these read 0 for a few days add a snail. If it survives, continue to grow your CUC slowly.

Waiting before adding fish allows your tank to mature. This means more stability, more pods, more worms, and more biodiversity in the microfauna.

Mavrk · #8 01/04/2008, 01:16 AM

BTW...

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