View Full Version : cycling the tank
Johno
11-08-2003, 11:37 PM
i was wondering what equptiment should be on during the cycling
and should live rock be used during? and what is the best way to get the ammonia to start it?
Johno
Johno
11-09-2003, 10:19 AM
i'm heading to my lfs and can't my protien skimmer and need to whati need to cycle and the other questions
Johno
11-09-2003, 10:22 AM
sorry i'm going to my lfs and can't buy my protien skimmer yet and need to know what i need to cycle my 75 gal along whith my other questions
MonoSebaelover
11-09-2003, 5:41 PM
You should have your wet dry or whatever type of filter you are using running of course while cycling. Buying uncured live rock actually really helps the cycle. Don't have your skimmer running while cycling because it takes out the organics that are needed to cycle a tank. The best way to cycle your tank is to buys some uncured live rock and a couple of cocktail shrimp at your local grocery store and let them rot in your tank producing more ammonia than your fish should ever produce, so anyway hope this helps and answers all your questions.
that helped by the way i just got the water is its quite cloudy from the sand i got my bio filteration in the canister and my specific gravitys at 1.014 is that too low? cause i ran out of salt, and should i have my canister on all day?
john
g. mcclean
11-09-2003, 8:06 PM
I would suggest running the cannister all day. You may need to clean the pads and rinse the other media after a week or so. You may get a diatom bloom and that will also require you to clean the cannister. Your specific gravity is too low. It should be around 1.023.
Johno
11-09-2003, 10:06 PM
should keep my heater on? and howwarm should it be? its at 78 now
OrionGirl
11-10-2003, 9:01 AM
78 is fine, and you should leave the heater in there and plugged in, for the most part. It should turn on and off on it's own to maintain a stable temp.
Any filtration that is plumbed into the tank should be running 24/7. Turning it off may kill bacteria and cause a spike--not good. Some filtration is used only occassionally, such as a water polisher, but it should be cleaned and drained between uses.
i turned it off last night because my mom was worried that it might leak and flood after the trouble i had getting it to start i can see now why my book said canister filters are not as user friendy but now it will be on 24/7 thank you
Johno
11-11-2003, 11:19 AM
um my tank is super cloudy i put the water in 2days ago and i just have my filter on now since its a day off in canada i can get a ride to my lfs i whant to buy some live rock but this would make the tank even more cloudy will this just settle out in a few days?