Cycling a new tank?
- Thread starter axepilot
- Start date
Adding some live rock will help--but you'll still want to do frequent water changes as indicated by testing to prevent the ammonia levels from becoming lethal. You could return those fish and cycle with raw cocktail shrimp--gauranteed to give a good ammonia level without harming fish or leaving you with unwanted animals. The damsels will result in a tank that is cycled for just their bio-load--adding more fish will cause a small spike, and removing them and putting in something else may result in one as well.
>>>>The damsels will result in a tank that is cycled for just their bio-load<<<<
Exactly my line of thought. I'm a patient person, so I intend to introduce new fish at a slow rate, working my way through very hardy fish to the delicate. I plan on keeping no more than than about 8 fish, as I've done before. I'm just not used to a wet/dry filter setup - I'm old school cannister / undergravel.
I want to put in a banded coral shrimp and a few hermit crabs, with some tangs, an angel and MAYBE a niger trigger and a butterfly.
I'm wary of live rock. When I tried it ten years ago, I picked up a VERY unwelcome hitckhiker that made my life miserable. Mantis shrimps are doom!
Exactly my line of thought. I'm a patient person, so I intend to introduce new fish at a slow rate, working my way through very hardy fish to the delicate. I plan on keeping no more than than about 8 fish, as I've done before. I'm just not used to a wet/dry filter setup - I'm old school cannister / undergravel.
I want to put in a banded coral shrimp and a few hermit crabs, with some tangs, an angel and MAYBE a niger trigger and a butterfly.
I'm wary of live rock. When I tried it ten years ago, I picked up a VERY unwelcome hitckhiker that made my life miserable. Mantis shrimps are doom!
Depending on where you get the rock, mantis may or may not be a problem. I've had a few, but they've all been cooperative with their removal. But, rock really is better for the fish--provides cover and natural food sources.
I don't use a wet dry. I have 55 gallon sumps on my 120's, then lots of rock and sand, and as many cleaners as the tank will support--in the case of FO that's pretty limited, so a bit more manual cleaning is required. But, there's no mechanical filters on my setups to catch and trap solid wastes where they can decay and increase nitrates. I have the ability to add mechanical/chemical filtration if needed, but so far it's just been on stand by.
I don't use a wet dry. I have 55 gallon sumps on my 120's, then lots of rock and sand, and as many cleaners as the tank will support--in the case of FO that's pretty limited, so a bit more manual cleaning is required. But, there's no mechanical filters on my setups to catch and trap solid wastes where they can decay and increase nitrates. I have the ability to add mechanical/chemical filtration if needed, but so far it's just been on stand by.