my cycle

E

eceon

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Dec 30, 2003
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well, i am in the middle of the 3rd week of my cycle and was wondering how my progress is fairing. fyi:
-150 gallon marine tank
-10 damsels
-15lbs live rock
-bio-spira

during the entire cycle process my levels have remained stable @
-temp: 78deg
-salinity: 1.022
-pH: 8.2
-NO2: 0
-NH3: 0.1

i have experienced a big brown algae outbreak, which i have recently cleaned. in addition, i also reduced the amount of light exposure to about 6 hours a day to help remedy this.

am i about done? my water appears to be very stable and my damsels are all alive and healthy. if possible, i would like to add some more live rock and complete my aquascape. i also would like to introduce a cleaning crew to help me out. and, obviously i would like to add some fish (tangs, clownfish perhaps?) am i ready? thanks.

e
 
your cycle will be over when your ammonia levels, nitrate, nitrite, etc. are all at zero. this usually takes about a month or two.
 
Do you have a DSB yet? If not then maybe you would want to add that first but not sure if its a good idea with the damsels in the tank. I think building up your rock work would be the first thing you should do. What is your plan with the damsels? A clown may be upset about the damsels.
 
well, like i said, my levels have been stable at around zero. it has looked like this for the past 2.5 weeks:
-pH: 8.2
-NO2: 0
-NH3: 0.1

i have not exprienced any spike in any form, since my tank has started cycling. again, i am assuming my tank has cycled fast due to all the stuff i used to get it going these past couple weeks.
-10 damsels
-15lbs live rock
-bio-spira
-3-4in crushed coral sand

so, i guess what i am asking now is does this sound like it would spike still? is 0.1 acceptable for ammonia levels? oh, and what do you all suggest i do for my damsels? i love em and think they're great, but i really think i should only keep a few at most. thanks

e
 
hi again..

i am currently in the thrid week of my cycling (150gal) now and again my levels remain within the proper ranges. fyi:
temp: 79deg
NO2: 0
NH3: 0.1
pH:8.2
sg: 1.022

now, i am planning on grabbing some more live rock and round out my aquascape today.. perhaps an additional 20lbs to my 15. is it safe for me to do this at this point with my 10 damsels in the tank? can i introduce other fish at the same time? i would like to purchase some more fish today as well.

i apologize for appearing redundant at points, but this is something i want to do properly. thanks again, AC.

edit: i guess i should also ask if this is a good time to introduce a cleaning crew? can i do live rock, fish, cleaning crew at the same time? or should this be done in three separate intervals? if so, what kind of cleaning crew would you reccomend to me? thanks
 
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I really think that you're supposed to cycle your thank with a full load of live rock to start with. If you add a large quantity of live rock now, it will destabilize your water parameters... in fact you will have to cycle it again.

15lbs for 150Gal seems too little. rule of thumb I follow is one lb/Gal.

good luck!
 
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