Fish In Cycle?

[pkppv]

Please save me from massive failure! I have been keeping tropical fish for a while and decided to add a small saltwater tank. I work at an aquarium and have always loved clown fish. (EVEN BEFORE NEMO!). Anyway all i want is a 10gal tank with a single black clown. Would it be a massive failure if i got a tank kit with normal non-special lighting, but in some dead (previously live) rock i have for some reason, some sand (any kind in particular?) put in the 20x flow rate, mixed the salt water, and added a clown? Would it cycle the rock for me? Obviously i know nothing...Thanks in advance!!!!

EDIT: Do i need a couple pounds of LR to get the dead rock started? Weighed my rock, its around 5 pounds.

 

[Donya]

Never do a fish-in cycle (the exceptions really being things like when an established tank recycles and livestock can't be moved). You can do a fish-less cycle with a bit of actual LR and a piece of raw seafood (shrimp, scallop, etc.) to kick things off. All you need is an ammonia source, which dead things can provide just as well as living things - but without the risk of ammonia burns to gills and stress from poor water quality during the cycle. Be aware that if the dead rock hasn't been cleaned thoroughly, it may re-release some badness for a while - another reason to cycle without animals present.

some sand (any kind in particular?)

Aragonite. You want a CaCO3 substrate to help buffer the pH.

 

[lljdma06]

Please save me from massive failure! I have been keeping tropical fish for a while and decided to add a small saltwater tank. I work at an aquarium and have always loved clown fish. (EVEN BEFORE NEMO!). Anyway all i want is a 10gal tank with a single black clown. Would it be a massive failure if i got a tank kit with normal non-special lighting, but in some dead (previously live) rock i have for some reason, some sand (any kind in particular?) put in the 20x flow rate, mixed the salt water, and added a clown? Would it cycle the rock for me? Obviously i know nothing...Thanks in advance!!!!

EDIT: Do i need a couple pounds of LR to get the dead rock started? Weighed my rock, its around 5 pounds.

While having a 10g tank with a single clown isn't out of the ordinary, it's a far more complicated process than just adding the clown right after the addition of LR.

You'd need about 10-20lbs of LR depending on how porous it was for your tank. So yes, you'd need more LR. Most use aragonite sand. I used live sand for my picos and was not disappointed, others hate live sand. The rock also needs to just sit in the tank for a spell. You need to wait and see what happens, you also need to add a CUC to take of your rock and keep it clean so the bacteria in the rock can do its job, which is filter your tank. It's usually some time before you can add a fish to a SW tank. You'll also need the following equipment.

1. A source of SW or RO water
2. Salt to mix your SW if you're using RO
3. Refractometer to measure specific gravity
4. Since you don't want corals, lighting isn't all that important, as long as you can grow algae, you're fine
5. Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and high range pH test kit
6. powerheads to achieve 20x flow, usually two do the trick
7. thermometer
8. buckets to hold prepared SW and RO and a powerhead to airate the SW
9. The list goes on

No, you can't just throw in a clown with LR and sand and prayers from the heavens, and expect it to work, as Donya pointed out very well, but if you take the time to read and plan, you can have a clown fish in a 10g if you give things just a bit more time. You can also keep a bunch of other nifty creatures that'll make the Clown fish much more comfortable.

L

 

[pkppv]

Thank you! I'll do the seafood cycle then! Also, what's a CUC?

 

[Man of fish]

Clean up crew

 

[This Old Spouse]

I'm never gonna have a SW tank, am I? *sigh*

 

[lljdma06]

I'm never gonna have a SW tank, am I? *sigh*

You'll get there. I waited 23 years before I set up my first SW. I don't regret waiting so long, and having the planted systems really helped.

L

 

[pkppv]

Well, im not waiting! im getting one! haha! Can you go into a little detail on the CUC? What exactly are they, some examples, when do i add them? before or after the cycle, id assumer after but you said bacteria dont grow before they are introuduced to do the cleaning...

 

[SaltNoob]

Once and only after your ammonia is near 0 you can start adding your CUC. Hermits and Snails are what make your CUC most of the time. Cerith and Astrea snails are great cleaners, Hermit Crabs are great scavengers, just be careful they will steal the shells of your cerith snails. (provide some bigger empty shells if you get hermits IMO) There are other snails etc., but with this small of a tank you only need a handful, maybe start with 5 snails and a hermit if you like em. Too many too fast = not enough food.

Good luck! You start cycling yet?

 

[Donya]

Once and only after your ammonia is near 0 you can start adding your CUC.

Not just ammonia. Nitrite and nitrate are factors too. Inverts should never be added while any nitrite reading exists - can be worse for some than having ammonia hanging about. Nitrate also needs to be pretty low. Putting CUC in when NH3 and NO2 are undetectable ("0" ppm on test kit readings) and NO3 has just dipped <10ppm will avoid deaths due to adding animals prematurely while also avoiding a recycle, although you can also keep keep the cycle going as long as you want animal-less by adding a new piece of raw seafood every time the last one disappears.

 

[lljdma06]

Yeah, you have to wait for the entire nitrogen cycle to process before you add anything. Then you do a large water change to bring your nitrates down, and then you can add a CUC.

If your rock is cured, this process actually goes rather quickly or you don't get it at all and you have enough of the bacteria to start adding CUC pretty soon after you setup. . If your rock isn't cured, then you do indeed go through this process and it can harm the inverts already present in your LR.

I use cured LR, because I have very good access to quality LR. Others do not have this luxury.

L

 

[pkppv]

the CUC will keep my cycle alive? when should i know to add a fish?

 

[SaltNoob]

I waited one week after my ammonia/nitrite/nitrates dropped to at or near zero. After that I added my CUC. Then two more weeks before fish.... Hardy fish. Also if you test your own water and are unsure, almost all LFS stores will test for very cheap if not free. The CUC should not go in until the Cycle has ended. You want the cycle to END before adding.

Life llj said above, the LR you have makes a big difference. My tank had a shorter cycle as my rock was also Cured. You know by smelling and testing! Smells dead then you know for sure to keep waiting. Smells oceany then start testing your ammonia/nitrite/nitrates.

What king of water are you using. Just make sure its not tap water (very bad) I made this mistake the first fill up. Bad idea.

 

[This Old Spouse]

It's always best to test your own water, unless you're standing right there when the LFS staffer does it and you write down the numbers.