Cycle over.... Questions?

: Should i blast the rocks off the stuff on the rocks looks like detritus? Should i start filtering it? So i should be good to add a clean up crew, huh! I was thinking of putting some hermits and snails in and just a bit of LR to start coraline algae. My lights are arriving soon. Will the snails and hermits be ok without lights for a week.

 

snails and hermits should be fine, but it wouldn't hurt to let the tank continue to age without them to make sure your cycle is finished either. slower is better..

 

now's a fine time to add a CuC... no harm in waiting a bit either.

I highly recommend following these guys recommendation (and their prices are superb) http://www.reefcleaners.org

Your light is irrelevant to the CuC... you can add that later (you don't actually need light until you have a coral that needs it; otherwise it's just show).

No harm in blasting the rock with a baster and filtering... I would personally leave it for the CuC.

After CuC, IMO, next step is skimming and slow rate of stocking.

What's your setup?

 

reefcleaners.org is a good outfit. But I tend to avoid any crabs in my display tank anymore. All of them are opportunistic and can eventually start eating things you don't want them to, like your snails. Even my blue legs were eventually taking out all of my snails.

 

I consider this a bit dangerous. While the basic concept is correct, it should be restated "you don't actually need _INTENSE_ light until you have a coral that needs it". It is still necessary to have day/night in the tank with some light. Failure to do so may stress sensitive fish, CUC and photosynthetic bacteria/algae (both beneficial and not).

 

Go ahead and add a CUC. Seeing them thrive will be proof that your water is okay and it is something fun to watch. Good luck!

 

Unless I am missing something, you didn't say how old the tank is. It is imprudent to answer without that knowledge. If barely established, there will not be enough food sources for a CUC. The site peredhil gave seems to be a good one (I just checked it out). If the tank is less than say 2 mos. old, my response would be;
There are some who would tell you that once "the numbers" are all good the cycle is over and you are ready to go, I am not one of those. What many beginner (even some advanced) aquarium keepers are not (fully) aware of is that the full cycle takes at least 6-8 months. The reason being, mainly, is this is the time required to fully cultivate a total beneficial bacterial base and achieve a saturation of such. Also, allowing the tank to "season" and go through the inevitable mini-cycles and diatom blooms and get fully established is the key to a healthy and stable tank in the future. You could have one fish after about the 6 week mark, let the tank get established by light feeding and going through a moderate light cycle (6-8 hours) for the next 3 weeks. After that, add a few clean up critters (crabs and/or snails) and allow the tank to "catch up" to the added load (you may at this time add some live bacteria to help in this process) and give it another 2 weeks doing all your tests on a regular (weekly) basis and determine if the tank is stable. Water changes of 30% should be carried out once a month to once every 5-6 weeks. Coral should not be introduced (even soft) until the tank is around 3-4 months old. Too many beginners don't exercise the proper patience and discipline at this early stage of getting their tank going only to have problems and head aches down the road. Once the tank has gone through this full cycle period and the tank is stable, then and only then, should you add more difficult coral like hard coral. I always employed a bit of advice I got when I was starting out to add bacteria after each water change for the first and subsequent next 4-5 changes. After the 4th water change then and only then add to the tank and minimally at that.
Another good tactic I learned is to add (whatever you are adding) a couple days after a water change. This gives the new creature fresh minerals and trace elements and a good 3-4 weeks (I adhere to 4-5 week intervals between changes) to adjust to the new water parameters, light, temp etc. before disrupting the tank for the next water change.
I hope this helps.

 

My tank is a month old. thanks alot unclejed! that helped alot! You gave me a plan book for the next two months! Perfect ill wait another two weeks and then add a fish, which will give me plenty of time to pic out my favorite one. When should i do my first water change?

 

I see your point, but in the context of this thread, I disagree with you and stand by what I originally said. He just finished his cycle and is looking at getting some snails and crabs (I disagree that they need any day/night cycle and sensitive fish isn't relevant in this context). You are right about the fish - but I'm not saying he shouldn't get lights, just that there is no particular rush.




Also, while I am not saying UncleJed is wrong on any particular point (he's not), I disagree with him overall on his approach. I find it excessively cautious and I find his time lines arbitrarily high (he obviously won't agree). His tips are all good things to keep in mind. And his approach is very sound. Taking it slow is the best approach. But I find no real value in the timeline and water change sizes he's suggesting or waiting until you've done 4-5 water changes before you start stocking and I completely disagree about adding bacteria after water changes. Again, none of his suggestions hurt, I just find them extreme overkill. (but do take it slow!!!) (there are many many ways to go about this hobby and some people only allow one way to skin a cat)

He is right that too many get excited and jump the gun. Patience and slowness are your friend here. Worth reiterating.

And I found none of the responses imprudent : Cycle is over, that's enough information to know you can add your CuC. And it's a great deal more than "some" that feel this way.

I stand by my original post.

 

my tank is a biocube 29 gallon. I love these things. VIVA LOS NANO TANK