New 90 gal question

Hey guys! Well the time has finally come for me to get my new tank up and running!! I will soon post a build thread, but this is just a quick question. I have a 36 gal corner tank with 2 occ clowns(one black one reg) and a bubble tip brittle star. I moved most of my established rock from the 36 over to the 90, plus loads more base rock(60 lbs marcorocks). I did a large water change in the 36 gal and used that water in the new tank. The new tank has a fuge and skimmer going. I am running carbon. It has been running with the LR from my 36, skimmer, and carbon for 4 days. I added one of my clowns last night(the one that bites me everytime i feed it ). All levels are still 0. How soon should i add the rest of my livestock? Its only one small black occ clown and a pink bubble tip starfish. My 36 is still running, kind of. It is running 2/3 full without its sump and without almost all of its rock. I dont know which tank will stress them more at this point. I do not plan on making any other additions to the tank for another month or two. Do you think it will cycle with such a small bioload and a fair amt of established LR? Do you think they will survive such a cycle?

 

I would think is should cycle pretty quickly, just test daily and watch the ammonia level and if it spikes do a water change. See how it goes with the parameters before you add the rest. I believe you are referring to a bubble tip anemone?

A tank will cycle even with no fish or inverts, it just takes longer. I am sure with the LR it will cycle just fine.

 

nope, a bubble starfish. His spines on the back have bubbles at their tips. I dont know if thats his true name or not. We have been remodeling our living room, so the 36 gal has been jammed in the dining room and essentially neglected for the last 6 months. The clown i put in last night is swimming around nicely and is much more active then i have seen her lately.

 

Yes starfish then it needs to wait until you have some idea how the tank is going to cycle. They are very sensitive to parameter swings and elevated levels of ammonia and nitrite. Sounds like a pretty starfish.

 

Update! My 0 amm and 0 nitrite numbers were from last night before adding the clownfish. I didnt see a point in checking nitrate then. I rechecked just now and have .25 of ammonia, 0 nitrite, and 20 nitrates. The clownfish is doing fine and ate the one piece of flake i offered her. looks like a cycle is happening but is going quickly.

 

also i added a little prime to protect the clownfish