tank cycling

[dhuv]

I bought my tank in August. After a couple of weeks I put 2 damsels in there to start cycling the tank. (yeah I know I know, not enough) All I would get was high amonia. Recently put the damsels in another tank temporarily and got some Lalo live rock in there from liveaquaria.com. They said that it should cycle in 2-4weeks. I figured with my luck it will be 6-8. I follow the directions of washing the rocks, changing 50% every week, and cleaning them with a tooth brush and siphoning out the big crap thats on the bottom. During the first week the tank STANK. The skimmer was picking up a lot of stuff. The second week the smell started to go away and as regular maintainance I took the water to the LFS to get checked to see where in the cycle it is. They told me everything was 0. The guy said to check back in a few days and I will be going tonight to get the water checked again. But does that make sense. I figure my tank was going through the cycle before I put the live rock in. But would it really take only 2 weeks for everything to work? Is there anything I should look out or check for?

Thanks,
dhuv

 

[dhuv]

Currently I have stock lights and an considering new light before I buy any soft corel. I will only be buying hardy species as I am only a newbie. I have a hood that holds 24" tube lights. At the LFS I see tubes that are 4200K, 5400K and 6500K (dont remmeber exacty number but these are similar). I will have a few fish and some hardy soft corel. What should I get? My mount holds 2 bulbs so I can get different kinds if thats better.

Can I get a list of some hardy corel to start off with? I will start researching and figure out what I should get depending on the recommendations.

Thanks again,
dhuv

 

[Len]

Hey dhuv,

Your tank cycle probably hasn't even started. 2 weeks after adding transhipped live rock shouldn't be enough to establish your nitrogen cycle yet. I'd wait a few more weeks. The longer, the better. In fact, if you have patience, waiting 8-10 weeks is a very smart idea. BTW, you don't need any damsels to cycle your tank, and most people actually discourage them since it's considered inhumane. Live rock alone has sufficent organics to establish the N cycle.

As for lighting, what size tank is your tank? Two 24" bulbs will be barely sufficent lighting for all but the hardiest corals if the tank is 20 gallons or less, but if it's a larger tank, you'll need more then these two bulbs. Unfortunately, reef aquariums require a good investment in equipment to yield success. We can come up with some recommendations based on your tank size.

Good starter corals are finger corals, leather corals, mushrooms, zooanthid polyps, star polyps, colts, brain corals, and bubble corals. These don't require much in terms of lighting and are more forgiving of water conditions.

 

[dhuv]

I am surprised hear you say that this thing probably hasnt even started to cycle. As I mentioned, I had the 2 damsels in there for a while and when I had the water checked then it was high ammonia. This was before I added the live rock. I am surprised to see that everything was 0 when I did the recent test. I am also seeing that most of the stuff that died on the rocks has come off and I see new things with bright colors that have been growing. I put the damsels back in and they seem happy. Also my skimmer isnt picking up much crap anymore either. There is a bit but not like it was the first week or so.

My tank is a 54 gallon corner tank (http://patel.sh/pictures/tank/) rocks2.jpg is the current setup. I am considering chaning my lights to the ones that the LFS uses. The brand they use has several different color temps (4?00K, 5400K, 6500K). Which temps are good for which corel? If you need more info on the tank let me know. I think I have pretty much explained the history in the first post.

Thanks,
dhuv