cycling process

[prec]

im in the midst of cycling my rocks in a red pail b4 my tank comes on saturday.. will the rocks be going through another smelly cycle when i transfer them after curing them for 1 wk in the red pail? as in will the ANN cycle restart?

[yiling]

IMO there will not be too many dieoffs as the traveling time is short...

but then again ...im a newbie too...better let the experts correct me..

[RAV-65]

Bro, suggest u leave your rocks in the tank and use a small piece of prawn meat to test the waters... if after 3 days and all the parameters for ANN is zero... den is much safer...

But to be really safe, suggest u do a full cycling...

[prec]

i will be putting the LRs in the tank for another 1.5mths but i just dont want the smell to return.. so tts what im asking.. any help?

[pegasus1010]

smell are unavoidable.

[Gouldian]

i will be putting the LRs in the tank for another 1.5mths but i just dont want the smell to return.. so tts what im asking.. any help?

Smell comes from uncured LR dying off. You will not experience any foul smell unless you remove the LR from water for too long when you are transferring them to your tank.

However if your LR are fully cured, then there will be less foul smell.

By the way, I support your idea of leaving the tank to cycle for 1.5mths cause the amount of pods built-up is going to be crucial to the succees of your tank! But make sure that you have the skimmer running and no lights.

[mUAr_cHEe]

By the way, I support your idea of leaving the tank to cycle for 1.5mths cause the amount of pods built-up is going to be crucial to the succees of your tank! But make sure that you have the skimmer running and no lights.

Support support from me as well....

not as many ppl like me... willing to cycle for 3 months....

i had no choice... no more marnee buy new thing also.... hahahahaha....

but it was a rewarding experience... at the end of 3 months... i no need to buy feather duster worm liaoz.... becuz got so much growing out of my sand bed... heehee....

[RockLobster]

By the way, I support your idea of leaving the tank to cycle for 1.5mths cause the amount of pods built-up is going to be crucial to the succees of your tank! But make sure that you have the skimmer running and no lights.

Hello, I just started my new 3ft tank last sunday. I'm also using LR in the cycling process.

I wanted to add that I've read from "Marine Reef Aquarium HandBook" by Dr Robert J Goldstein that during cycling;

if the protein skimmer is turned on when the (live) rock is introduced to the tank, the skimmer will remove much of the dissolved organic material from the water before it can be broken down into ammonia by the decomposers. That slows the development of the nitrite peakand nitrifying bacteria bloom

So I'm just providing water circulation, no light and not using protein skimmer (yet).

Just my 2 cents.

[Gouldian]

Hello, I just started my new 3ft tank last sunday. I'm also using LR in the cycling process.

I wanted to add that I've read from "Marine Reef Aquarium HandBook" by Dr Robert J Goldstein that during cycling;

if the protein skimmer is turned on when the (live) rock is introduced to the tank, the skimmer will remove much of the dissolved organic material from the water before it can be broken down into ammonia by the decomposers. That slows the development of the nitrite peakand nitrifying bacteria bloom

So I'm just providing water circulation, no light and not using protein skimmer (yet).

Just my 2 cents.

Well I have that book too. Anyway, there more than a way to skin a cat.

Other writers such as A. Calfo, R. Fenner and E. Borneman advises to have the skimmer in from the beginning.

They argued that the Ammonia and Nitrite produced by the die-offs may be too great for the bacteria to handle at the beginning of the cycle period.

Unless the LRs are cured, I feel that the Skimmer method is safer.

But thanks for the additional opinion.

[prec]

okay thanks guys! i just hope tt by sunday when my tank comes and with the LRs in them cycling i will have less smell.. now its stinking my whole hse.. haha mum's dying..

is it better for me to change like 80% of the water in the pail tt the rocks are in now to remove some smell? or will tt cause some inbalance?

[diabolus]

i see that you are eyeing on the mandarin as one of your intended lifestock.

i hope you read up more about this fish.

It will only thrive(note not survive) in a mature tank which is preferably more than a year old.

The amount of pods you have in a new tank will not be able to substain it.

unless you can get one dat feeds on prepared food, which is not uncommon....but they are usually too slow geting to the food than the rest of your fishes.

[prec]

dont worry.. the fishes dont come in till the end of the year.. haha.. im taking things slow..

[RockLobster]

Well I have that book too. Anyway, there more than a way to skin a cat.

Other writers such as A. Calfo, R. Fenner and E. Borneman advises to have the skimmer in from the beginning.

They argued that the Ammonia and Nitrite produced by the die-offs may be too great for the bacteria to handle at the beginning of the cycle period.

Unless the LRs are cured, I feel that the Skimmer method is safer.

But thanks for the additional opinion.

Yah.. I just have that one book

Sometimes I find that too many opinions (esp from different experts) makes me even more blur. So for my 3ft tank which I am starting; I'm sticking to the recommendations of this book.

If it doesn't work, I'll "cheong swei hiu" (in canto mean "sing bad about him") in this forum

I'm seeing small snails on the walls of my tank and 1 bristleworm(??), should I KO them?

[diabolus]

if the snails are pyramid snails, get rid of them...

if the bristleworm is not huge, then leave it....it helps to sift ur substrate by burrowing into them.

[RockLobster]

if the snails are pyramid snails, get rid of them...

if the bristleworm is not huge, then leave it....it helps to sift ur substrate by burrowing into them.

Hi thanks for the advice.

But I'm not sure what a pyramid snail looks like; the ones in my tank are really small (now), about the size of a grain of rice.

I'll remove them to the lorry later if I can see them.

Thanks!

Oh! forgot to mention I found a little clam in my tank too. good or bad?

I'm trying to keep a log book to record my experiences in setting up this new tank.

Thanks ya all!

[prec]

my LRs are turning black and the water is blackish too.. wad is wrong? just changed 70% of the water to reduce the smell..

[Gouldian]

my LRs are turning black and the water is blackish too.. wad is wrong? just changed 70% of the water to reduce the smell..

How many days is it now? Have you tested for ANN (Amonia, Nitrite, Nitrate)?

[prec]

today's the 3rd day.. have not tested ANN..

[prec]

does black rocks = dead/dying live rocks? some are black bt dont smell bad at all..

[Gouldian]

does black rocks = dead/dying live rocks? some are black bt dont smell bad at all..

Leave it to cycle. Try to get ANN test kits so as the only way to know your tank is fully cycled is the readings.

There bounds to have some die-offs in the beginning of your cycle, it is this die-offs that will multiply the beneficial bacteria.

[RockLobster]

Leave it to cycle. Try to get ANN test kits so as the only way to know your tank is fully cycled is the readings.

There bounds to have some die-offs in the beginning of your cycle, it is this die-offs that will multiply the beneficial bacteria.

Today's the fourth day for my new tank. Just smelled it this morning before leaving for work; didn't have any smell at all; should I be concerned?

My rock were said to be "cured" by the LFS but I still find some hitchhikers onboard.

My tank is 3x1.5x1.5ft. I'm using only a Seio M820 to circulate the water in the tank (damn powderful!).

Gouldian's right about the die-offs which will help in the cultivation of bacteria.

[Gouldian]

Today's the fourth day for my new tank. Just smelled it this morning before leaving for work; didn't have any smell at all; should I be concerned?

My rock were said to be "cured" by the LFS but I still find some hitchhikers onboard.

My tank is 3x1.5x1.5ft. I'm using only a Seio M820 to circulate the water in the tank (damn powderful!).

Gouldian's right about the die-offs which will help in the cultivation of bacteria.

Smell you complain, no smell you also complains. No lar no smell is good. Anyway, do the ANN test to determine the end of cycle.

As far as I know there is only one LFS that does proper cycling of LR - Coral Farm. If free you should go take a look!

[diabolus]

The difference between 'cured' and 'uncured' liverocks do not have anything with the presence of hitch hikers.

'cured' means that the LFS has put the LRs into a holding tank, and has cycled them for a period of time. These LRs are very suitable when your tank has already finished its ANN cycle because they will cause very minimal ammonia spike.

'uncured' means that the rocks are usually new, and when dump in large amount into your tank, will usually cause an ammonia spike in your tank(especially if its in the infancy stage).

'Uncured' rocks are best used when you are starting to cycle your tank, the die-offs are useful in kicking off the ANN cycle.

Hitch hikers are usually tough enough to survive thru any ammonia spikes or cycling periods.

IME, the more porous the rocks, the more hitch hikers you get.

[prec]

hmm my smell is reduced! haha finally.. hmm was using m820 in those huge red tubs but seems like its power is far much lesser than sicce extrema. so was wondering if its enuff to provide circulation in my 3x2x2 or is it just my m820 not strong enuff?

[RockLobster]

Smell you complain, no smell you also complains. No lar no smell is good. Anyway, do the ANN test to determine the end of cycle.

As far as I know there is only one LFS that does proper cycling of LR - Coral Farm. If free you should go take a look!

I think CF LR is more than 10 bucks/kg....

Anyway Singaporeans always like to complain and bitch one mah..

Have a nice weekend everyone!