Well I upgraded to a 135. I used all of my water from my 75 and added 75 more. My new tank began the nitrogen cycle. I have lost all but one fish. Thankfully They were inexpensive fish. That being said it frustrating to loose any livestock. I have a Fuzzy Dwarf Lionfish still alive. However, he is not looking so good. Hope he will survive the cycle. Ammonia has been at 8.0 ppm for 4 days hopefully it will begin to drop off soon. I would absolutely hate to loose the lionfish.
Ammonia at 8 ppm is very toxic and every degree your tank swings will add to the toxicity. You need to do a water change asap to give the remaining inhabitants a chance. If it were me, my next moves would be a water change and then daily full doses of prime until the cycle has completed. The prime will detoxicify the ammonia and nitrites daily to save the other fish.
I would suggest you find someone to keep your livestock for you. You sould never cycle a new tank with your livestock in it. We need to be a little more responsible for the animals than that.
Yes, I thought since I transfered all of my rock and water the cycle would be less dramatic. I thought wrong. I did perform a 20% water change and dosed with an ammonia buster. I managed to cut my ammonia in half. I would like to have someone keep my fish. I do not know of anyone in Hot Springs that would do this for me especially a Lionfish.
check with the shop down there and or in Benton and tell them the situation, maybe they well rent you a holding tank. You fish well not make it through both A and N of the cycle, its just to much to ask. I have a QT up and running but live in Searcy, you're welcome to use it. You need to do huge water changes everyday otherwise and don't feed the tank.
Man! I got the lionfish out of my tank. Kevin said he would watch him for awhile. I made a fresh batch of saltwater and put in it in a bucket. I will be going to benton within the hour. I have always had a few fish during a cycle. I wave never had this level of ammonia before. I guess the bigger the tank the bigger the cycle. Thanks for everyones help.
here a couple of really nice related post to "The Cycle", if interested... http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/jus ... -tank.html and http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/jus ... -tank.html
the ammonia buster is junk. it temporarily binds ammonia and releases once it is saturated. kind of like a bandaid on a bullet wound. sea chems prime is what you would have needed to keep the fish alive but since hes out now i wouldnt worry about it. if there is no more livestock inthe tank then let the cycle run its course and then do a water change. if you still have inhabitants then water changes will be a must. your animals can only stand a ammonia level of around .5 oe 1. ppm for a short period of time. dont let it get over that if you can help it.im glad to hear the lion fish will be cared for in the mean time. are you registering any nitrites or nitrates yet?
You never ever want to have any live stock in a cycleing tank, some can handle it better then others, say like damsels, but there is no need to do it. The nitrite cycle well take longer then the ammonia. Even once the tank has cycled you well need to watch how much you feed until the tank has some age to it, like months after.
After the Nitrite cycle is complete. Nitrite will need to read zero correct. At that point, will it be save to reintroduce my lionfish. I only feed her 3 times a week. I skip the entire weekend. In the meantime the lionfish will have time to recuperate in Paradise Pets' tank. Hopefuly Kevin will be ok with her being there for awhile.
Bigman28, just in case you did not get my PM I sent to you, I live in Hot Springs and can help you If you need me to. I wish I would of found out sooner I could of kept your fish for you. If you need anything else let me know. I put phone number in PM. Again sorry for being to late for your fish. How much live rock do you have. Let me know if you need more. Eddie
if it were my tan k and fish i would monitor the tank daily. get your self some 100% pure ammonia or use urine and once the ammonia and nitrite hit 0 ppm then i would reintroduce enough to register 2 ppm again and see how long it takes for the tank to cyle it. if it takes a week or so then i would keep doing it until it can handle it in a days time. once the tank hits that point you should have enough bb to handle the bio load of your fish. this is not necessarily necessary but it will give you peace of mind and insure the remaining fish survives.
I would personally under no circumstances introduce 100% amonia or urine into any aquarium. If someone can't wait for the tank to cycle naturally, they don't need to be in this hobby. I think we should think before we post and not give new reefers information that could be damaging to their systems. The tank should be cycled slowly and livestock introduced slowly so not to overwhelm the system. Remember the main rule of reefkeeping.....anything done quickly or any major change can and usually is devistating. Take your time, do it right, and save yourself the money and problems that quick or easy are sure to produce.
in this case with an empty tank i dont see where it could harm anything to boost the bacteria level while the tank is un inhabited. maybe you could shed some light as to why it would be a bad idea in this case? my suggestion would not rush the cycle in anyway and would only add more bb for the tank to be able to hold the bio-load of the one fish he does have before reintroducing it to the tank and possibly start another mini cycle after it was reintroduced. i am all for going slow in a new tank and i havent suggested that anything should be sped up. when the tank is currently done with the ammonia source it is feeding off of now then the bacteria will be enough to handle that load, but as soon as a fish is added to the tank(not to mention a heavy bio-load fish like a lion) then the bacteria will have to multiply again to adjust to the new level. in doing what i suggested there will already be an excess of bb that can easily handle the bio-load of the lion after it is introduced. in fact the method i suggested will take longer to complete and result in stronger bacterial colony then the orginial cycle will on its own. you could figure on an additional week or two for it to complete. so in your theory of slow is good wouldnt you think this would be better? and again not to scare off any new reefer or mislead them in the new hobby i would suggest looking into a fishless cycle method which is what i have suggested. it is the most humane method for cycling a new tank. there was alot of thought that went into my post and the info was solid that i provided. it would be more helpfull to provide good info then to simply tell them to be more responsible. i am not trying to start an arguement, i feel that the advise i have provided is sound and am willing to retract it if you can show evidence that what i have posted is inaccurate in anyway.
Norman please don't start an argument on my thread. I am here for help not so you guys can fight. I have been in the hobby for about a year and this is the first mishap that I have run into. And more than anyone I hate the fact that I killed 3 fish because of it. I did not do this out of spite. So Norman take it down a notch or two.
I am not going to flame anybody, but what Norman said on the first part of his post I agree with 1000%. You can do the same thing as the addition of ammon or urine does by adding a chunk of shrimp or half a silversides. It well take longer to cycle but the cycle well be alot stronger, just leave it to decompose and it well make a very good cycle take place. It well probably take 3 to 4 weeks for the A & N to take place. In a 135 you well be able to introduce your lion fish and feed 3 times a week as far as the cycle goes. Sorry to say I have never had a lion fish and don't know how touchy they are to water conditions, in Scott Michaels book they are for the most part rated hardy, so should do okay in a new cycled tank. You have to understand that a tank once cycled is a long long way from being an aged and steady bio system. You shouldn't add most angles or tangs, other then a yellow to a tank less then six months old, and a pwdr blue or pwdr brn in less then a year, not saying you can't do it but when you get a ich outbreak, and your water parims are good and can't figure out why, it most likely is that the tank hasn't enough age to have the OVERALL water quality yet needed. There are billions of other things that get going after the A & N cycle has taken place. Get a raw uncooked shrimp somewhere from Lous. and not China [treated] and cut off a 3/8- 1/2" chunk and drop in the tank, after it is gone feed the tank a few pellets or flkes of food a couple time a week until the cycle is complete. People are doing what Jason posted and probably works, but personally I can't say as I am a STRONG believer in doing things naturally. I also believe that for everything you put in your tank there are side effects that we can't always see. I don't dose vodka, carbon or anyother thing. I'm not in this hobby to change what mother nature does on her own. Why not do the same thing naturally?? cheers
Everyone on this forum is entitled to his or her opinion. I was in no way trying to start an arguement. I believe in the natural method of cycling a tank and am not in favor of adding any foreign substances to the aquarium. I believe as John does that a naturally cycled system will be stronger and have a more diverse bacteria base than a chemicaly indused cycle. Again this is my opinion and I know you can go to other forums, books and discussion groups and find examples of any system you want to use. So go ahead and pour amonia or pee in your tank if you think that is the best method for you. My suggestion is read, reasearch, and make up your own mind. I love this hobby and would not do anything that I thought would turn someone away or give them a bad experience.
Forgive me if I got this wrong but he used the old water, rocks, and sand and put it in another tank. Would that not be cycle enough it would be like doing a 1/2 water change on his 130 and not ever having his 75 set up. If you was to add a sump or a fuge to a tank that is already setup do you need to take all the fish out and let it cycle? It seems to be the thing to me.
