Cycling a tank

[fishcrazy]

I just read an article on the net that said after adding live sand and rock, the next step was to add invertabras, then fish? I always thought invertabras were more sensitive? Your thoughts!

[GaryP]

It depends on the invertebrate. That's a really broad range to cover.

Some love dirty water, some can't survive in anything less then perfect water conditions. I've seen huge beds of Xenia and anemones growing at the outfall of sewage plants. You wouldn't find SPS growing there. Both are invertebrates. Just cause someone posts it on the net doesn't make it so. While the net has been a huge help in the hobby, all it takes is a computer to become an "expert." I'm sure whoever posted the info you saw was well intenioned, but unless you really get specific on some things you can be as dangerous as you are helpful.

Go to wetwebmedia.com for some good advice on how to cycle. Its searchable.

[NaCl_H2O]

I think they mean a clean up crew - crabs first, then snails. But all of this needs to wait until the tank is mostly cycled. The high Ammonia & Nitrite levels in a new tank will wipe out anything but a really tough fish, such as Damsels. DON'T put damsels in, you willl never get them out!

[GaryP]

NaCl is right. One of the issues you will usually deal with towards the end of the cycling process is an algae bloom. Snails are very sensitive to ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Ammonia will kill just about anything and nitrite will kill anything that has hemoglobin based blood. It competes with oxygen, sorta like carbon monoxide.

[fishcrazy]

So what would you recommend to put in after the rock? Assumming I have tested it for ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite? Don't want to sacrife expensive fish! I Also agree about the damsels.

[NaCl_H2O]

If you are not familiar with the nitrogen cycle, read up on wetweb
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/index.htm

You should be able to watch for a peak in Ammonia, then Nitrite, Then Nitrate. Once you have seen the spikes, and Amm & Nitrite remain zero (or very close) and you can maintain low nitrate with water changes, then add hermits. Blue leg hermits are probably the best at algae control, but reds and zebras do ok too. Depending on your system, this initial cycle could take 30-90 days, and the tank could get rather overgrown with algae during the cycle. A week or two after the hermits, add various snails: Astreas, nassarius, and cerith.

How long has the tank been setup? What size? What type of filtration?

[fishcrazy]

135 gal. custom sump and fug, euroreef skimmer, and a magnum 350 I had extra. I just got it plumbed and running about a week ago. 160lbs of live sand 80lbs of florida crushed coral, and I added the 50lbs of live rock 2 days ago.

[fishcrazy]

Thats 135 gal tank! 55 gal sump & fug!