saltwater tank cycling

[crazyfishlady]

I'm very excited! I've never done the saltwater thing before, but I decided it was time to try it out, so I set up a tank in my classroom so I could tell my students about the process as everything is happening. Well I'm planning a Fish Only tank with Live Rock & I'm using live rock to cycle the tank. I had an ammonia spike on Wednesday, came back after the long weekend & there's no ammonia, & now I'm having my nititrite spike. Yay! Not sure how long this will take, but I'm hoping it will be soon!
I know some people here have marine tanks. I just wanted to share & I do have one question as well. I have found conflicting information on when to start running the protien skimmer -
Now, or after it's cycled?

[punkypuffer]

if you aren't doing corals, you dont necessarily need a protien skimmer :/ at least in my experience. in my saltwater i've never used a protein skimmer at all since i only have fish and starfish.

but, if you already bought one, then i would say after the cycle is over

what kind of fish are you putting in there?

[RedParrotBubbles85]

agreed to put the protein skimmer in after the cycle as it will only prolong the cycle. also what brand protein skimmer did you get, and what size tank do you have. the cycle can last from a week to a month+ depending in the die off. in my tank which is only a 10 gallon the cycle was only a week long. HTH and have fun cant wait to see pics. also are you using a fuge for it?

[RedParrotBubbles85]

sorry forgot to add one thing about the protein skimmer. it IS best to use it in a FOWLR tank as it reduces the amount of protein that can be broken down which causes ammonia nitrate/ite. corals have almost no bioload and therefore dont truly need a protein skimmer although it does keep the water almost pristine which helps them greatly. also check out nano-reef.com or reefcentral.com for some good info. again cant wait to see pics.

[crazyfishlady]

Thanks. I will get pics going as soon as there is something interesting to see. No fish yet. I'm using a 26 gal. bowfront for a pretty small system, but its all I have room for in the classroom. I think I should have room for maybe 3 small fish (let me know any opinions on stocking level) A clown fish for sure (the kids will love it), I would also like a firefish goby, and a spotted cardinalfish.
The protien skimmer is just a visijet, because my system is so small & because I can't bring myself to shell out $150 for a better one until I know that I won't instantly kill everything. :)
So no refugium either.
Do feather worms add to the bioload?

[RedParrotBubbles85]

the fish bioload sounds good, and no the feather worms do not really contribute highly to the bioload. also a note on the visi jet. from what i have heard the do not work well at all. check nano-reef.com and search visi jet and you'll see what the people think of them. i personally have a seaclone which is also not liked but works amazingly. if i were you i would turn on the skimmer as soon as the cycle is over to make sure it works. also check if maybe your school will pay for your supplies as some schools do have a budget for it. but this is all in the future when you are sure that you are set up correctly. HTH.

[RedParrotBubbles85]

any pictures of it yet?

[crazyfishlady]

Well I could take a couple pics, but there's not alot to see. Just some live rock. Actually I bought a percula clown yesterday. It's so little & cute, but it's hiding at the top of the tank behind the skimmer. Does it need other fish to feel comfortable? If so, with this teeny 1" clown fish, how long do you think I need to wait before adding another fish? I don't want an ammonia spike, but the clown is just so little anyway....

[RedParrotBubbles85]

wait another couple of weeks until the bacteria can handle the clown before you add the other fish. sounds good. how is the protein skimmer working?any skimmate yet?

[crazyfishlady]

Nothing from the protein skimmer, but it's only been running for about 2 days & the instructions say to give it a week so...
I'm really worried about my little clown tho. He is almost swimming sideways like he's trying to get up on top of the heater.
Hes not actually floating tho (yet, anyway) He's still moving his little fins & undulating his body. I took a picture of him & of my live rock. I will try to get them posted tonight.
Also, clown not eating yet. should I keep trying, or can it eat stuff off the live rock?

[crazyfishlady]

OK - RPB I know you have been keeping an eye on this thread so I wanted to post another ? for you or anyone else who might know. At the LFS I bought what I, and the LFS guy, thought was a turbo snail, but when I got it here I realized it was a bluelegged hermit crab that hijacked a snail shell. I have grown to like the little guy (at least he's cruising around the tank, not like my clown fish). Now today I found his shell empty on the live rock. Can they ditch their shells & go into the live rock? (I haven't had a chance to get him any other shells yet.) Or does this mean I have a live rock pest that ate him?

[punkypuffer]

hmm mine disappeared like that too.. he was a little one though

[crazyfishlady]

Mine is pretty little too. He actually reappeared. I picked up his shell & looked in it didn't see him & dropped it on the substate. About an hour later the shell was back on the side of the live rock! So I guess he's OK :)
About the clownfish tho. He is out & swimming now. I turned off the powerhead. I think he's just too little to deal with all the current I have.
However, still not eating & I bought the exact food that the LFS guy said they were feeding him. He tests it & then spits it out. He seems to have a long stringy poo like freshwater fish get with heximita. Can I use the same pepso food for saltwater? & what about parasite meds if I need to dose the water first so he can eat?

[punkypuffer]

did you get a tank raised clown or a wild caught? w/c's don't do all that well in my experience with clowns :/

[RedParrotBubbles85]

before trying the pepso read the back to see if it is safe for salt water (it should be). also about the clown staying by the powerhead some clowns will host a powerhead if there is no available true host in the tank. clowns are kind of weird like that. about the hermit- as long as it is small it should not cause any problems but in the future try not to get snails that are almost the same size as it as it will probably kill them and take their shell. lastly to punky it is probably a tanks raised clown as they easily breed in aquariums, but there is still a small chance the it is wc.HTH.post the pic asap so we can see it!

[RedParrotBubbles85]

have any pics of it yet?

[crazyfishlady]

I do. I've just been insanely busy for the past two weeks. Things are going well though. My little clownfish is eating like a pig (the pepso food did the trick). I'm developing an algae problem, but I've added 4 turbo snails & plan to get some more. I will work on getting the pics up, but can't make any promises until after the holidays. :)

[RedParrotBubbles85]

sounds good. be careful with too many turbos as they get large,and knock stuff over. just try to get a diversity of snails. glad to hear that the clown is eating.

[crazyfishlady]

Hey RPB - what kinds of smaller snails would you suggest?

[RedParrotBubbles85]

you could try astrea snails who could eat algae, and if you want a snail that eats detritis you could get nassarius snails. there is also another snail that eats algae but i cant remember the name right now, if i think of it i will post it later.

[crazyfishlady]

I thought astrea & turbo snails were the same thing ????

[RedParrotBubbles85]

Hmmm, i am not sure i believe that they are different species. go to liveaquaria.com and check up on the different types that you could get, but i am 99% posative that they are different species.

[RedParrotBubbles85]

hows it going? Any pics yet?

[crazyfishlady]

OK here's some pics. I also have a PJ cardinal that I can't get a pic of. Just put it in yesterday & it's hiding out.
http://www.cichlidforums.com/postimages/2005-01-12/84203-001.jpg
This is when the tank was still cycling.

Here is the clown fish when he first arrived & hid on the heater.
http://www.cichlidforums.com/postimages/2005-01-12/84203-002.jpg

here's the clownfish now (and my algae problem) I think he might have attached himself to the thermometer.
http://www.cichlidforums.com/postimages/2005-01-12/84203-003.jpg
OK on this one you can see some of the stuff growing on my live rock (as of today). You can also see 2 of my turbo snails & one of my new bumblebee snails.
http://www.cichlidforums.com/postimages/2005-01-12/84203-004.jpg

[RedParrotBubbles85]

Looking good one you get the algae under control it will look great!