Cycle with fish

T

Tango

Reefing newb
If one were to cycle with a hardy fish, how long would it take. Hypothetically speaking!

I know ppl are really against cycling with fish.
 
The same amount of time as it would to cycle with a piece of shrimp.

Also, each tank and each cycle is different. It can take as little as two weeks and up to a few months.
 
Reason I ask is because someone told me that I can cycle the tank with his establish sponge from his tank as well as Nutrafin cycle mixed in as well.

I didn't see an ammonia spike during this process.

He said it's safe to add fish and Cycle also stated that I can add fish instantly.

So I added a fish, 3 days ago and still no ammonia spike. So hopefully this means it did cycle and nothing happens to my fish. If it didn't cycle, when do you think I'll start noticing a spike or increase in ammonia? Basically when am I sure I am in the clear?
 
Nope, don't want you to agree at all with cycling with fish. I'm against it too, just wondering how long it will take.

I hope I'm NOT cycling with a fish. I just want to know when things start to change. If I see something happen this week. I'll remove the fish and put it in a friends tank. I just want to know when is it safe period to stop worrying about it.

Just a pointless post like, "I'm against cycling fish, it's inhuman" could be avoided.
 
Tango said:
Nope, don't want you to agree at all with cycling with fish. I'm against it too, just wondering how long it will take.

I hope I'm NOT cycling with a fish. I just want to know when things start to change. If I see something happen this week. I'll remove the fish and put it in a friends tank. I just want to know when is it safe period to stop worrying about it.

Just a pointless post like, "I'm against cycling fish, it's inhuman" could be avoided.
Click to expand...


Ok lets break this down Barney Style then.

How long has the tank been up?
What water are you using?
How often are you testing you water , what test kit are you using and what tests do you have?
What is your latest test reading on your water parameters?
 
BTW most fish dont have a "help me Im dying" flag they wave...its subtle symptoms and signs that you miss when you dont know what you are doing.
 
2 half weeks.
Saltwater /w RO mix
once every other day with a Seachem Ammonia wheel inside the tank 24/7. Also using SeaChem Marine Basic Testkit.
Ammonia 0 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 0 or .5 (can't tell too close) PH 7.5
 
Marines_Wife said:
BTW most fish dont have a "help me Im dying" flag they wave...its subtle symptoms and signs that you miss when you dont know what you are doing.
Click to expand...

I put a little flag in the tank that says "Help" so hopefully, when the fish needs help, he'll grab it and wave!

I did put an Ammonia wheel and if starts to change colour I will remove the fish! (kinda like a help flag eh, eh)

So the Ammonia wheel and the little help flag I put in the tank should do it right? (I was kidding about the flag..since we are going all Barney now, I thought I'd clear that up with you)
 
Your pH seems low, when do you test it. What do you have your salinity at? It's possible that if you had little to no die off on your LR that you skipped a cycle. I would just continue to monitor and if you still don't see any change after 2-3 weeks it's safe to say your tank is cycled.
 
BL1 said:
Your pH seems low, when do you test it. What do you have your salinity at? It's possible that if you had little to no die off on your LR that you skipped a cycle. I would just continue to monitor and if you still don't see any change after 2-3 weeks it's safe to say your tank is cycled.
Click to expand...

I tested the PH yesterday.

My Salinity is at 1.024

It is possible there was no die of from live rock, as I got it from a LFS with a tank full of liverock. Also there was about 6-7 marco brittle stars and some other mini starfish that are still alive today.

Thanks for the time frame. Thats what I was looking for!

Is skipping a cycle normal? Will it be safe to add lets say a clownfish in 2-3 weeks?

Again I took some LR from established tank, a filter sponge from an established tank and let it sit there for a day. I also bought some cycle with bacteria. So I think that might have helped. If not I do have an ammonia wheel to let me know all day long if it changes and I will remove the chromis from the dangers of high ammonia
 
Depending on how much live rock you have you prlly skipped the cycle. When I first set up my tank I started with about 30 lbs of live rock and my cycle was almost instant. I waited a week and added two clowns and kept on testing my water and everything was spot on. Just keep testing your water. If you see no change in ammonia or nitrite but the nitrates go up then you are cycled. I think you should be safe to add the clowns in a couple weeks.
 
Dude, let me put my 2 cents in here, I get the part about you using the Nutrafin cycle, as a lot said depends on the size of your tank, etc. From experience, the chemicals only bugger up the initial cycle. They are a gimmick, take the time do it right, drop a shrimp in for a couple of days to kickstart the cycle, monitor and learn, then get in.

My experience in being impatient 2 tanks, 5 fish, 2 sets of coral, including sand rocks and time nearly $700 Canadian.

1 shrimp, maybe $.50-$1.

JMO.
Yours Truly, one broke Canadian.
You yanks and your dollar and close proximity to the oceans and breeders, damn you!
Kidding.
 
It's totally plausible that you skipped a cycle.

You should wait at least three weeks between fish additions, though. How big is your tank?
 
Sorry, I meant what time of day did you test. Your pH will always be the highest when your lights go off at night. Otherwise you're going to need to start dosing to raise your pH, the lowest it should be is 7.8.
 
Having a low pH is indicative of a cycling tank, and those in-tank ammonia tests arent very accurate. Just the the other day we had someone on here who has one of those, which read no ammonia, but the far more accurate liquid test kits showed he did. Im not sure how good the other test kit you are using is.

You very likely skipped a cycle because of the amount of live bacteria you used, but in the future, I would still drop in a piece of table shrimp and verify that you dont get an ammonia spike with a reputable test kit
 

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