help me please

[potatocouch]

Population: 1x Torch Coral, 2x Zoas,, 1x Turbo, 1x Starfish.

3 am in the morning and here i am mopping the floor sigh~

Old tank cracked before new tank is cycled.

Lucky it's Barcelona v PSG time.

Anyway, i put them into the new tank. I have no other choice at the moment.

I understand when cycling, light is not recommended. In my scenario, do I switch the light on?

The cycle of the new tank is more important for me. I don't want to ruin it with Algae.

Help me please with any suggestions . Thank you.

[thegrun]

I would return the starfish and the snail to your LFS and put the corals in a 5 gallon bucket with a powerhead for water movement, a light and a heater while the new tank cycles. Ammonia produced during the cycle will likely kill the livestock and corals if you leave them in your new tank, if you don't add food to the bucket with only corals they should be okay.

[potatocouch]

Cycle, Corals survival, light & algae. What's your thought on it?

[thegrun]

I'm not sure if I follow your question.

[potatocouch]

If i switch on the light, there is chance of me growing algae but good for corals.

If i don't, corals will surely die?

[Zer0.]

Originally Posted by potatocouch

If i switch on the light, there is chance of me growing algae but good for corals.

If i don't, corals will surely die?

I think thegruns idea was your coral would be in a different container other than your tank.....So display = lights off, container with corals = lights.

[potatocouch]

Is it a must to cycle without lights? Is this because of algae?

What if we've used 100% RODI, so there shouldn't be any nutrients for algae to grow even with lights on?

[potatocouch]

I was just thinking and hoping to prove if my logic is correct.

• 5g tank with fully cured live rocks & 5 inhabitants --> this tank is fully cycled and mature.
• This morning, moved the fully cured live rocks & 5 inhabitants from 5g tank to 50g tank.
• 50g tank has new live rocks from LFS, so potentially it may be uncured; but more surface for the nitrifying bacteria to colonize.
• Bioload does not change; they are still 5 inhabitants plus 1 or 2 hitch hikers perhaps.
• Beneficial bacteria which converts Ammonia -> Nitrite -> Nitrate, will usually colonized at the surface of the rocks and not in water column.
• Which means, although the water volume has increased 10x compared to the 5g tank, as long as we do not add any more bioload, these beneficial bacteria that live on the surface of the rock should be able to cope with the conversion of Ammonia to Nitrite/Nitrate.
• If the amount of Nitrifying Bacteria can cope the bioload in the old tank, logically it should be able to cope with the same amount of bioload in the larger water column.

Yes/No? Agree/Disagree?

[potatocouch]

PH: 8.0 ~ 8.2 (borderline - hard to differentiate).
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0 - 0.25 (borderline - hard to differentiate).

Perhaps cycled?

Unless my theory is correct, which I usually doubt it
- The cured live rocks that I put down in the sump have been sitting there for approx. 1.5 weeks.

- I would assume those beneficial bacteria that colonize the old live rocks may have multiply over 1.5 weeks ... yes they are more wall tank surface and more water volume, but it's not logical that they would these medium to colonize. Most would usually be in the surface of the rocks and the inside porous of the rocks, right?

- In goes the "fresh" LRs from LFS to DT.

- The beneficial bacteria may have supported the bioload from the "fresh" LRs, that's why no die-off? but then, it wouldn't make any sense, because it took approx. 2 hours from LFS to my home, just in the stereofoam box and covered in damp wet newspaper. they would have been a die-off in this process.

Hmmmm illogical theory I supposed. I have no idea LOL

[potatocouch]

If I don't do anything for a while now but then eventually I would want to add more bioload ... can it (nitrifying bacterias) then cope with the new bioloads? Will the beneficial bacterias multiply without presence of Ammonia? or am I confused?

[wrott]

No Agree

[potatocouch]

Originally Posted by wrott

No Agree

You reply to which what no?

[wooden_reefer]

Originally Posted by potatocouch

Population: 1x Torch Coral, 2x Zoas,, 1x Turbo, 1x Starfish.

3 am in the morning and here i am mopping the floor sigh~

Old tank cracked before new tank is cycled.

Lucky it's Barcelona v PSG time.

Anyway, i put them into the new tank. I have no other choice at the moment.

I understand when cycling, light is not recommended. In my scenario, do I switch the light on?

The cycle of the new tank is more important for me. I don't want to ruin it with Algae.

Help me please with any suggestions . Thank you.

The bacteria in the old tank should not have died.

If the water in the cycling new tank is high in ammonia now, you can either do a 100 % wc or trust prime or amquel then move old cycled rock into the new tank

Nitrification bacteria population will not increase unless there is significant excess ammonia for extended period of time

[potatocouch]

Originally Posted by wooden_reefer

Nitrification bacteria population will not increase unless there is significant excess ammonia for extended period of time

But Ammonia will always be present, as long as there is bioload, right? even 1 small turbo snail will excrete ammonia, which then be consumed by nitrification bacteria and one would assume it will multiply over time?

not too sure what you meant by "significant excess Ammonia for extended period of time is the factor that will boost the population"?