how long until I add fish??????????

nathan freedy · 08/29/2006, 04:34 PM

I set up my aquarium on Saturday and I added live rock(fully cured) today. How long until I should start adding fish and corals. And what type of organisms should I add first. I want to have a great reef aquarium. I have a 55 gl tank, with two 250w metal halides with 14k bulbs. Thankyou for the help.

WaterKeeper · 08/29/2006, 04:38 PM

Hi Nathan

To Reef Central

The word in this hobby is take things slow and easy. I'd start by adding a few snails next weekend if ammonia tests zero. Give them a week and then you might add a small fish. I say wait at least a month before adding any corals. That allow the water and rock to mature.

kraze3 · 08/29/2006, 04:39 PM

You first need to monitor your parameters and wait for the cycle to end. Even though it was fully cured there may still be a spike in ammonia. Cycle could take 2 weeks could take a month. Once your ammonia has spiked and stayed at 0 for a few days you can add your cleanup crew then after that you can add fish slowly.

bertoni · 08/29/2006, 04:52 PM

There are a wide range of opinions, since there's a wide range of risk tolerance. I usually say wait for three weeks of zero ammonia before adding animals, but that's fairly conservative.

Randall_James · 08/29/2006, 05:15 PM

for the sake of diversity, if you can wait 3 to 6 months to put any fish in (I know that seems long) but the rewards are there.

You will see populations of other stuff come and go while the tank finds a balance. Get your magnifying glass out at night with a flashlight and you will see what I mean.

Like Jonathan said, there is a wide range of opinions... Also it seems the longer after the cycle you wait to add fish or other live stock, the ammonia spike seems to be a bit larger (I think due to bacterial die off after the little guys run out of food from the cycle process).

Do keep close tabs on the tank after any addition (48 hours seems to be the start of the spike on my stuff).

Post pics too.... always nice to see what you are working on

pony_killer · 08/29/2006, 05:21 PM

hey i waited a month and a half before i started putting fish in, and the first fish i put in was a damsel just to see if it would live, which it did until i traded her in for a tomato clown & yellow tang. like everyone else on here says, i would wait as long as possible if you want your plants and animals to live. start off cheap, meaning nothing over $10 and see how they survive, then add a few things here and there. it will pay off in the long run.

demonsp · 08/29/2006, 08:15 PM

yea monitor your perrimators for a few weeks first if all is well start adding but little by little so as not not put to much of a load on the system . you could go crazy add alot add have a crash better safe then sorry gl

nmprisons · 08/29/2006, 08:35 PM

I never had an ammonia spike in my tank ... I added the clean up crew after 2 weeks of 0 ammonia and then added my leaf fish pair after another 2 weeks of 0 ammonia. It has been 82 hours and I have seen no ammonia or nitrate so a month after no ammonia seemed to work for me (cross your fingers)

Sk8r · 08/29/2006, 09:28 PM

First get your test strips [ammonia, nitrate, nitrite] and feed your tank as much fishfood daily as fits on your pinky nail.

You'll see the ammonia come up and finally---after a few days---go down. That's the cycle.

Start a log book with your readings and dates. It remembers what you may not. Keep 'topping off' with ro/di filtered water to keep your salinity steady.

Once you've seen the readings stabilize at 0,0,0 for those 3 parameters, you can get 2 things: a cleaning crew of snails and hermits, and a test for [I recommend Salifert] for alkalinity.
Plus you'll need a refractometer [don't waste money on a hydrometer] and a ph meter [more accurate.]

Once your cleaning crew has gotten a dent in the algae you're sure to get, and your readings are good, you can start choosing fish. Add them one at a time. At this point you'll start doing weekly 10 percent water changes.

If you truly want a reef [corals] you'll also need a calcium test. That will be minimal demand until you actually do have corals and they start growing.

HTH.

08/29/2006, 04:34 PM	#1
nathan freedy Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: marshfield wisconsin Posts: 27	how long until I add fish?????????? I set up my aquarium on Saturday and I added live rock(fully cured) today. How long until I should start adding fish and corals. And what type of organisms should I add first. I want to have a great reef aquarium. I have a 55 gl tank, with two 250w metal halides with 14k bulbs. Thankyou for the help.

08/29/2006, 04:38 PM	#2
WaterKeeper Bogus Information Expert Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: SW Ohio Posts: 16,147	Hi Nathan *To Reef Central* The word in this hobby is take things slow and easy. I'd start by adding a few snails next weekend if ammonia tests zero. Give them a week and then you might add a small fish. I say wait at least a month before adding any corals. That allow the water and rock to mature. __________________ "Leading the information hungry reefer down the road to starvation" Tom Current Tank Info: 130 Now out of service and a 29

08/29/2006, 04:52 PM	#4
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	There are a wide range of opinions, since there's a wide range of risk tolerance. I usually say wait for three weeks of zero ammonia before adding animals, but that's fairly conservative. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

08/29/2006, 05:15 PM	#5
Randall_James Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 6,727	for the sake of diversity, if you can wait 3 to 6 months to put any fish in (I know that seems long) but the rewards are there. You will see populations of other stuff come and go while the tank finds a balance. Get your magnifying glass out at night with a flashlight and you will see what I mean. Like Jonathan said, there is a wide range of opinions... Also it seems the longer after the cycle you wait to add fish or other live stock, the ammonia spike seems to be a bit larger (I think due to bacterial die off after the little guys run out of food from the cycle process). Do keep close tabs on the tank after any addition (48 hours seems to be the start of the spike on my stuff). Post pics too.... always nice to see what you are working on __________________ "It's a dog eat dog world and I feel like I am wearing milkbone underwear"

08/29/2006, 08:35 PM	#8
nmprisons Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Chicago Posts: 1,520	I never had an ammonia spike in my tank ... I added the clean up crew after 2 weeks of 0 ammonia and then added my leaf fish pair after another 2 weeks of 0 ammonia. It has been 82 hours and I have seen no ammonia or nitrate so a month after no ammonia seemed to work for me (cross your fingers) __________________ 25gallon tank up and cycling since 7/29/06 Mostly LPS reef (lords, micros, duncans, etc.) with some ricordia florida and zoanthids. Current Tank Info: 25 gallon, 28lbs of Marshall Island and Kaelini Live Rock, 2x65 power compact lighting, IFS Protein Skimmer

08/29/2006, 04:39 PM	#3
kraze3 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: RI Posts: 2,373	You first need to monitor your parameters and wait for the cycle to end. Even though it was fully cured there may still be a spike in ammonia. Cycle could take 2 weeks could take a month. Once your ammonia has spiked and stayed at 0 for a few days you can add your cleanup crew then after that you can add fish slowly.

08/29/2006, 05:21 PM	#6
pony_killer Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Houston Posts: 322	hey i waited a month and a half before i started putting fish in, and the first fish i put in was a damsel just to see if it would live, which it did until i traded her in for a tomato clown & yellow tang. like everyone else on here says, i would wait as long as possible if you want your plants and animals to live. start off cheap, meaning nothing over $10 and see how they survive, then add a few things here and there. it will pay off in the long run.

08/29/2006, 08:15 PM	#7
demonsp Moved On Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: el paso tx Posts: 7,634	yea monitor your perrimators for a few weeks first if all is well start adding but little by little so as not not put to much of a load on the system . you could go crazy add alot add have a crash better safe then sorry gl

08/29/2006, 09:28 PM	#9
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	First get your test strips [ammonia, nitrate, nitrite] and feed your tank as much fishfood daily as fits on your pinky nail. You'll see the ammonia come up and finally---after a few days---go down. That's the cycle. Start a log book with your readings and dates. It remembers what you may not. Keep 'topping off' with ro/di filtered water to keep your salinity steady. Once you've seen the readings stabilize at 0,0,0 for those 3 parameters, you can get 2 things: a cleaning crew of snails and hermits, and a test for [I recommend Salifert] for alkalinity. Plus you'll need a refractometer [don't waste money on a hydrometer] and a ph meter [more accurate.] Once your cleaning crew has gotten a dent in the algae you're sure to get, and your readings are good, you can start choosing fish. Add them one at a time. At this point you'll start doing weekly 10 percent water changes. If you truly want a reef [corals] you'll also need a calcium test. That will be minimal demand until you actually do have corals and they start growing. HTH. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.