need help new tank cycle?

**[JS]** · 24th Aug 2003, 22:22

i put 3 prawn for 3 days liao
and my ammonia is 5.0mg/l
wats is the next step?
do i take out the prawn ?

**eric_kclee** · 24th Aug 2003, 23:09

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On 8/24/2003 10:22:35 PM

i put 3 prawn for 3 days liao
and my ammonia is 5.0mg/l
wats is the next step?
do i take out the prawn ?
----------------

What..what.... you expect shrimp to suck up ammonia? You need bacteria in your filter to break down the ammonia.

Age or season your filter before the baceria is effective. Some say run it for 3-4 weeks. Some say borrow old filter material from friend and jumpstart it in 1week.

For me, I run the tank (14inch cube) with little plant, then throw in some guppy (they are tougher)...to get the eco system runing. Shrimp is more costly and easily die for an unmatured tank. Guppy can be removed later to feed the LH....[

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**ai[k²]wan** · 24th Aug 2003, 23:17

u can take out the prawn actually. the ammonia is just to kick start the cycle. now, wait for ammonia to become 0 and nitrite 0 . later change some water and ur tank is ready. if u want u can leave it for a few days more. dont let it rot too much..

just my 2cents

**[JS]** · 24th Aug 2003, 23:18

then wat should i do pls advice....
i'm lost .........HELP!

**hbkid1980** · 24th Aug 2003, 23:29

Sry just to interrupt!
How doi get rid of the ammonia and the nitrate ???

Thanks!

**kelstorm** · 26th Aug 2003, 09:28

----------------
On 8/24/2003 10:22:35 PM

i put 3 prawn for 3 days liao
and my ammonia is 5.0mg/l
wats is the next step?
do i take out the prawn ?
----------------

3 days is too short to cycle a tank. be patient, the NH3 will go down on its own, provided u leave the filtration on all the time.

**kelstorm** · 26th Aug 2003, 09:31

Sry just to interrupt!
How doi get rid of the ammonia and the nitrate ???

Thanks!
----------------
i presume that this happens during cycling of tank. hope that no livestock is inside it now.
The ammonia level will decrease with time. and nitrite will take over. before decreasing again and then nitrate will take over. By then, u can start adding livestock [/b]slowly[/b] and before u do so, make sure that the nitrite is zero and can change up to 50% of the water

**james** · 26th Aug 2003, 15:14

Sorry to hijack...but it's related.

Should protein skimmer be running during cycling phase?

Trying to know more before..going to Marine tank..

Thanks!

**[JS]** · 26th Aug 2003, 16:00

thx to all the bro here .....
a small intro of mi
i just 20 yrs old...
hehehe

**kelstorm** · 27th Aug 2003, 09:15

[quote]
----------------
On 8/26/2003 3:14:07 PM

Sorry to hijack...but it's related.

Should protein skimmer be running during cycling phase?

Trying to know more before..going to Marine tank..

Thanks!
----------------
nope.. u should not do that..

**[JS]** · 30th Aug 2003, 15:49

when the water is still cycle
can i put live rock ?
thx

**kelstorm** · 2nd Sep 2003, 09:18

[quote]
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On 8/30/2003 3:49:16 PM

when the water is still cycle
can i put live rock ?
thx
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some ppl does that.. i dun.. but i starts to put LR in gradually after abt 4 weeks of cycling..

**maumu** · 26th Sep 2003, 13:34

It takes 4 weeks to cycle a tank? -_-&quot;

My tank measures about 50cm x 50cm x 50cm. Those cube type. Is it too small?

**hbkid1980** · 26th Sep 2003, 23:09

Is consider small for a marine tank but i do have friends using the same measurement of tank as you . You cant keep much in this tank think about 2-3 fishes and a lot of species you cant have it in your tank !

[

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**doraemon** · 19th Jan 2004, 09:34

[quote="kelstorm "]

----------------
On 8/26/2003 3:14:07 PM

Sorry to hijack...but it's related.

Should protein skimmer be running during cycling phase?

Trying to know more before..going to Marine tank..

Thanks!
----------------
nope.. u should not do that..

Hi, may i know why cant the protein skimmer inside the tank when cycling the tank? Please advise. Thanks.

**kelstorm** · 19th Jan 2004, 12:07

[quote:6b08

2a8a="james "]Sorry to hijack...but it's related.

Should protein skimmer be running during cycling phase?

Trying to know more before..going to Marine tank..

Thanks![/quote:6b08

2a8a]

NO.... dun ever do that...

**kelstorm** · 19th Jan 2004, 12:13

[quote:c60ef99459="maumu "]It takes 4 weeks to cycle a tank? -_-&quot;

My tank measures about 50cm x 50cm x 50cm. Those cube type. Is it too small?

[/quote:c60ef99459]

frankly speaking, i wld encourage to go for the biggest tank u can afford coz the bigger the tank, the higher the tolerance level will be... lets not talk abt my main tank in the living room, i have a 2ft tank inside my room and i only house a pair of shrimps and seahorses, of which, i think i'm already pushing the limits and i cycled that 2ft tank for 4 weeks.. even though i used some filter media from my main tank!!!

The way i see it, u will be upgrading your tank very soon.. the type of fishes that u can keep is also very limited... and do read up on what is the size they will grow up to, the food requirement and habitat before getting them... paying S$x for a fish is easy, but their lives depends on u... so, kindly be responsible for them before buying them.. do some reading up...

Regards,
Kelvin

**kelstorm** · 19th Jan 2004, 12:15

[quote="doraemon"][quote:d94ee5d323="kelstorm "]

----------------
On 8/26/2003 3:14:07 PM

Sorry to hijack...but it's related.

Should protein skimmer be running during cycling phase?

Trying to know more before..going to Marine tank..

Thanks!
----------------
nope.. u should not do that..

Hi, may i know why cant the protein skimmer inside the tank when cycling the tank? Please advise. Thanks.

[/quote:d94ee5d323]

This is because the skimmer will remove significant amt of waste, which will result in your filter media not being able to reach it maximum capacity.
Also, since there is not life form inside your tank, other than bacteria, why do u want to put in a protein skimmer for? Keep the skimmer till u have introduce livestock.