My cycle, it's only been a week

S

Steph_D

Large Fish
#1
Feb 27, 2006
123
0
0
Noel, MO, extreme SW corner of the state
#1
Well, my hubby said that if I could keep a 2.5 gallon tank going for a while, then I could upgrade my 15g to saltwater. That's all fine and dandy with me, but the cycle has me confused.

I started this thing a week ago. I have a 2.5g tank with a little over 3 lbs of live rock. I'd been testing the water almost daily with the strips (yep, they bite) and according to them, the ammonia was still at .5 ppm. On Monday I bought a liquid test kit and found out that the ammonia and nitrites were at 0, with the nitrates being 40. Now the nitrates are at 20. Is my cycle really coming to an end so soon? I've spotted bristleworms and other little creepy crawlies moving around in the tank. Am I ok to start adding some small snails and hermits?

A guy at a LFS told me that I should cycle my tank with a damsel and then "get rid of it" when I'm done. Sorry, I don't like doing that and a damsel is just too big for this small tank. But, when the cycle is for sure done, would a yellow clown goby do ok?

Anyhow, I was just wondering if y'all think that the cycle might be done, and should I wait to add any cleaners until the nitrates get lower?

Thanks in advance! I'm already itching to work on the 15g tank:rolleyes:
 

saltwater4life

saltwater4life

Large Fish
#2
Sep 26, 2006
785
1
0
33
New Jersey
#2
well cycle starts when ammonia get above 0 and ends when it come back down so yes your cycle is about down
and what is the size of the tank? Lx Wx H
and your other question yea a yellow clown goby would be ok
and yea you can start adding snails and crabs as long as you have LR it'd keep them busy IMO
although i'm still kinda new to keeping saltwater tanks
 

S

Steph_D

Large Fish
#7
Feb 27, 2006
123
0
0
Noel, MO, extreme SW corner of the state
#7
Thank you all for the help*thumbsups

I would actually never try having a clown fish in a tank this small. The only reason that I was considering the yellow clown goby is because everywhere I'd read says that they stay less than 2". I actually prefer the smaller fish over the bigger ones.

I saw a sexy shrimp at my LFS the other day. It was the first time I'd ever seen any in person and they were adorable (hubby even likes them because they're sexy, LOL). Would I just be able to keep one in this tank, or maybe 2? Also, what kind of cleaners do y'all recommend and how many? My kids like the hermit crabs so I'd like to at least have one, if they'd do ok in this tank.

This is going faster than I'd planned. I didn't expect the cycle to be done for about a month but since it's done I'm ready to add some life (slowly, of course :D ).

Thanks again for the help! It's greatly appreciated.
 

S

Steph_D

Large Fish
#9
Feb 27, 2006
123
0
0
Noel, MO, extreme SW corner of the state
#9
I'm not an expert by any means so don't take my word as the gospel. I've dealt with freshwater for a long time but this is my very first saltwater experience.

You can get live rock from almost any pet store that carries saltwater stuff. It's generally expensive. The cheapest that I saw at a store was $6 a pound, but you can also buy it online for cheaper. Whether it's cured or not (do a search on curing live rock, you'll find a lot of info), there'll still be some die-off from the things that are on/inside the rock. That's what gets the cycle going.

Of course, that's the short version. I've done months worth of reading and research on buying live rock and cycling the saltwater tanks. What had me confused was that most of the stuff I'd read said that the cycle took about a month unless you used live sand, which I didn't. You can also buy live sand in water-packed bags at the fish stores, usually running about $20 for 10 pounds or so.
 

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