From: rtc@sgfb.ssd.ray.com (Custer)
Subject: [M][B] Help & questions after 1st week cycling 1st tank
Organization: Raytheon Company, Portsmouth, RI
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 01:23:01 GMT

I'm about through the first week of cycling my first tank and have some new
questions.

The setup:

	75 gallon Perfecto brand aquarium
	40 watt 48" lamp
	75 lbs dolomite
	decorative coral ~ 8 lbs.
	BioLogic Wet/Dry filter with AquaClear 802 powerhead
        ended up using about 35.5 cups of Instant Ocean.
	250 watt heater

	6 fish for cycling, Damsels of various species all 1.5 to 2 inches

	planned to be a fish only tank.  I may add invertebrates after the
        tank has been established for 5 or 6 months.

1) Do I have adequate lighting:
	Moe says: "...Good lighting is important, a couple of 40 watt, full 
                   spectrum florescent bulbs are fine as they help the fish do
                   well and grow some good macro algae. The kind of lighting
                   I am talking about here is not the little fixture that 
                   comes with some commercial freshwater tanks and has one or 
                   two 20 watt red/orange florescent tubes.  These may be fine
                   for freshwater tanks, but they are inadequate for marine
                   fish...."

  The lamp that came with the aquarium is also made by Perfecto and is labeled
  Perfect-A-Lamp, 40 watts 48" number F40T12. It does have a pinkish tinge to 
  it.  Is this lamp adequate ? Should I have two ?

2) Do I have good test kits ?
   From the nearby aquariums I had the following to choose from:
   - Aquarium pharmaceuticals Dry-Tab test kits, which I was told were for
     both fresh and salt use and seemed to me to be less accurate.
   - Tetra marine test kits. Liquid reagents, a few color bars printed on the
     outside of the box.  These seemed pretty cheesy and inaccurate.
   - Aquarium Systems SeaTest kits.  Dry reagents with quantity for each test
     individually sealed in foil packet.  Continuous color scale imprinted on
     plastic slide.  These seemed to be the highest quality (and most 
     expensive) and most accurate kits available around here.

     I went with the SeaTest kits.  It has been a little difficult to read the
     scales as the colors don't match exactly. I guess the idea is to find
     the shade that sort of looks like the closest match.
     The ranges are: NH4+-N 0 to 1.0 ppm
                     NO2--N 0 to 1.0 and 1.0 to 10.0 ppm
     I'm trying to plot the ammonia and nitrite curves as the tank cycles.  I
     guess I'll have to dilute the input samples and multiply the readings as
     the concentrations exceed the test ranges.  Anyway, are these good kits ?
     Are there better ones ? In the same price range ? Do I need better ones ?

3) Disease already ?
   The fish were introduced three days after the tank was running.  The fish
   have now been in the tank for five days.  Two of the striped damsels show
   definite signs of disease.  Amylodinium or Cryptocaryon, I haven't learned
   how to tell the difference yet.  The only plan I have is to freshwater dip
   them and see what happens.  Am I going to create a disaster by treating
   them and reintroducing them to the tank at this stage ? Should I just 
   remove them permanently ?

4) Do I have enough bio load to cycle this size tank correctly ?

   The aquarium dealer (who has been exceptionally helpful) recommended six
   Damsels for this purpose, here's the scoop so far ...

   DAY    SG    pH    NH4+-N    NO2--N  TEMP
    3    1.022  8.2                     79.5  
    4 (added fish, began testing on day 7)
    7    1.022        0.2 ppm
    9    1.022        0.3 ppm    0.0ppm 78.5

    Moe's graphs show ammonia up to 10.0 ppm by this time.  Do I need a larger
    population to get the tank cycled in a reasonable time ?

5) How long can the filter stand a power failure ?

   The biological section of the filter fills with water when the power fails.
   Once it is established, how long can it remain submerged without damage ?
   I may need to turn it off during the cycling process.  How long can I
   safely leave it off even before the bacteria are fully established ?

That's all for now.  Thanks for any and all help.  I still have quite a few
questions.  If you're interested keep an eye on the net in the coming days
and weeks.

Thanks again,

Todd Custer
Raytheon Company
Portsmouth, RI
rtc@sgfb.ssd.ray.com
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria