From: mdc@cbnewsg.cb.att.com (barbara.guerin)
Subject: Re: [M][B] Help & questions after 1st week cycling 1st tank
Followup-To: alt.aquaria
Summary: (M) 1st week cycling
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: na
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 14:14:32 GMT

In article <1992Nov16.012301.29973@rayssd.ssd.ray.com>, rtc@sgfb.ssd.ray.com (Custer) writes:
> 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 ?
Todd:
The thing with starting a new tank above all eles
is PATIENCE!

Your lighting may be o'k for fish however if you want to go
with inverts in 6 months you may want to change your lighting.

Fish disease at this stage do not worry about fresh
water dipping setting up extra quartine tanks etc.
If the fish are healthy they will fight off any disease
if not remove them and get a couple more healthy specimens.

Filtering once your tank has cycled in about 6 weeks
or more could take up to 8 weeks.  Keep your under gravel
clean.  Do not let excess waste build up it only
will lead to water quality problems.

Dana

>    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