"damsel cycle"

[skilter]

ok i know that damels are good for helping to cycle a tank, so when is a good time to introduce a damsel after the tank is set up and running?

so far this what i got in my tank:
its a 40 gal reef
i have about 30lbs of LR (purified came from my other existing tank)
and about 30lbs of LS

and since i love damsels i was gonna put a 3 striped damsel in my tank.

thx for reading,

-don

[skilter]

oh yeah i meant to say, my tank has been running for a week now.

i have a rio 180 and 90 as circulators, and a bak pak 2

[tdwyatt]

Originally posted by skilter
ok i know that damels are good for helping to cycle a tank, so when is a good time to introduce a damsel after the tank is set up and running?
...and since i love damsels i was gonna put a 3 striped damsel in my tank....

Ideally, even though these are very tolerant of poor water quality, it would be best to test your water column for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and when the first two substances are zero for at least a week, and nitrate is slowly rising, then it would be good to add your fish ONE AT A TIME, as the system will need to adjust to the input of each new fish's waste. In a 40 gal tank, 3 damsels will just about max out your tank's bioload if you wish to keep ANY corals, even then, it will be best to keep lagoonal spp. of corals that will tolerate less oligotropic water. Before committing to damsels, you may want to think about choosing fishes that will have a more defined role in the housekeeping of your system (i.e., algal consumers)

my 2 cents

[Mrs Smith]

Tom's absolutely right about being committed once you add damsels - once they are in, you will never be able to get them out. Really, you don't need damsels to cycle a tank - it will cycle on its own, or you can toss in a small cocktail shrimp for a day or so - that'll do it. Just check out other fish before choosing - damsels are unfortunately very aggressive and not always good tank-mates.

Danielle

[skilter]

what do you mean by coctail shrimp, THAT ACTUALLY WORKS?!
the only reason i was gonna add a damsel was to cycle my tank as fast as possible.
can i just buy any shrimp like the ones you purchase from the grocery?

[tdwyatt]

Originally posted by skilter
can i just buy any shrimp like the ones you purchase from the grocery?

Yup... Might want to put it in an old piece of women's hose to make removing it from the tank a little easier (in about a week or so). It will cycle quite quickly...

[billc]

Just like Mrs Smith said Just a couple of cocktail shrimp.. Myself I would buy at least a pound or better. So I could at least have a nice shrimp cocktail before or with dinner. Just throw a couple in tank(before cooking) for a couple of days, then remove.. The decay of the shrimp will start the cycle. Once everything has returned back to normal then you could start adding some live stock one at a time. If you have a question as to how many and what your tank can handle ask Tom.. He is a wealth of information...

[Mrs Smith]

I've always used cocktail shrimp - and yes, it'll cycle fast. I'd also recommend buying ample shrimp that evening so you can enjoy them, too. (Although you can actually purchase only one shrimp at the meat counter, you'll get some funny looks.)

Oh, and the pantyhose idea is a good one - after awhile, it'll get pretty rank.

Danielle

[Brooke]

tfa (tagging for archive)

[Doug1]

Actualy with the LR and LS from another tank, it should start processing quickly. You should have enough bacteria to handle slowly increasing the fish load. I would give it another week to settle, and maybe throw in a small pinch of fish food and monitor the parameters for a week or so. If you like the damsel, go for it, but its not needed to "Cycle" the tank. I agree with Tom on the 3 fish limit , SW doesn't support the fish load that a FW tank would. Decide what fish you want to end up with and research the compatability issues first, add the most aggresive one last, FWIW

[tdwyatt]

Originally posted by Mrs Smith
...I'd also recommend buying ample shrimp that evening so you can enjoy them, too. (Although you can actually purchase only one shrimp at the meat counter, you'll get some funny looks.)
...

Mel says that you can get just a few in the freezer section , only problem is getting the fish or hermits to eat the breadding...

this is a joke... kids, don't try this at home....

[skilter]

well today i went to the meat and seafood section of my local grocery, and asked for 3 little shrimp, ( 1 lb - 6.99 ) yes you heard me right, not 30 or 3 lbs, 3 indevidual shrimp, the girl behind the counter musta thought i was crazy or something, especially when i said it was for my aquarium tank then i said "oh it will help me cycle the tank out better" yeah i started getting some looks then. ha ha ha

-don

thnx everyone for your comments!!!!!