cycling
Contents:
- 'cycle' (bacterial biological filtration s
by zach/hyper.esd.sgi.com (George Zachary) (Fri, 30 Jul 1993)
- [BM] These are the fish I think I want, what do you pros think?
by jward/hydra.acs.uci.edu (John Ward) (15 Jul 92)
by zach/hyper.esd.sgi.com (George Zachary)
Date: Fri, 30 Jul 1993
Newsgroup: alt.aquaria,rec.aquaria,sci.aquaria
I recently used the Sure-Start Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter products
on a saltwater tank that I'm cycling. The tank also has
a micro and macroalgae scrubber system in place with microalgae
just starting to form and a large clump of macroalgae (caulerpa prolifera)
in the sump.
I noticed that my cycling time was the same length in days as "textbook"
cycle time with the same cycle pattern. However, the amplitude of the
cycle was much smaller than the "textbook" cycle. Ammonia (measured as
NH4) peaked at .25 mg/l
and nitrite (measured as N02, not nitrite nitrogen) peaked at .6 mg/l.
This occurred in a 100 gallon tank that also has an Eheim 2213 canister
filter filled with carbon. There are two internal powerheads for water
movement (Marineland 1140s).
The tank was stocked with 12 Damsels, 1 Leopard Shark (10"),1 Red Coris
Wrasse (4"), 1 Paddlefin Wrasse (5"), 1 Coral Beauty (3").
The Leopard Shark, Wrasses, and Coral Beauty were added as the Nitrite
cycle started on day 10. Total cycle time was 27 days.
Tank temperature ranged from 77F to 79F. Lighting on the tank is with 2 GE
Daylight 48" bulbs. Lighting on the sump-based microalgae and macroalgae
scrubbers are with 3 Phillips Daylight 24" bulbs. Substrate is a 1/2"
layer of silica sand. Water was from the tap salted by Instant Ocean.
pH=8.2, kH=11dKH.
Hope that's interesting info for all.....
George Zachary
by jward/hydra.acs.uci.edu (John Ward)
Date: 15 Jul 92
Newsgroup: rec.aquaria,alt.aquaria
In article <1992Jul15.002240.10929-at-aimla.com> walter-at-optimla.aimla.com (Walter Hunt) writes:
>In article <1992Jul13.234240.12191-at-rayssd.ssd.ray.com>, rtc-at-sgfb.ssd.ray.com (Custer) writes:
>|> several times and has not had great success. She recommends the natural method
>|> using fish to cycle the tank. Any opinions on which method is best ?
>
> I have cycled several tanks using a couple of damsels. It is pain-free
>and works like a charm, so I don't know why you would want to bother with
>hand-feeding bacteria.
I have used damsels and used ammonium chloride to cycle tanks. Both
worked fine. I recommend the damsels. They are much more interesting
than chemicals. Also, get damsels at least an inch long; smaller ones
tend to die during the cycling.
--
John Ward
UC Irvine, email: jward-at-uci.edu or jward-at-uci.bitnet
...these things are too complex for my primitive caveman mind!
--Unfrozen Caveman from SNL "Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer"
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