New Tank Cycle and Raw Shrimp

[cent36]

I know there are a lot of mixed feelings on using rotting shrimp to start the bio cycle, BUT, I am already in the midst of it and committed. That isn't what I want to discuss here though. I did look all over before posting, so if this is a repeat please let me know.

I set up my tank, got the temp up to par and pretty stable, added the shrimp at the beginning of this month and after a week added BIO-Spira per recommendations.

My question is this... When do I take the shrimp out?

Admittedly I have not been testing the water regularly, but ran a test Sat. PH was good, Ammonia was 0.25, nitrite was 5, and nitrate was around 80.

I'm a patient person and this isn't about speeding things up. Just don't want to keep feeding the cycle in vain. Also, I haven't seen the brown bloom yet, so....yeah

 

[zombie]

Given your current nitrate levels, I would take it out now. Once ammonia drops to zero, add a small amount of pellets or flakes (like 1 or 2 pieces) every couple of days to keep an ammonia source. You are gonna need to drop the nitrate level down to less than 20 before you start adding fish as > 40 can cause some damage to fish for prolonged periods. You may also want to consider adding a refugium with cheato to remove nitrates, otherwise you can only get rid of it with water changes.

 

[Catfish Charlie]

Rotting shrimp is not my choice to cycle a tank. But add some "good live rock" and it'll definitely help bring everything back in "check"!

 

[FishTV]

Given your current nitrate levels, I would take it out now. Once ammonia drops to zero, add a small amount of pellets or flakes (like 1 or 2 pieces) every couple of days to keep an ammonia source. You are gonna need to drop the nitrate level down to less than 20 before you start adding fish as > 40 can cause some damage to fish for prolonged periods. You may also want to consider adding a refugium with cheato to remove nitrates, otherwise you can only get rid of it with water changes.

Agreed, but just to be clear, don't start doing water changes until after your ammonia, and nitrites get to zero. The "cycle" is under way, and you don't want to interrupt it, you want to continue to supply an ammonia source until it can handle the load ( simulated in this case ) and then you will start working on the nitrates.

 

[FishTV]

Rotting shrimp is not my choice to cycle a tank. But add some "good live rock" and it'll definitely help bring everything back in "check"!

+1 for the record.

 

[zombie]

Rotting shrimp is not my choice to cycle a tank. But add some "good live rock" and it'll definitely help bring everything back in "check"!

+1 but only if it comes from a source that you can be 100% certain that it doesnt have any pests, diseases, etc. sometimes it is better to do as the OP did and start with a clean slate for the cost of a longer curing and maturing time.

 

[cent36]

So take it out and start "feeding" it.

What if I leave the shrimp in? When should I start seeing the brown algae bloom?

 

[zombie]

So take it out and start "feeding" it.

What if I leave the shrimp in? When should I start seeing the brown algae bloom?

the problem with leaving it in is that your nitrates will get out of control. If you havent got an algae bloom yet it is due to one of three things.

1. lack of phosphates. algae needs both nitrates and phosphates to grow. If you dont have both, you wont get a bloom. fish food has a small amount of phosphate in it (especially food for herbivores). Rotting shrimp release a lot of ammonia but very little phosphate

2. insufficient lighting. what lights are you running and how long are they on for?

3. lack of flow and aeration to transport nutrients to the algae and create a suitable environment for it to grow.


In my own experience I have never seen a dyno algae bloom start more than 2 weeks in and a hair algae bloom start more than 1 month in.

 

[cent36]

In my own experience I have never seen a dyno algae bloom start more than 2 weeks in and a hair algae bloom start more than 1 month in.

Not sure what this means....bad things? Good?

To answer your questions:
2: I am using a CURRENT Orbit Marine LED system that runs for 12 hours of full power "sunlight" and a ramp up and down to 4 hours of moonlight.
3: I have calculated my turnover to be approx. 23x per hour and where the overflow "pours" back into my sump, it creates a TON of bubbles so I believe the aeration to be good.

I guess this takes us back to #1....

Shrimp has been removed

Tests completed today are PH good; Ammonia lower than 0.25 but not 0; Nitrite 2; Nitrate 20
These are down from the last test, but I removed the shrimp AFTER the test.

 

[Mccoc033]

How did you get the nitrate out?

 

[zombie]

How did you get the nitrate out?

I was wondering this myself. maybe that is indicating the start of an algae bloom.

 

[Mccoc033]

Or the test kit is bad, or there was human error in conducting the test, or a 75% water change was done. I would think it would take a little longer to drop nitrates by 75%

 

[cent36]

I did nothing but add water back in due to evaporation.

 

[cent36]

there could have been human error, BUT the color was definitely different on the card. Will do another test today when I get home from work

 

[Mccoc033]

New Tank Cycle and Raw Shrimp

Yeah, that just seems like a really big drop without some kind of export. Plus some tests kits can be iffy. What kind of test kit are you using?

 

[cent36]

I am using an API Master Kit

 

[zombie]

I am using an API Master Kit

With that kit always make sure to shake well for about 1 min and wait another 4 to read the results. Its not the most accurate kit in the world, but that will give you some consistency.

 

[Mccoc033]

I had issues with my API kits accuracy, it might have been old, I'm not sure. But I was testing at 80 ppm and doing 20% water changes weekly on a lightly stocked tank. I bought a Red Sea and tested 12 ppm. The same thing happened at aquamart. They tested my water at 60 ppm with their API and the 8 with their salifert

 

[cent36]

Well, we will chalk it up to operator error. Tested just now after getting home from work and it tested the same as three days ago (see first post). Maybe I didn't shake it enough, maybe didn't wait long enough.... anyway back to the question at hand....

Now that I have removed the shrimp, how much should I "feed" the tank fish food?

When should I be expecting that algae bloom? the inside of the tank isn't even slick

 

[zombie]

1-2 flakes or pellets every other day.

You should see a bloom very soon. Try adding a small circulation pump and/or redirecting your return to get better flow coverage. If you post a pic of your tank setup, I can tell you good spots to point and place.