Feelers Posted February 26, 2006 Report Share Posted February 26, 2006 Has anyone actually tried "cooking" the rocks at really warm temperatures to speed up the bacteria's metabolism? I would say that 32C would probably be a perfect temperature, although I'd have to look into it, there might be a higher temp that could be beneficial. I have my rock in the sea, and will be getting to that stage soon, I spose I could run a test to find out if it makes a difference. Can anyone see any problems with (more literally) cooking them at elevated temps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tel Posted March 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2006 interupted cycle 7 days ago to do 100% water change....original water was from howick beach and seemed really green, i was going to let tank cycle in it but thought better of it :-? . got @ 1400lts in two trips to takapuna, really nice water and glad i did it. this has prob extended wait time by a couple weeks. 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted March 10, 2006 Report Share Posted March 10, 2006 It won't extend the wait time. It was also a good move because letting the rocks sit in dirty water likely containing phosphate will mean the rocks, once cycled, will contain a higher level of phosphate to leach into the tank over time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tel Posted March 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2006 before the change Ammonia 1.0 Nitrite 3.5 next day both at 0 3 days later Ammonia 0 Nitrite .25 7 days after Ammonia .375 Nitrite .5 :-? i reckon it has gone backwards due to dumping all the necessary nutrients in the green water...so therefore delayed. really happy i did it as i took out truck loads of crap on the bottom and scrubbed all the rock of algie. im occasionally scraping diatonamous algie off the rocks so it can be skimmed out?? comments appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted March 11, 2006 Report Share Posted March 11, 2006 Hows the tank.? All your levels will go up. not sure why you would want to do a big water change thru a cycle, Having all the yellow water green algae is all part of the cycle. best just leave it and only have the lights on for a few hours a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tel Posted March 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2006 i did a water change as the initial fill was seriously green. i had left it for the skimmer but it wasn't making enough impact. lights generally off all the time and just thinking about aquascape as i wait Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cracker Posted March 11, 2006 Report Share Posted March 11, 2006 You started 23 feb? Should be cycled within 6 to 8 weeks from there. You should have: zero ammonia zero Nitrite and fairly high nitrate 30 to 60ppm. Phosphate will start loading, so you should think about a phosphate remover at this point too. Do a 50% water change and add a couple of hardy fish like damsels or chromis and wait another few weeks. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted March 11, 2006 Report Share Posted March 11, 2006 You started 23 feb? That is not long. less than 3 weeks. Time is the best form of cycling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tel Posted March 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2006 8/3 ammo .25 nitrite .5 10/3 ammo 0 nitrire 2.0 11/3 ammo 0 nitrite 3.5 did the w/c on the 2nd and also added some dead rock to the sump :-? good point cracker you remind me to test nitrate which i wasn't going to do till the end. not too sure about the damsels re whether i want them in first so they think they own the joint. keener on chromis but still unsure whether i want them long term using up capacity/room in this size tank. if it was a bit bigger i'd get a small school of them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cracker Posted March 11, 2006 Report Share Posted March 11, 2006 Ive got 9 chromis...they are cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tel Posted March 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2006 yeah i think they look great esp in a long tank like yours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tel Posted March 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2006 15/3 ammo 0 nitrite 3.5 nitrate 5.0 pH 8.5 meanwhile back at the ranch.......................... 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tel Posted March 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 :bounce: start cycle 18 february...2 weeks later interupt to do 100% w/c finally...... 24 march...nitrite down to .5 :bounce: total time 5 weeks and seems longer . best guess would be only 1-2 days to go to 0........ reward time 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 cool, now the cyano and bad algae starts :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachy Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 cool, now the cyano and bad algae starts :lol: so true, my tank has a nice cultavation of red slime everywhere :evil: , but seems to be retreating a little after a couple of nsw changes. Wish i had not filled the tank with tap water :roll: nerver mind, live and learn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 chuck a bitta voddies in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Do another big water change, it will still only take approx 6 weeks to cycle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tel Posted March 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Do another big water change, it will still only take approx 6 weeks to cycle. what the??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachy Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Yea whats the dilly? Ive seen a few people here mention it, il do a google see what i come up with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 what the??? Yeah True! It takes around 6 weeks to cycle rock. Water changes or not. Just ends up lower in phosphate if you keep the water clean by changing it periodically, which gives you a head start on beating future algae problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tel Posted March 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 thought you were suggesting i start again :lol: most pertinent question is 50% or 100 % waterchange at end ??? :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 That's a point of debate, good reasons for and against, but my humble opinion is a 100% water change to get rid of any remaining nasties and have a nice clean start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tel Posted March 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2006 oh yeaaah baby....nitrites zero :lol: guess whos been waiting a while :oops: maybe time for a cheap fish to keep it running, pbt? :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetskisteve Posted March 26, 2006 Report Share Posted March 26, 2006 got a blue damsel waiting for u Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feelers Posted March 26, 2006 Report Share Posted March 26, 2006 You could get some black mollies - I'm geussing they'd be indestructable. Dont know how long they take to aclimatise though. Might make for some good octo food hmmm............... edit: you can aclimatise them with saltwater - one drop per second and in 6 - 12 hours fully converted. - and they eat algae Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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