[Reefer769]

alright heres my story. i had a damsel in my 10gal tank for about 2 weeks, and i just bought a new clown fish yesterday, when i put it in the mean damsel fish started attacking the clown, so i took the damsel out, and put it in a bucket over night, and this morning i took it to the LFS and they took it and gave me $4 in store credits and some free hermit crab shells, and i just baught another clown, so now i have 2 clowns in my 10gal. since i have my new 30gal tank(not set up yet) i went to buy a protein skimmer, but they were sold out... so i put a down payment on it and im gunna pick it up tuesday, and then fianlly ill be able to start up my 30gal. one question. can i just transfer my new clowns straight into the new 30 gal or should i let it cycle for some time before?

[Reefland]

You should start up your 30 gallon with new Salt Water, get all your equipment set up and tuned in, place in your live rock and let the tank cycle before putting your new clowns in.

Scott Z.

[Reefer769]

how long should i let it cycle for? another month?

[Reefland]

Until the cycle is completed. The time it takes for the tank to cycle is varied depending on how you cycle the tank. If you use fully cured live rock at a rate of ~1lb per gallon of water, there may not be any cycle. Partially cured rock can take ~2 - 3 weeks, uncured live rock can take ~4 - 6 weeks.

Scott Z.

[Reefer769]

but clowns are good cycle fish, cant i just put them in after a couple of days

[Reefland]

No fish is "a good cycle fish". The practice of using fish for cycling new aquariums is cruel and unethical; something that through the use of forums for educating, will hopefully one day be stopped. LFS's will tell people anything to sell a couple of fish and make a couple of bucks, that is the first piece of education that everyone should learn.

Better ways to cycle a new aquarium are with the use of live rock or to put a piece of shrimp from the grocery into the aquarium. The first is the fastest, most effective way.

Do yourself and your fish a favor, leave them in the 10 gallon until you get your new 30 gallon set up and completely cycled and ready for new inhabitants.

Scott Z.

[Reefer769]

alright thanks for clearing that up, i appreciate it. what kind of shrimp can i put in the tank? just the frozen kind that you can eat with shrimp sauce? haha

[Reefland]

Originally Posted by Reefer769

alright thanks for clearing that up, i appreciate it. what kind of shrimp can i put in the tank? just the frozen kind that you can eat with shrimp sauce? haha

Yup, that's exactly right; minus the sauce.

[Reefer769]

alright thanks for all the help, im gunna go out and buy 25 or so pounds of live rock, and when i get the skimmer, and when i get everything up and running and the live rock in, ill check the ammonia and nitrite, and hopefully ill be able to add my fish after a couple of days if the tests come out good.

[Reefland]

After adding the liverock, begin testing the water the next day and do so for the next 5 days or so. If you do not see any increase in ammonia and nitrite, and you used fully cured live rock, then you probably won't see a spike and it will be ok to add your clowns. If you do see any spike, then you will need to continue to monitor them until the ammonia and nitrite both reach 0.

Scott Z.