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From: richard@gryphon.UUCP
Newsgroups: alt.aquaria,rec.pets
Subject: Re: Nitrification...
Message-ID: <2426@gryphon.CTS.COM>
Date: Sat, 28-Nov-87 19:25:07 EST
Article-I.D.: gryphon.2426
Posted: Sat Nov 28 19:25:07 1987
Date-Received: Tue, 1-Dec-87 05:27:04 EST
References: <7044@pur-ee.UUCP> <155@bacchus.DEC.COM>
Reply-To: richard@gryphon.CTS.COM (Richard Sexton)
Distribution: usa
Organization: Trailing Edge Technology, Redondo Beach, CA
Lines: 38
Keywords: How long??? has this been going on. duh duh, da da da da da da.
Xref: hoptoad alt.aquaria:27 rec.pets:1988
Summary: give it time

In article <155@bacchus.DEC.COM> gringort@decwrl.UUCP (Joel Gringorten) writes:
>In article <7044@pur-ee.UUCP> tom@ee.ecn.purdue.edu (Tom McCain) writes:
>>  I was under the impression that it only took a week
>>maybe two. 
>
>Most articles on cycling marine tanks suggest that it takes a minimum of
>4 or 5 weeks.  The real answer is "it depends."  It took my 100 gallon
>tank around 2 months to cycle.  I attribute that to a very light fish
>load (3 damsels and a couple of hermit crabs).  The cycle can be greatly
>reduced by "seeding" the tank with substrate (gravel) from an established
>tank.  By using bacteria additives you can reduce tank breakin to a couple
>of days.  

If you cant get a culture of the nitrifying bacteria, you can, I believe,
buy the stuff in a petshop.

>Beware of adding too many fish too quickly.
This can't be emphasized strongly enough. After the tank gets going well
with one fish, the temptation is great to add half a dozen fish to
celebrate. DON'T !

Add them one at a time, preferably letting at least a month go by after
a new fish is introduced.

New fish should be quarantined in a bare tank with copper solution
present, Assume all incoming fish are diseased. Just because they
*look* healthy in the dealers, and all the other fish in that tank are
fine, means nothing.

>                          -joel


-- 
Richard J. Sexton
INTERNET:     richard@gryphon.CTS.COM
UUCP:         {hplabs!hp-sdd, sdcsvax, ihnp4, nosc}!crash!gryphon!richard

"It's too dark to put the keys in my ignition..."