Bio Cube- Cycling question

jayman403

New Member
Hi Guys,

I am new to salt water, decided to take the plunge after years of experience with African cichlids. Purchased a small 8gallon bio cube to start things off. I have a question- Have been cycling tank for 6 weeks, went to LFS and was told water was good, added 2 hermit crabs, 2 turbo snails and 2 lemon damsels to cycle my tank. Woke up this morning, dead hermit crab on sand bed. Curious if this could be from lack of detrius build up in the tank? Fish seem okay. Nitrate levels were a bit high so I did a 5% change and added a bacteria product. Also I did what I am now thinking could be a huge mistake- i rinsed the mechanical filter cartrdige off with warm water. Could this affect my cycle? Thanks I look forward to your response
 

brooklyn

New Member
Yes- washing the filter was a big mistake. I'm new but I know that much. Also i posted a question today and noticed that nobody has replied to your post. I guess i'll have to wait a month to get some sort of advice :shock:
 

djconn

New Member
I seriously doubt that washing your filter did any harm. It should be cleaned out weekly. The water change might have been the culprit but only 5%. That is so small.

Any updates on the tank? I love nanos under 10g! :mrgreen:
 

Karvari

New Member
I just got an 8 gal yesterday, and the guy that sold it to me (and came over to my house to set the whole thing up - best extra $25 ever spent) said it was really common to lose a hermit crab or two in the first couple of days. Granted, he did throw about a half a dozen tiny little crabs in the tank, but it's day two, and no dead crabs yet...
 
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