Live Rock, Sludge and Worms?

J

jay

New Member
Hello Nano Gang...
I could be wrong, but I think I'm running into a few problems with cycling my tank.
I started the cycle about 1 week ago, and I'm starting to get some scary surprises.

1.) There are a bunch of worms and some other worm looking things with a bunch of legs rampaging around in my tank.
2.) There is clear slime/sludge floating around all over my tank.

Should I be concerned? It's kinda freaking me out! I'm removed as much of the worm and worm legged things as I can with a turkey baster.

Some direction for this new reefer would be GREAT!

Thx,
Jay

Ps. My tank is seriously starting to stink up my house.
 
D

davenia7

New Member
if the legged ones look like miniature centipedes, those are bristleworms. generally ok, but sometimes not.
 
J

jay

New Member
yes, the legged ones do look like centipedes, but some are red, and some are whitish in color. As for the worms, they are a off white color also, and their ends look like penis heads. I ripped one out the other day. Should I keep an eye out for them and rip the out?

Jay
 
skipm

skipm

Moderator
Staff member
It sounds like you have a bunch of bristleworms, these are harmless scavengers that feed off of leftovers in the tank. I would leave them alone unless you find you have the large ones that grow over 6 inches long and then I would probably pull them out of a nano.
 
J

jay

New Member
Thanks Nano Gang for the advice on the worms.... what can I do about the sludge and smell?

Jay
 
djconn

djconn

New Member
Its all just a natural process of the cycle in a new tank. I'd just let nature and evolution run its course here until you think the cycle is over. Then start testing every few days with your test kits (I hope you have some, Salifert is the best). Eventually, you'll want all the clear/red algae out of there. When your nitrates read zero, its time to start adding a few things SLOWLY.

Hope that helps...yes, it will be stinky. Its just die-off. :shock:
 
skipm

skipm

Moderator
Staff member
If the smell gets too bad you can do a aprtial water change but this will prolong your cycle. It is better to leave things to run their course if possible.
 
T

Trogdor

New Member
Be sure that you have adequate water flow in your tank. If it gets too bad follow skipm's advice and maybe even add a mechanical filter with some carbon.
 
J

johnanddawn

New Member
do a 100% water change, scrub your rock in the used water with a brush, run carbon and clean your mech filter everyday. if your running lights shut them off. keep plenty of flow in there, add an extra pump if you have it directing toward the surface to aid in O2 exchange cuz the bacteria will deplete your O2 and cause more die off.
 
J

jay

New Member
I just added a carbon filter to the tank today and the lights have been off the for the whole cycle.. Hopefully all works out and I don't have to resort to emptying the tank and starting again. The top half of the tank was all cloudy when I woke up this morning... I couldn't even see the Live Rock in the tank :roll:

J
 
J

jay

New Member
God Bless the CARBON FILTER!
Thanks to the Carbon Filter our tank has totally cleared up :mrgreen:

I talked to our LFS and they told me that we didn't need any filtering during the cycling process - last time I trust some little kid there! We're planning to picking up a portien skimmer 2morrow, but is it required right away or is this something I can wait for until the cycle has come to a finish.

Jay :gcool

PS. THE STINK IS ALSO GONE! lol
 
C

carlkeef

New Member
Hello alll I am new to the forum and very new to salt water tanks. My birthday is this saturday and I am getting my first saltwater tank....a 24 gallon nano cube. I was wondering I have read a lot of forums about cycling??? Just how long should I let the tank cycle before adding fish.....Like I said I am totally new to the saltwater thing but very excited about my new adventure as well......
 
R

reefman23

New Member
carlkeef said:
Hello alll I am new to the forum and very new to salt water tanks. My birthday is this saturday and I am getting my first saltwater tank....a 24 gallon nano cube. I was wondering I have read a lot of forums about cycling??? Just how long should I let the tank cycle before adding fish.....Like I said I am totally new to the saltwater thing but very excited about my new adventure as well......
Click to expand...
Can I ask you to start a new thread for this question? It will allow a better opportunity for your question to be read and answered and also keep this thread on track.

In short, get a couple test kits including nitrates, nitrites and ammonia, test the water after the introduction on the live rock and sand, and as these results get lower and begin to stabilize, you will be able to tell when the cycle is coming to an end. You can also utilize the search function and get many answers to your questions...

HTH,

Jesse
 
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