cycling my 100 gallon marine

i started my aquarium on saturday, how long will it take for the cycling process to start?
i added a frozen prawn to aquarium to day as nothing has happen yet. all levels of ammonia nitrite and nitrate are all at zero. i have used live rock from an establish aquarium
any feedback would be gratefully recieved
 

bang guy

Moderator
the prawn i have added was already cooked im guessing this wont work
It will work. Since you have rock from a previously established aquarium you have a good head start. The rock will already have bacteria colonies. Your goal now is to get those colonies stable. They need food (the shrimp will provide), and a lot of waterflow.

My only concern is that a large piece of meat like a shrimp could overwhelm the bacteria and allow ammonia to climb too high. In my opinion it would be better to cut it into small pieces and add a little bit every few days or so.

Raw would have decomposed faster but the cooked shrimp will get there. Just don't let ammonia get too high or the bacteria colonies will start to shrink and that's not what you want. Maintaining a steady 0.25 or 0.50ppm ammonia is perfect.

Another scenario is where the bacteria is already mostly ready. This is indicated if you cannot register any ammonia. Just continue to feed them for a couple weeks with small bits of seafood or fish food and the tank will be ready for a fish.

Don't add a bunch of fish all at once. Start with just one or two hardy fish.
 
Thanks for the advice I will cut the shrimp in half when I get up in the morning. I will keep my eye on ammonia levels. I will test twice a day. And keep an eye on my nitrites and nitrates
 

beaslbob

Well-Known Member
It is entirely possible especially with established live rock you will not see an ammonia spike. With sufficient algae even corraline algae on the rocks, the algae will consume any ammonia the aerobic bacteria does not. You may see an almost immediate nitrate spike though as the algae is using ammonia for nitrogen instead of nitrates.


my .02
 

bang guy

Moderator
Remember you need to continue to feed the bacteria even after ammonia drops to zero. This is probably THE most common mistake new hobbyists make. Ammonia going to zero means that you now have a good sized bacteria colony of the type of bacteria that consume ammonia. If the ammonia (food) stops, the bacteria will start to die off.
 

bang guy

Moderator
Yes, I mean ghost feed. Another prawn would work somewhat but it really does work a lot better to do small steady feedings. About the same amount of food you're going to feed your first fish.
 
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