Cycle question - In a already set up tank.

[susiestank]

I have a general question. I had an already cycled tank. This weekend i added 18 lbs of rock ( the rest that i will add) and i added 3 lbs of ls on top of my exsisting sand bed. I set up a q tank for everyone to go in because i knew i would be causong a storm in the tank plus die off from shipping etc. I didnt want the anmimals to have to endure any of the cycle that may occur. Well the first time after the set up i check the amonia and it was high. The next day it was alread back to zero and the nitrite is back to zero. Could it have re cycled that fast? or did it not occur at all yet? I also used about half the water from my exsisting set up in the pricess to help limit the cycle.Any opinions? I would like to get the animals back into the main tank bc the qtank is somewhat bear , and not so great. Im going to wait to see what happens. But could it of happened that quickly?

 

[fishnerd]

How did the rock smell when you got it? If it smelled like the ocean, rather than a stench, you might be good to go.
Did you buty the rock locally, or did you have it shipped?
I can give you some good local shops to go to if you want.

 

[susiestank]

Hey woah its somone from maryland. I got it online 2day air because well I havent really found as good of rock as i would like in my area ( aa county). No i dont remember it smelling I think it just smelled like the ocean , ill ask my tank helper who helped me The night before we put it inthe tank we put it in a bin with salt, powerhead , and heater. Lemme know what local places you know of.I just got into this hobby in the ebd of december so I would like to know where is good.

 

[nanoman94]

Yeah it definately didn't stink at all, it just smelled like wet rock should. It would be very noticable if it stunk, which it did not.

 

[fishnerd]

Towson gal, huh?
Exotic Aquatics, Perring Pkwy (top of 695) just outside the beltway, in the stripmall w/Safeway and Kmart. They have the best fish and inverts. Their staff is knowledgeable, and helpful.
Aquarium Center, Liberty Road (west side 695) best live rock, rest of their livestock has gone downhill.
House of Tropicals, Glen Burnie. Close to you and worth stopping by.

 

[fishnerd]

Wait a minute, do we have a Maryland only thread going on here?

 

[susiestank]

Yah house of tropicals is the only one on there i have been to. Yah towson , well in the fall. And nanoman94 is the wonderful bf who got me the tank as a christmas gift ) and gets as excited as me when it comes to doing tank stuff haha.
So what do you think , just wait a few more days and see what happens? Could it be possible that it re-cycled in a day?

 

[fishnerd]

If the rock didn't have any substantial die off, you might be fine. If the ammonia stays at 0 until the weekend, you are good to go.

 

[malounsbury]

I just bought some stuff from Exotic Aquatics, they've got some good stuff there. Although the guy tried to sell me some stuff I didn't really need for my emerald crab, think he was trying to belittle me because I told him I had been reading and researching for about two years before I started my tank.

 

[susiestank]

Any one else have any thought? I will do another water test tommorow I havent had a chnce today. Studying for 3 exams that are tommorow. Man this site is addicting.

 

[malounsbury]

When did you test last? You should only test every other day or every third day. The parameters won't change much from day to day, and it really wastes your test kits when you test daily. Just wait until ammonia and nitrites hit zero and then you should be good to start adding livestock, usually inverts are the first to go in, then a couple fish about 2 weeks after adding that.

 

[susiestank]

I did the test on sat and then mon. Ammonia was high and then zero , and nitrite is zero but i never saw it go up? any ideas?

 

[malounsbury]

Have you tested for nitrates? I'm thinking because you used cured or somewhat cured rock, the nitrites may not spike at all. Are you noticing any growth or diatoms on the LR that wasn't there before?

 

[susiestank]

The ammonia is between 0 and .25 now but thr nitrates actually went down. BUT I am not having a trace of nitrite in the qt tank , im not to sure why? its been 0 and .25
Oh yah also for my big tank should i do the shrimp method just to make sure i had a cycle and if i didnt that would kick start it?

 

[fishnerd]

I don't thing dead shrimp are necessary. If the tank has live rock, and you got a spike (even if it was small) you are cycled. Remember though, if you don't add any "critters" after the cycling, you have defeated the purpose of cycling. I would wait for the ammonia and nitrite to be at 0 for a week, and add a guinea pig or two to ensure the water is habitable. After that, you should be able to continue stocking.

 

[malounsbury]

Yes, the dinner shrimp method would kick start it if you didn't have a cycle. It sounds like since the rock was semi-cured or whatever, that may be why you're getting the readings you are. What test kits are you using?