cycle question...

[brettmc]

So I just set up my 30g cube, it has 30lbs of LR, and 15 lbs of LS. There's also regular sand and some base rock mixed in there. Anywho, so the first day (7/25) I had my LR in there my ammonia went up to 0.5 and nitrates, nitrites were all at 0. Unfortunately I was gone the 26th so I couldn't test them again. On the 27th when I returned my ammonia was at 0, nitrite was at 0, but my nitrates were at 10. The reading have been the same ever since. So my question is, has this thing already cycled, and if so do I wait until i see some algae growth before I do anything more? Or should I do a water change and try to lower my nitrates? Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

 

[rs1831]

What did you use to start your cycle? I would add a raw dinner shrimp to see if the ammonia spikes again. The cycle usually takes 2-6 weeks. I would not do a water change because if you cycle is still going it will just slow it down. Good luck.

 

[pyro]

Did you use anything such as sand, live rock, or filters from an established tank? The cycle on my 5g only took two weeks and I was suspicious; and that was with water from my 30g.
I would add a raw dinner shrimp or heavy amounts of food and test again. Worst case scenario you get nitrates which you can just do a water change to pull out.

 

[brettmc]

Well the canister filter came with the tank, but it was dry when I got it so i'm not so sure that the bio filtration would be up to par on that one. The LR I got was from the LFS which was in an LR tank for a few weeks, maybe even months, it didn't stink at all so i would say that it was fully cured. I went back there today and the guy that sold me the rock didn't not think that it was weird and he said just let it sit for a couple of weeks and not worry about adding shrimp or anything. I've decided that i'm just going to wait for a couple of weeks and when I start to get algae growth i'll add a cleanup crew. Then a week or so after that add another fish, so i'll be taking it slow. Thanks again for all of your help.