cycled for two weeks no spike

[rad]

Im not sure when its supposed to spike but my tank has done nothing. I tested five days after I started cycling and my levels were:
PH: 7.8
Ammonia: 0-.25 (its midway, I hate the color tests)
Nitrate:0-5
Nitrite:0
I tested again today 7 days later and I expected something different but nothing moved. I also bought a heater today, a 50 watt tetra on my 12 gallon aquapod. I want my tank at least 78 degrees but its at 75. I was told this should be enough wattage but Im not thinking thats the case since it already has turned off (its got red and green lights) and my tank is not where it should be.

Im just looking for some guidance, thanks. ***)

 

[shrmnator]

throw in a piece of dead shrimp from the grocery store and let it rot away... bet u get a spike then!! the dead shrimp will spike the ammonia and kick in the bacteria that will convert it to nitrites which will kick in another bacteria to convert it to nitrates.. all go to zero and you are cycled.. 75 is a good temp to be at.. great for all inhabitants.. very few that we get in the hobby are meant to be kept above that, so u are good in that aspect..

 

[shrmnator]

sorry.. just read the tank size.. u could throw in some fish food to cycle your nano.. no need to buy shrimp unless u dont have food already and are headed to the grocery store..

 

[rad]

My bad I didnt give all my info, I also put in TLC water treatment, its some kind of bacteria. Its what my LFS store say they use and they threw it in for free when I got my lr. That should have caused a spike if anything would. I know I should have tested more but thats my bad, Im trying to stay away from my tank and just be patient, also keeping my hands out of the tank puts me at ease. I may just be being impatient but I think two weeks would be sufficent in getting some sort of different reading.

 

[peckhead]

everyone is gonna say dont cylce with fish. every tank cycles differently

 

[mandarin w]

TLC was designed for freshwater. It really doesn't help to much for saltwater. Freshwater bacteria and Saltwater bacteria are not the same. Also if your Live Rock wasn't fully cured or didn't have a lot of die off before it got to your tank, there wouldn't be that much of a spike. Don't cycle your tank with a fish, that is crewl to the fish. Just get a small uncooked cocktail shrimp from the grocery store, put it in your tank for a few days, and that should get thing going.

 

[eaglewonj]

Originally Posted by peckhead
everyone is gonna say dont cylce with fish. every tank cycles differently

My tank scared me like that too. I used fish food to spike ammonia, nothing for days, no ammonia showed up. After about a week I got 0.25-0.50ish, never got up to 1, but now I have nitrites and nitrates at just a little over a week. I used API stresszyme at first, but that didn't really seem to have much taking a foothold. The real jump happened when I added in the live rock. The next day I had nitrites and nitrates. Considering you already have live rock I don't know, but I used fish food, starter culture, and live rock and now I am in the middle of the cycle (early middle maybe)

 

[barchtruong]

I don't know if I've missed the Amo and Trate spike part in my tank or something,
I started my 55gal tank with salt water and bag aroganite for 1 week without filter, just 1 300gph powerhead, low light and a crazy heater went on and off anytime it liked.
During that 1st week, I had a lawnmower Blenny in there, then 2nd wk, I put in liverock, semi cured, filters and good heater, good lighting. Changed the water after 3 days, the 5th day, had .5Amo and 15trate and a lil of trite. Then I changed water again like a good 20percents. And since then, everything read at zero up until now and it's been over a month now. I have corals and fishes (not a whole lot), but everything still read at zero. How funny.
I think live rock already carried good bateria in it. So I finished lr curing process right in the tank.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by rad
My bad I didnt give all my info, I also put in TLC water treatment, its some kind of bacteria. Its what my LFS store say they use and they threw it in for free when I got my lr. That should have caused a spike if anything would. I know I should have tested more but thats my bad, Im trying to stay away from my tank and just be patient, also keeping my hands out of the tank puts me at ease. I may just be being impatient but I think two weeks would be sufficent in getting some sort of different reading.
Rad, if you have no nitrate then your tank hasn't cycled. Don't use fish. As stated before, get a raw coctail shrimp and throw it in for a few days, watch your ammonia, being your tank is a nano. When the ammonia reaches 1ppm, pull the shrimp out and continue testing untill ammonia and nitrite both reach a steady zero again.

 

[reefkprz]

Originally Posted by sepulatian
Rad, if you have no nitrate then your tank hasn't cycled. Don't use fish. As stated before, get a raw coctail shrimp and throw it in for a few days, watch your ammonia, being your tank is a nano. When the ammonia reaches 1ppm, pull the shrimp out and continue testing untill ammonia and nitrite both reach a steady zero again.
I second this. you need an ammonia source to start your cycle you can use fish food raw shrimp even an small amount of bottled 100% ammonia probably 1ml would be plenty for your nano. if you have no nitrates then no ammonia has broken down and you cycle hasnt finished.

 

[rad]

so I think I may be leaning towards using a shrimp, Ive tried to stay away from that technique but waiting as it cycles is long enough,waiting for it to cycle is torture. It seems the concensous to get an ammonia spike would be some dead animal in there.But what if my tank has spiked already and I just missed it? when do tanks normally start to cycle?

 

[chipmaker]

If yu have live rock i nthat tanak l there is a very good chance it cycled already. If the rock was purchased local or enen shipped and did not have much die off its alltogether possible to have it cycle and miss it. I certainly wuld not use a dead shrimp and create a stinking sloppy foul smelling mess with a high level of ammonia and nitrites and kill off any good stuff that may already got established inthe live rock if your usiing it or the sand. Stay away from the dead shrimp method...unless your into foul smelling bodies of water.......

 

[reefkprz]

Originally Posted by chipmaker
If yu have live rock i nthat tanak l there is a very good chance it cycled already. If the rock was purchased local or enen shipped and did not have much die off its alltogether possible to have it cycle and miss it. I certainly wuld not use a dead shrimp and create a stinking sloppy foul smelling mess with a high level of ammonia and nitrites and kill off any good stuff that may already got established inthe live rock if your usiing it or the sand. Stay away from the dead shrimp method...unless your into foul smelling bodies of water.......

thats funny I never get a stinking, sloppy, fouls smelling pool of death when I cycle my tanks using food or shrimp. but then again I guess I dont let it just rot there and be a stagnant pool.

 

[rad]

So I just talked to my lfs and my guy there, he has a 10g biocube, says that my 13 lbs of live rock was almost cured when I got it. He said there still would have been a little spike but I probally missed it and my tank could support life at this point. My only problem is that the PH isnt correct. 7.8 is nowhere near 8.2, but he still recomends getting a fish and putting it in there and to just start feeding it and everything else will balance out. I dont want to torture fish but if my tank has already cycled then how bad would it be to put the fish in there with the low PH?

 

[eaglewonj]

Originally Posted by rad
So I just talked to my lfs and my guy there, he has a 10g biocube, says that my 13 lbs of live rock was almost cured when I got it. He said there still would have been a little spike but I probally missed it and my tank could support life at this point. My only problem is that the PH isnt correct. 7.8 is nowhere near 8.2, but he still recomends getting a fish and putting it in there and to just start feeding it and everything else will balance out. I dont want to torture fish but if my tank has already cycled then how bad would it be to put the fish in there with the low PH?
I second this question, as I still have a rock solid 7.8 pH. However, I am still cycling.

 

[barchtruong]

I am not totally possitive about this.
but something about low PH has to do with fresh mixed salt water.
You need to mix the water vigorously when salt is added and let it stand for at least 24 hrs.

 

[rad]

Originally Posted by eaglewonj
I second this question, as I still have a rock solid 7.8 pH. However, I am still cycling.
How long have you been cycling?

 

[eaglewonj]

Call it about a week now, but the live rock was only added a few days ago. Right after which I saw a spike in ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. But now all of them have dropped a little (most likely due to the new salt water I had to add to make up for the volume the skimmer drew off now that its on). I have a slightly smaller ammonia reading than before but its still there. Everything else dropped back down a little. It still really early so I'm waiting for ammonia to drop off and see what nitrates and nitrates do when that happens.

 

[chipmaker]

At t his point I certainly would not add a stinking dead shrimp. Its nort uncommon for a tank to cycle short and quick with good live rock and it is possible as yur lfs says to suport some life if its intrtoduced one or two at a time to start. The lfs here sells only cycled rock so you can aquascape one day and setup what you like and start to stock within a day or two. ....three at most. I seriously doubt the low ph at this stage of the game is from freshly mixed water. Once yuyr ready starat to add calcium booster and or such as B-Ionic or Seachem Reef builder and yur PH wil increase. It is low but its not the end of the world by any means.......

 

[rad]

Thanks chipmaker, I was a little discouraged by eaglewonj's post because he had just started cycling with lr a few days ago and Ive been cycling for nearly two weeks now. Im definately not going to throw in a dead shrimp instead I think Im going to go to my lfs and get me a clown goby this weekend. Sounds rational enough to me. I probally wont add anything else for another couple weeks but why not just start there and see how it goes? totally sweet! :happyfish