Cycling already!?!?

[misty927]

I have a 55 gallon, Emperor 400, no protein skimmer. I just put 45 pounds of live rock in the tank and four damsels in yesterday. Today, I checked all my levels and my ammo was at 2.5,ph at 8.0, nitrite at .5, nitrates at at least 50, and salinity and temp is normal. Could I already be hitting my cycle? How much should the levels spike at? Are these levels so soon a good sign?

 

[b_ball12_99]

So far so good. Your cycling is done when everything hits 0 (or close to it). Sounds like your starting off though.

 

[beth]

Well, you could have certainly done your cycle with just the LR and spared your damsels. LR will have a lot more die-off and organic waste to contribute to the cycle process than a few damsels.
Sounds like you might be in a hurry to begin setting up your tank with fish, etc. Word of caution, while you are well into the cycle [almost too fast], don't blow it by adding a bunch of livestock as soon as your reading go to zero. Part of "cycling" includes aging your system and not just getting reading down to zero.
Sounds like you are dealing with a heavy organic load already....nitrates already?? hmmm.
Good luck, and have fun.

 

[misty927]

Don't worry, I'm not rushing. My tank has been set up with water only, filter, and powerheads for almost a month. I'm definitely not rushing. Plus, I've heard enough horror stories to know not to stock up on fish as soon as everything hits zero anyways. Believe me Liz, you're not warning me about anything I don't already know. Thanks for the concern though!