Cycling new ten gal with very min live rock.

[octopus man]

Ok so I am cycling another 10 gallon, I have about 5 pounds of live rock in the corner, very minimal.

At the moment I have put frozen krill into a sock and am dangling it infront of the filter flow to hopefully spread it out through the tank.
Since this is frozen krill though I assume it will melt fast even in the sock, I don't have a shrimp oddly enough and I have a lot of frozen krill im not using.
Should I re apply a tiny amount of frozen krill everyday? I just put in a tiny frozen piece in the sock thats about the size of a quarter but a little thicker.
I think the live rock I bought was too alive to cause any die off and cycle my tank so i'm left with using frozen krill and my sock.




I wanted to add that I tried ghost feeding with fish flakes once or twice a day for the last week, and I believe since my water is R/O combined with the live rock being fully alive caused the ghost feeding to do nothing.

So my plan is to speed this along but not cause ungodly amounts of ammonia and smell to be released.

 

[xandrew245x]

Are you testing for ammonia every day? From what I know there is no such thing as "to alive" The cycle begins from waste breaking down and turning into ammonia, the bacteria in the live rock grow through your cycle to handle the load, and once your ammonia spike is over, the parameters start to level out and your bacteria has grown to a significant enough amount to convert ammonia to nitrites and nitrites to nitrates. Ghost feeding should have bee enough to start the cycle and the krill defiantly should have done it. If you aren't experiencing any ammonia but have nitrates, then its a good possibility that your tank is ready to go.

Why such a small tank, your going to have a really hard time with that.

 

[octopus man]

Naw the krill I just did now, hours ago. I may add another tiny piece tomorrow but I believe this will do it. The live rock was just too alive, so it didn't release ammonia quickly.
I'm not saying the live rock wouldn't work, I'm just saying it hasn't so far and literally has had 0 spikes in the last week so I'm guessing the krill will do it.

I have no ammonia no nitrates no nothing.

 

[octopus man]

Quote:
Originally Posted by xandrew245x http:///t/397288/cycling-new-ten-gal-with-very-min-live-rock#post_3540861
Are you testing for ammonia every day? From what I know there is no such thing as "to alive" The cycle begins from waste breaking down and turning into ammonia, the bacteria in the live rock grow through your cycle to handle the load, and once your ammonia spike is over, the parameters start to level out and your bacteria has grown to a significant enough amount to convert ammonia to nitrites and nitrites to nitrates. Ghost feeding should have bee enough to start the cycle and the krill defiantly should have done it. If you aren't experiencing any ammonia but have nitrates, then its a good possibility that your tank is ready to go.

Why such a small tank, your going to have a really hard time with that.

It's a breeding tank for smaller sized fish.


Down the road I may invest in a few 30 gallons and separate them off into 10 gallon sections, however as of right now this is what I have to work with.

 

[octopus man]

Can someone tell me how long do I have to leave the krill in there, and do I re apply tomorrow afternoon or is one application enough?


Edit: I don't need an answer, after more research I have decided that once is enough and also now I have to check my phosphates incase the krill released any and fix that if that is indeed a problem.

 

[geridoc]

You are making a simple job into a complex undertaking. Just put the krill (the equivalent size of a cocktail shrimp) into the tank for a week - if the ammonia doesn't rise, your tank is adequately cycled and is ready for a fish (one only). If the ammonia rises, leave the krill in until it rises to 1.0, then remove it and measure ammonia and nitrites until they fall to undetectable levels, then add your first fish. My guess is that your tank is already cycled, and ammonia levels won't rise.

 

[xandrew245x]

Quote:
Originally Posted by GeriDoc http:///t/397288/cycling-new-ten-gal-with-very-min-live-rock#post_3540887
You are making a simple job into a complex undertaking. Just put the krill (the equivalent size of a cocktail shrimp) into the tank for a week - if the ammonia doesn't rise, your tank is adequately cycled and is ready for a fish (one only). If the ammonia rises, leave the krill in until it rises to 1.0, then remove it and measure ammonia and nitrites until they fall to undetectable levels, then add your first fish. My guess is that your tank is already cycled, and ammonia levels won't rise.
+1 It is a very simple process, like I said to you before, if you don't see an ammonia spike, but you already have nitrates, then there is a good chance that your tank is already ready to go, but do not add more than 1 fish at a time, or you will have problems.