Cycling Perfection

oceanist

oceanist

Member
This has probably been answered, excuse my newbieness , i just wanna do this right , but , When i Start to Cycle my tank , I put Live sand in First , Set my live rock , add the salt water and then what ? Do I need to add any additives , should I pre Mix my Salt Water , and should I run Filteration with carbon or keep the carbon out? I had the guy at th LFS tell me dont run the carbon until the tank has cycled , then put the carbon in the filter. Is this correct? Also are there any other things I should be Focusing on. Im really concerened because I built My own Very Very Very nice Aqaurium Stand Cabinet (hope to get pictures up soon when the tank is running) and I DO NOT want anything to go south. I want it done right the first time to save headaches. Thank you in advance. Oh Also do I used Uncured or cured for cycling. :help: :help: :help: :scared: :scared:
:help: :help: :help:
 
bigsteve

bigsteve

Member
Is the rock cured? If so, you'll need to put something in there (like a shrimp from the grocery store) to start the cycling process. The decaying shrimp releases ammonia (bad), which in turn, is consumed by the creatures still alive on the rock, then turned to nitrites (bad) in their waste. That's when more bacteria, mostly in the sand, comes in and turns those nitrites into nitrates (not as bad, but still want as little as possible). Once enough bacteria has built up to consume the levels of ammonia and other chemicals in the water, your levels should be at zero.
So, to cycle your tank:
Add sand and rock
Add saltwater
Add water circulation... filter, power head, something
Add shrimp
Test water in a few days. If you see ammonia, remove shrimp. If not, wait a couple more days. But you should see ammonia.
Test every other day (I usually do this, just to see the cylcle progress), and you should notice a spike in ammonia, followed by a spike in nitrites, and then a spike in nitrates.
Do a 10% water change (to help bring down nitrates), and add a fish or two. Keep in mind when adding livestock, you don't want to add too many fish at a time. General rule is 1-2 fish every 2 weeks. Otherwise you will probably get another cycle and it will kill your fish. You need to give the beneficial bacteria time to increase its population to absorb the waste you're adding with the fish. Making sense?
HTH, and sorry for the book. h*
 
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