Cycling Question?????

puffercat

puffercat

Member
Aquarium Gurus , Please help. I've been cycling my tank for about 2 weeks now and have yet seen an ammonia spike in my tank??? I've had 3 damsels and one bite the dust and I’ve left his carcass in the tank for over a week now and yet I’ve still don't see a ammonia spike??? I have over 90 pds of live rock in my tank...and 80 pounds of Nature oceans live sand.....What am I doing wrong??......I've tested ph, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and everything is fine...I'm thinking it's the protein skimmer working on the ammonia....should I turn off my protein skimmer and let the tank cycle??
 
puffercat

puffercat

Member
Thx for the reply JW
Well i donno why the damsel died but it died several days since i first started to cycle my tank....In addition to the damels....I've placed 50 pds of live rock in one day and the following day showed zero ammonia is that how it suppose to be....I did leave the live rock unattended for about an hour in the car....There should of been some die off??? shouldn't it?? Oh also I've been getting massive amount of brown algae....I've turned down the lights recently to cut it down....I also noticed that there's alot of bubbles underneath my sand....Am i cycled?????? So confused....... :rolleyes:
 
nm reef

nm reef

Active Member
sounds like the start of a very nice system.......with the amount of lr & the damsels you should be well on your way to ammonia???????I agree that the tests you are doing may be faulty.....try getting your water tested at a LFS.....what type test kits do you have..........with the lr and damsels I'd think you should be seeing something by now.....natures ocean ls does claim "instant cycle"....but that instant?????
 
puffercat

puffercat

Member
Thx for the reply JW
Well i donno why the damsel died but it died several days since i first started to cycle my tank....In addition to the damels....I've placed 50 pds of live rock in one day and the following day showed zero ammonia is that how it suppose to be....I did leave the live rock unattended for about an hour in the car....There should of been some die off??? shouldn't it?? Oh also I've been getting massive amount of brown algae....I've turned down the lights recently to cut it down....I also noticed that there's alot of bubbles underneath my sand....Am i cycled?????? So confused....... :rolleyes:
 
@knight

@knight

Member
Welcome to the board Puffercat.
You should do 2 things IMO:
1) turn the skimmer off and forget about it for at least a month. The skimmer will slow down the nitrogen cycle dramatically.
2) take a water sample in to your LFS and have them test it with a diferent type of test kit. It is not uncommon to get a bad test kit, but they can be dangerous to your tank.
The brown algae is a diatom bloom, wich is completely normal, you are doing the right thing for that.
What are your Nitrites? if you have 0 nitrites, it is safe to say you have completed your first cycle.
Is it possible that the ammonia spike could have been so sudden that it went undetected? You have a good biofilter set up and it looks as if you have done your homework. Be patient, and things will come together before you know it.
 
alianated

alianated

Member
My tank cycled in a little under 2 weeks. And its true.. the ammonia spike was so fast I never saw a real SPIKE. I caught the end of it. My ammonia never went up passed the 2nd marker before dying.
It was the next coming Nitrite spike, then Nitrates that clued in that it was in fact passed the ammonia spike.
Just hang in there, sounds like you are doing good, but I agree about the skimmer. You actually wouldnt need it for a while. But its one less expense out of the way. hehe
Remember.. this is nature, and we can try all we want to predict whats supposed to happen next, but nature has a funny way of reminding us all too often that she makes the rules, we are just playing the game.
 
puffercat

puffercat

Member
Thx for the reply guys....But i forgot to mention that my wet dry is actually a berlin setup......All i have for filitration is a massive protein skimmer in the sump of my wet dry.....Is it ok to turn it off????
 
@knight

@knight

Member
yes....get rid of the skimmer
the skimmer removes only biological waste, wich right now, is helping your system get established. a mechanical filter would be ok to run right now, but a skimmer will only slow you down.
 
andymi

andymi

Member
I started my 70 gallon originally with 20 lbs of natures ocean and 40 lbs of southdown playsand, with 2 big pieces of live rock. My tank has NEVER cycled. If it did, it completed the cycle in less than 24 hrs. I tested for a week straight then went and tested every week for 1 month and my tank never saw a spike of anything. I personally think the Natures Ocean sand is fantastic for that along with the live rock. Just keep an eye on it for another week or so if everything looks okay start adding things slowly.
BUT!!! Be careful, I learned my lesson with a 15 gallon tank, I bought the carib-sea aragalive sand and put in a clown trigger yesterday while I setup my new 150 (i figured it would only be 3 days tops) and the thing died on me this morning. I checked my levels and this tank is going through an ammonia spike. So just pay close attention, every tank is different. I learned that myself :)
 
@knight

@knight

Member
andymi, even though your tank did a quick cycle, it sounds as if there was no ammonia scource to start off a good cycle. adding the fish is what caused you to cycle, and in a tank that small, i would be surprised to see a damsel survive. better luck next time. if the LR was uncured, it would be fine, but cured lr is not always enuf to get the tank to cycle, although LS along with the tank size being small, will speed up the cycle now that it has begun. keep feeding the tank and wait until the nitrates go away before adding another. but yes, every tank has its own personality and the smaller ones are much more volitile.
 
dmh

dmh

Member
I think the big question here is the condition of the live rock he put it. With that much live rock, if it was uncured and out of an established tank, it is possible that there are enough bacteria to prevent a real 'cycle', and the tank may be good to go. If that was the case, I would check by turning off the skimmer, throw in a damsel or two, and if they live a few weeks and it doesn't show any ammonia, it is probably safe. Just my .02
 
puffercat

puffercat

Member
Hey guys thx for the reply!!
Well I’ve turned of the skimmer for now……..but the thing is that I did leave a damsel carcass in the water ever since it died….The carcass has been deteriorated and yet I have seen no ammonia spike…..Am I to assume the cycle is complete???
 
puffercat

puffercat

Member
Oh forgot to mention that the live rocks that I’ve purchased was cured already………and that there are plenty of green grass like (coarse type) all over the rocks……Would that also help the cycle???…….
 
S

schroder_reef

Guest
Our tank never actually cycled and everyone that we have talked to that has come over to help us with it or to see it says that sometimes they just don't. So maybe yours is one of the few that doesnt also.
Ambie
 
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