Cycling Tank Skipped?

[bcarp]

My Tank is has been running for 4 weeks. I put 2 dead shrimp from the grocery store in my tank about 6 days ago. I still have not seen any spikes in my ammonia,Nitrite, or Nitrate. Would the live Rock from a established tank,that I put in my tank skip the cycling process? Or am I being impatient?
72 bow tank
25 to 30 lbs live rock
20 lbs. live sand
4" dsb
XP3 Rena Canister Filter
1 401 powerhead
Berlin skimmer off right now
2 55 pc
2 40 blue aetinic

 

[ed r]

Was the live rock and live sand added four weeks ago? If so, your basic cycle might have occurred before you put the shrimp in. Depending upon the size of the shrimp, the bacteria in the live rock and sand may have been able to handle the load. You could put a couple more shrimp in and continue to monitor the readings. If they don't go up, your cycle is done. Since you don't have very much rock, go slowly when adding any livestock. Good luck.

 

[bcarp]

Yes the live sand and live rock was added about 2 weeks into the cycle. I am going to keep adding live rock a little at a time so I dont cause any ammonia spikes. I just figured I would have gotten a reading from one of the Am. Ni & Na. by now. LFS tested my water too and got the same readings as me. So they are accurate. I Will wait two more weeks and see what happens. I dont want to kill any fish. So I will try to be patient!!

 

[blennybabe]

an amonia spike will start the cycle. im not sure if adding everything slowly will cause enough bacteria to cycle the tank...

 

[bcarp]

I am only adding live Rock slowly is because of the cost of the rock!! So I have been buying like 10lbs. every weekend. So that is like $50 to $60 a week. I will just have to be patient with it cycling.

 

[ed r]

If you are continuing to add live rock, make sure that it is fully cured or else assume that the tank will recycle, so you need to keep all livestock out. If you add cured live rock gradually, you may never see an ammonia spike or very high nitrite. IMO that is just fine. The only way that would cause a problem is if you try to add a bunch of livestock all at once. That is not the way to proceed anyway. When you are done adding live rock and are not seeing any ammonia or nitrite, you can begin to add hardy livestock slowly. Wait and monitor your water conditions after each addition. You should not see ammonia or nitrite because all of the liverock is your filter. If you don't overload it, it will do the job.

 

[bcarp]

Thanks Ed R for the info. I have been buying cured live rock. They all have the purple coraline on them. I think thats what it is called. I will probably add live rock for 2 more weeks and then be done with lr. Thanks again!

 

[zari]

In the first post of this thread, you say you have 20 lbs of live sand, yet you have a 4" dsb? What other type of sand are you using?
Zari

 

[bcarp]

Lfs gave me two 40lbs. bags of (not sure what kind) sand. Then I put 20lbs. live sand over it for now. Does this make a difference?

 

[zari]

I just knew that 20 lbs of ls wouldn't give you a 4" dsb in that tank. I have a 50 gal that has 100 lbs ls.
Zari

 

[jakob4001]

try ordering your LR from online...
it''s MUCH MUCH cheaper usually than from LFS depending on S&H... I hear they sell great LR here, but the larger amount is a bit pricey for the fixed S&H rate (well says free S&H); of course you can order smaller amounts now... usually if you shop around online 40-45 lbs of LR runs about $99 plus S&H...

 

[bcarp]

Tell me where you get 40-45 pounds of live rock for $99.00??? What web site??? Thanks