Cycling Tank???

[a&m aggie 04']

Its been almost 2 weeks since i filled my tank. Yesterday i added 25 lbs of rock. I havent seen any presence of ammonia or nitrite yet. I ordered the rock from Themarinecenter, which is really close to my house, so there wasnt any die off in the shipping.
My question is, i thought that for a tank to cycle there had to be an ammonia spike?
Ammonia- 0
Nitrite-0 or really close to 0
PH around 8.2
SG- 1.0225

 

[sgt__york]

It is possible that the Live rock (LR) you put in was truely cured, and had the bacteria to maintain it'self - and thus IF it did cycle was VERY quick.
What many ppl do is use Damsels (cheap and very hearty) to add a bio load to ur tank and then monitor the levels. I think the general rule of thumb is 1 fish per 10gal for cycling. As this would definately increase your bio-load, it should send you through at least a small cycle (if your rock is truly already cured well).
Good luck. And good luck CATCHING the damsels when your ready to trade em in for other fish you wanna keep lol Don't let me scare ya.. it can be done - just either a lot of fun or a major pain - depending on how you deal with it lol
ceme'r you ... GOTCHA!

 

[birdy]

Instead of using live animals to cycle your tank, consider
using cocktail shrimp from the grocery store (uncooked of course).
Put a couple in and your tank should start to cycle in no time, I usually remove them after a few days.
I have done this for several tanks and it has worked wonderfully and I did not have to chase damsels around 100# of live rock. Or subject fish to the stress of a tank cycling.

 

[a&m aggie 04']

Sorry if i was unclear w/ my previous question. Im wondering if the live rock alone would have started the cycle???
If not will the damsel i put in start it?
The live rock has been in for a few days now w/ no altering of the water conditions!

 

[wamp]

If they live rock is FULLY cured, you will not see much if any spike at all. The whole point of a cycle is to grow bacteria to convert ammonia and nitrites. If your live rock already has that bacteria on it, it will start to convert immeditly. In other words, your tank is past the first stage of its cycle.
I would go ahead and add one fish to the tank to provide some waste to the tank. Keep an eye on the levels while the fish is in there.

 

[javatech]

can he try a fishless cycle by useing some Ammonia
i do it with fresh water tanks all the time

 

[sgt__york]

The only problem with that - is "AS" the ammonia disappears due to the bacteria's growth that convert's it - so will the bacteria then begin to disappear due to the lack of a CONTINUED food source. That is why something like a live damsel creates a continuous LOAD - which creates and SUSTAINS the bacteria colony. As your biological load increases and decreases - so will your bacteria colonies.

 

[a&m aggie 04']

For my cycle to begin what has to happen, or has it already started cycling like someone mentioned. How will i know when it is done cycling if im never going to have any presence of ammonia or trites?????????
Again i have 25 lbs of live rock- fully cured i guess since caused no ammonia spike.
Added 1 damsel yesterday, and 8 lbs of live sand to seed my other.
I just wondered what is going on, why i dont have any ammonia.
Do i have to have ammonia at some point for my tank to cycle???

 

[ed r]

If you just put in the live rock, you need to wait and keep testing to see if there will be an ammonia spike. It takes a few days at least. I bought my rock from The Marine Center and was very happy with it, but their Fiji rock is not fully cured. The Fiji rock is drop shipped and has been out of the water for quite a while. Also if you purchased cured rock from them, they wrap the rock in wet newspaper like most vendors. You receive it the next day via Fed EX. There will be die-off. My tank cycled in 2-1/2 weeks with 50 lbs of their Fiji rock in a 55g.
If you don't see an ammona rise in a week and read zero nitrite, it is not going to go up unless you add something else. That is not necessary as the tank has cycled. However, the tank is not ready to except a large bioload. It is prepared for a small one. Add hardy creatures slowly. The live rock is all that is needed to provide your cycle.