Did my tank come cycled?

fish_feed6

fish_feed6

Member
well i have had my tank up and running for approx 2 days, it has 75 pounds of sand(20 of that being live) and 20 pounds of live rock(will increase that over time
) and no hitch hikers (good or bad)

these are my reading from the test a few mins ago.
Salinity - 1.026
PH - 8.2-3
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 0
Total hardness - 450
Ammonia - 0
the reason im saying this is because i bought my rock at LFS and it had coralline algae on it, and shouldnt i have seen a spike by now?
 
J

jcrim

Guest
The short answer to your question is no. You need to introduce an ammonia source into the tank. Some use damsels, some drop in a cocktail shrimp to rot... I prefer to just feed the tank everyday.
 
jon321

jon321

Member
After 2 days, if your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate are all at 0, you havnt even started the cycle yet. Throw something in there to rot and produce more ammonia and youll see your cycle.
Jon
 
ams153

ams153

Active Member
it eventually has to cycle regardless.. put something in there to rot.. i wouldnt use damsels its kinda mean.. and if it survives your stuck with a damsel so just put something in there to rot and the cycle will begin.
 
uberlink

uberlink

Active Member
Yup. Go to the grocery store and buy a package of raw tiger prawns. Shell all the prawns. Melt a stick of irish butter in a pan with a little minced garlic. Cook all but one of the prawns on medium heat until pink (about five minutes). You might add a bit of salt and pepper, or even some blackening spices. Then remove the shrimp, set them aside, turn up the heat, and cook some asparagus

[hr]
in the pan for a couple of minutes. Dine on the shrimp and asparagus.
Only then should you throw the remaining raw shrimp in the tank for a couple of days and watch it jump start your cycle. Remove it when the odor gets unbearable.
At least, that's how I did it. Worked great.
 
uberlink

uberlink

Active Member
It was delicious. Anyone know if tiger prawns are reef safe? They'd be nice to have around all the time...
 
psusocr1

psusocr1

Active Member
i have 100 pounds of live rock, 20 pounds of live sand, 8 snails, 4 slugs, 7 crabs and 2 damsels in my tak.. i feed the damsels everyday with flake food and i went two weeks befroe my ammonia and nitrates began too spike, now there back to normal and i should be about ready to add fish but im still going to wait another 2-3 weeks!!
 
fish_feed6

fish_feed6

Member
u serious shrimp? i had like 30 of those in my freezer about 5 days ago
well the family fare by me sells them singly or by the pound so ill go do that
 
mitzel

mitzel

Active Member
Yea . all you really need to do is get it to roting in there and the decaying will start your cycle
 
willcon

willcon

Member
the lr and ls will prettty much automatically cycle the tank, the bacteria is allready there
if you feed tank and you dont see a spike dont be surprised, the ammonia will most likely not biuld up, it will be transformed instantly, so after a fewe days of feeding and no spike your good to add fish, lr and ls are pretty much instant cycle starters unless you dont have enough for the tank you have, btw how many gallons?
 
J

jcrim

Guest
Originally Posted by WillCon
the lr and ls will prettty much automatically cycle the tank, the bacteria is allready there
if you feed tank and you dont see a spike dont be surprised, the ammonia will most likely not biuld up, it will be transformed instantly, so after a fewe days of feeding and no spike your good to add fish, lr and ls are pretty much instant cycle starters unless you dont have enough for the tank you have, btw how many gallons?
IMO this is bad advice if the tank is less than 1000 gallons. You WILL see ammonia and nitrite peaks.
 
jokerj

jokerj

Member
last time I cycled a tank I went the fresh seafood department and spoke to the guy when they were getting ready to take some older shrip off the shelf and discard. they gave me about 3 jubo ones and I put them in the tank for about 1 to 2 days and amonia went up fast. I to had live sand and good live rock with no die off but it still took about 2 weeks for the cycle to complete. good luck with getting your tank up and going!
 
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