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bb21375

bb21375

New Member
i've had my 30 gal sw tank up for almost a month now and i see no change in the cycle. what should i do
 
darknes

darknes

Active Member
What do you have in it (LR, LS, crushed coral, shrimp)???
Also, what is the water testing at (nitrate, nitrite, pH, ammonia, salinity)????
My 29 gallon cycled in about 2-1/2 weeks
 
darknes

darknes

Active Member
I used 15 pounds of crushed coral and 15 pounds of argonite sand for my substrate. I also have 40 pounds of Live Rock, in which I put 22 pounds two days after setting up the tank, and another 18 pounds about a week later. I also used 2 damsels to help cycle. You are going to need something to help build up the bacteria such as damsels or a piece of shrimp. I would recommend using the shrimp, because it's a pain in the arss to get the damsels out (I had to take everything out of the tank and it took about 2 hours). I heard using a piece of shimp from the grocery store works well. Your cycle will be done when ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate are all down.
I would really recommend using cured live rock and some shrimp or damsels to help your cycle (also, DO NOT do any water changes while it's cycling).
That's my advice, take it as it is, since I've only been doing saltwater for about a month and a half now.
Good Luck and welcome to the board
 
msd2

msd2

Active Member

Originally posted by bb21375
i have crushed coral. and everthing is where it needs to be except for my amonia, and nitrite
Well your tank has finished its cycle when it dips down to 0's so it sounds as if its still in the cycle phase. Unfortunately there really is no way to speed up the cycle. Time is what does it and the colonies growth. Patience, trust me on this one, you rush it and it will come back at you when the system crashes.
Its not worth the rush. BTW you may want to monitor your ates levels because cc has been known to contribute to their increase as time goes on.
Sounds like you are well on your way though!
 
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