is my LFS full of bull?

[reefnoob]

I have a 55gal tank
50lbs of LR (well Cured)
20lbs of LS (cycled)
3 biowheels
protien skimmer
canister filter
I set the tank up a week ago, left town and the water is like it never budged... all levels are the same as when I left or better (amonia and nitrates are better)
LFS said that given I had no bioload and all that biofilter, that my tankwould likely not cycle at all and that I can add a couple of hardy fish and see if things are truly stable and established before going nuts.
Since then, I have talked to several peeps and I am getting very mixed responses... what do you guys think?

 

[leopard_babe]

I did not know of this site when I started "cycling" my tank. I had my tank set up for 2 weeks, and I had put 2 damsels in. They both made it through cycling, but I never had a big ammonia spike. I believe that if you think that your tank has started cycling you could add one hardy fish. Have you had an ammonia spike at all? Do you know about the cycle? Do you have a test kit? What are your levels, and what were they a week ago?
Hope that helps,
Leopard

 

[reefnoob]

yes, I do know about the cycle and I test everyday to watch for it to start.
Before x-mas break.. my nitrate was 10, amonia was .5 others nitrite was 0, PH was 8.2
Just got back in town and levels are still the same save nitrate wich is now 5, and amonia which is .25

 

[karajay]

Originally posted by Reefnoob
and amonia which is .25
That is enough to be fatal. Amm and trites must be zero before you add livestock.

 

[reefnoob]

given that this is anew tank setup, should I expect amonia to fall or is something probably wrong here?

 

[mlt]

Just go slow-it takes alot of will power not to go and put fish into a new tank. I didn't know about this site when I first set my tank up and I cycled with damsels, but now that I learned how much stress they went through I wouldn't do it again.

 

[flamewrasse03]

word to the novice.......if you're starting to cycle your tank don't go out and buy a couple damsels or so. Throw in a piece of raw shrimp or meat it'll do the same thing. You'll regret having that fish later on after it starts acting agressivee towards your nicer and more expensive fish. Damsels are the devil!!!

 

[flamewrasse03]

I beat ya to the punch lol

 

[ndpb6b]

I would recommend(sp) to anyone the book "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" by Robert Fenner. SWF.com sells it for $27.99. It is a book that I am constantly going back to just reference different ideas I have.
Give it a look,
Newt

 

[reefnoob]

i'm all about taking it slow and doing it right, the problem is, different people have opinions of what is 'right'
My real issue here, and I'll just have to wait and see is that why after a week, have my toxins gone down rather than up... and my 2 LFS said I had a fast cycle because of the large biofilter and other filters in my tank with no bioload. They said most true long cycles happen with uncured rock...

 

[jedininja]

How did you start your cycle?

 

[karajay]

I agree that having LS and fully cured LR may speed a cycle. I would like to know how or if you added an ammonia source to start it with. You stated earlier that your ammonia had been a .5
What caused that ammonia? fish? food? raw shrimp? uncured rock?
Chances are that if you were gone, you may have missed a heavier spike. Ammonia will usually be up and back down to zero in 7-10 days.
If you feel your tank may have already cycled, then I recommend you try adding some fish food to your tank for a few days. If your water remains stable at zero, then I'd say you are ready for a water change and a small fish.

 

[jedininja]

Well this is an easy one then! You need to add a source of ammonia before your tnak can cycle. Throw in a raw coctail shrimp and then wait. You'll see a big difference!

 

[reefnoob]

I was going to cycle with just LIve Rock and Live sand, peeps in books, these boards, and LFS said that would befine.

 

[reefnoob]

My initial water levels were just from adding water.. LOL
I'm wondering if I missed the cycle when I was on vacation for the week. I will know now if the ammonia keeps falling to zero or if it starts to go up. right?

 

[jedininja]

Well if you bought cured live rock from your LFS, then there wouldn't be much die off. So theres nothing to jump start your cycle. If you had bought uncured, then you would be on your way.

 

[737mech]

Before x-mas break.. my nitrate was 10, amonia was .5 others nitrite was 0, PH was 8.2

Just got back in town and levels are still the same save nitrate wich is now 5, and amonia which is .25
Maybe I'm reading this wrong, but it sounds like your amo went down. You should be reading no2 then and I don't see how your no3 could go down unless you did a h20 change.
What test kits are you using? Or is your LFS doing the tests for you.
When you read amo=0, no2=0, and no3>0 your tank is "cycled" Then you can do a h20 change.
You need to go slow after that when you add a fish add 1 at a time and wait in between additions.
The use of a QT is also recommended. It needs to be cycled too. At least I have found that to be the easiest solution. Mine runs just like any other tank. No new fish of mine gose into my display, before it's been in my QT. Go to the disease message board at look at the 1st post. Beth has done a great job with her faq post.
Keep asking questions we are here to learn too.

 

[reefnoob]

Thanks, I do have a QT setup... sorta.. I have all the makings, just not the time to set it uip yet. I will take my time with this for sure... I guess the only real way to know if I have cycled is to keep Testing.. if levels keep dropping then it's cycled... right?
while we are at it.. in a 55gal tank, how much should my first change be?

 

[jedininja]

The problem is that you had almost no ammonia spike. So you will have some bacteria in there from the LR and the small amount of ammonia from your water. But looking at your ammonia and nitrites readings, I really dont think you've gone through a full cycle. You run a huge risk of going through another cycle adding livestock. Whqat I would do is throw in a small piece of shrimp, like a third of one. If you ar fully cycled, your bacteria will be established enough to show no signs of ammonia or nitrite. But if you do have an ammonia reading, then you know that you have not cycled yet, and then just throw in the rest of that shrimp and let nature take it course.

 

[justchillin]

Originally posted by DevilBoy
you will see your ammonia spike, come back down and your nitrates will peak then fall back down to nothing, what will be left over is your nitrites... hope this helps

isn't ammonia--->nitrites--->nitrates????
looks like you might have switched the trates for the trites...