New Tank

[bill miller]

Need a little help! We just started a 125 gallon reef tank. We have 60 lbs of live sand and 85 lbs of cured Fiji live rock already in the tank. Approximately how long will it take for the tank to cycle and is there anything else we can do to help it cycle?

 

[royal gang]

i heard about a raw shrimp in there, and it should take about 4-6 weeks that's what i heard

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by Bill Miller
Need a little help! We just started a 125 gallon reef tank. We have 60 lbs of live sand and 85 lbs of cured Fiji live rock already in the tank. Approximately how long will it take for the tank to cycle and is there anything else we can do to help it cycle?
No, there is nothing you can do. Saltwater fish keeping is all about patients. The number one rule is to go slow. How long it will take to cycle depends on the quality of the rock and the amount of die-off on it. It could be two weeks, it could take two months. Do you have a master saltwater test kit yet? You will need to test ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, kh, and a refractometer to measure salinty and of course a thermometer for temp. Your tank is done cycling when ammonia and nitrite reach zero and stay there for at least two weeks. Another very important investment is a quarentine tank. Most new people think this is not necessary untill they come across a disease and find out how much easier it would have been to just treat a new fish as apposed to the entire tank. Welcome to the boards!!!!!! Please feel free to ask any and all questions you may have!

 

[bill miller]

Thanks for the info. All the levels are zero. The sand was put in a week ago and the rock was about 10 hours ago. We have a quartine tank set up. Should I just leave the tank run and continue to check to levels? Or do I need to put something in it? The tank has been running for approximately 2.5 weeks.

 

[1journeyman]

If you bought the live rock and had it shipped to you it has become "uncured" and will need to be cured. This will provide all the ammonia you need to start your cycle.
If you bought the rock from the store, check for ammonia. If you don't have any, add a bit of fish food every three or four days and watch for ammonia. (the decaying food produces ammonia. You test for ammonia to see if your bacteria is handling the ammonia load)
A "cycle" is the term used to describe the amount of time it takes for your beneficial bacteria to grow. Bacteria feeds on ammonia and produce nitrite which in turn is eaten by bacteria and turned into nitrate. If your rock is fully cured you may not see any ammonia as you feed the tank.
Anyway, a normal cycle will have ammonia spike, then as it decreases your nitrite will spike then decrease as your nitrate increases. At the point where ammonia is 0 nitrite is 0 and nitrates are greater than 0 you know your tank has cycled.

 

[1journeyman]

Welcome to the boards, btw!

 

[lion_crazz]

Both journeyman and Sepulatian have answered this one very well for you.
There are a ton of highly intelligent people here. Please, make yourself at home, ask as many questions as needed. Welcome to SWF.com! :happyfish

 

[bill miller]

The rock was shipped to us (next day). Didn't know it changed to uncured. We will put some food in the tank and continue to check the levels. Thanks for the info. (I'm patient, my girlfriend is not!!!)

 

[1journeyman]

No need to feed if rock was shipped. There will be enough die off for ammonia to begin.
Feed in a couple a weeks a bit every few days.
"Cured" means the rock no longer has any die off. Any time you ship it (since it is out of water) it has die off and therefore becomes "uncured"

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by Bill Miller
Thanks for the info. All the levels are zero. The sand was put in a week ago and the rock was about 10 hours ago. We have a quartine tank set up. Should I just leave the tank run and continue to check to levels? Or do I need to put something in it? The tank has been running for approximately 2.5 weeks.
If you just put your rock in 10 hrs ago, wait about 2-3days and test for ammonia. Sometimes it takes 3-5 days for the ammonia to spike. Keep us posted on your readings.

 

[bill miller]

Your are right, just in the last 10 minutes we got more info. than going to our aquarium dealer. We will be posting and asking question frequently. Thanks again!!

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by Bill Miller
Your are right, just in the last 10 minutes we got more info. than going to our aquarium dealer. We will be posting and asking question frequently. Thanks again!!
You are very welcome, we are all here to help. :happyfish

 

[lion_crazz]

Originally Posted by sepulatian
If you just put your rock in 10 hrs ago, wait about 2-3days and test for ammonia. Sometimes it takes 3-5 days for the ammonia to spike. Keep us posted on your readings.
I agree with this. Give it a couple of days. If nothing happens, then you should throw something into the tank (food-wise) to start an ammonia spike.

 

[bill miller]

We will keep you up to date on the levels. Thanks for all your help!!

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by Bill Miller
We will keep you up to date on the levels. Thanks for all your help!!
You got it!