New to Nano cube 24gallon, Need Help!!!!

pappy112

pappy112

New Member
Anyone who may have some advise???
I purchased a 24 g deluxe
I first put the water in and took it to the pet store, water was fine
I bought 25 pounds of live rock online (not cured)
Ever since, my ammonia level is maxed out!
I recently replaced 80% of the water, put the live rock in a separate tank with nothing but the saltwater, and 2 jets blowing it at 82 degrees
In my nano is the water with a 3 pound piece of live rock (cured and store bought with purple algae)
I also swept the dead material off the 20 lbs of crushed coral.
This rock I bought had a lot of dead stuff on it and I really did not know what to do
Also, I have the sponge filters in the left side, carbon and ceramic rings and bio balls in the middle. Am I set up right?
Any other suggestions???
Thank you,
Dave
 
devilboy

devilboy

Member
ok first off, your tank must cycle. and with you putting your saltwater in the tank, then the uncured live rock, yes your would spike, this is normal. you should of let nature take its course, and the tank would have cycled. ammonia spikes, then drops, nitrites spikes, then drops and whats left over would be your nitrate reading, hopefully this would be at zero also. then you could do a 20% water change. and retest in a few days if all readings are at zero, then your tank has cycled and you are ready to go.
feel free to ask more questions
 
pappy112

pappy112

New Member
Question now is, should I move that rock back to my tank and let nature take its course?
Should I keep the lights on?
Should I keep the ceramic rings and bio balls in?
How long will It take my tank to cycle?
Ball Park
All of my tests are fine except for ammonia, nitrates are great
 
devilboy

devilboy

Member
Originally Posted by pappy112
Question now is, should I move that rock back to my tank and let nature take its course?
Should I keep the lights on?
Should I keep the ceramic rings and bio balls in?
How long will It take my tank to cycle?
Ball Park
All of my tests are fine except for ammonia, nitrates are great
yes, i would put your rock back into your tank.
yes, let nature take its course
No, take your rings, and bio balls out, in time you will have problems keeping your nitrates low. so remove them
cycles normally will take anywhere from 4 - 8 weeks. some longer, some shorter
your nitrates should test fine. your ammonia is spiking and starting your cycle, then you will see your nitRITES raise. all is normal. just take it slow.
 
devilboy

devilboy

Member
Originally Posted by pappy112
Devilboy,
Should you keep the sponge media
Bio Balls and ceramic rings have been removed

yes u can keep the sponge if desired just clean it out every week so it does not collect to much gunk and release nitrates back into your tank. or you can replace it with a skimmer and add live rock into 1 of the back chambers.
 
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