Tank Cycling

[popo559]

I am new to this saltwater aquarium hobby. Here is my set up. I have a 100G long tank. The substrate is crushed coral and sand. I have put approximately 115 lbs of base rock (reef bone) and no live rock yet. I have a sealife systems sump with bioballs. (2) powerheads, protien skimmer, and a UV steralizer. My tank was set up on 08-17-2005 using Instant Ocean Salt. My test results have been the following:
08-17-05 (set-up and using prime water conditioner)
Ammonia- 0
Nitrites- 0
Nitrate- 0
PH 8.0
08-22-05
Ammonia- .5
Nitrites- .50
Nitrate- 10
PH- 8.0
08-23-05
Ammonia- 1.0
Nitrites- .50
nitrates- 10
PH- 8.0
Just a few questions?
1. Is this tank cycling? Do I just leave it alone or need to be concerned with the rising values?
2. I am wanting to add some live rock. When should that be done?
3. When should I be concerned with adding Damsels?
Thanks for all of your help.

 

[popo559]

OK...Needing a little help here. :help:

 

[pjmumie]

#1 - If your Nitrites and Ammonia levels are starting to rise, then yes, you are starting to cycle.
#2 - The live rock will have some die off which will add to your cycle and will even help build the bacteria you need to effectively cycle your tank. Don't just add new live rock to your tank once you have living animals in your tank though, because it will have some die off and will cause a small ammonia spike which could kill your animals.
With your rock and substrate, are you using any other catalyst to "jump start" your cycle, like a cocktail shrimp or something? Many people on here recommend cycling your tank with a cocktail shrimp vs. Damsels because Damsels are so hard to catch when you want to get them out of your tank when you get rid of them after your cycle. They are really mean and territorial, so they aren't good pets, but some still use them for cycling. I did not.
Sorry to tell you this, but many people in here (the majority, I have found) do not recommend crushed coral (CC) because it requires cleaning, can cause instability in your water quality because it doesn't create an effective aerobic/anaerobic bacteria habitat for your bacterias to live to eliminate waste to prevent ammonia & nitrites from killing your animals.
If you use R/O water, you will not have to use the prime water conditioner, unless you want to. I assume you are using Reverse Osmosis (R/O) water for your tank, right? If not, you really should. Tap water carries silica & metals such as copper and mercury that will build up and will kill your fish. Silica helps promote algae growth, so that's always a challenge with tap water also. :happyfish
What kind of lighting do you have?
Good luck and have fun learning! Do LOTS OF RESEARCH on here - lots of very smart people, but don't just listen to what I've just typed...there are just as many opinions about things on here as there are people typing messages. Listen to people's suggestions and recommendations and then after you start hearing some things cronically...you will make decisions based on what you believe Get a few books also, and you should have a lot of fun.
I started this hobby in January, I've followed a LOT of advice from people on here and read a LOT of information and I have yet to have any major problems *knocks on wood*
ENJOY!

 

[murph]

Yes its in cycle. Heres a tip I found on the net that may save you a few pennies with your test kit. Don't bother testing for nitrates until your nitrite test start reading zero at the end of your cycle.
Most test kits for nitrates work by first converting to nitrites and then the second part of the test converts that to a nitrate reading. In the case of a cycling tank where high levels of nitrites are still present it is virtually impossible to get a accurate reading for nitrates with test kits that function in this manner.
You will most likely find at the end of the cycle when your nitrites begin reading zero that the nitrates have, as if by miracle, come way down also without even making a water change. Oddly enough this is the point where you make your first water change and start to think about what you want to stock the tank with. Good luck and above all have some fun. Thats what all this money spending is about