Whats the shortest cycle time

cushen123

cushen123

Member
My ammonia is zero, nitrite zero, nitrate < 10, pH 8.0-8.1, 15 days after the start of my cycle. my amonia did go up, as did my nitrite, so i asked earlier and only one person said it had cycled or had known of any tank to cycle in that time. Yes i know i used a damsel and that is wrong , however i used it! So any suggestions on my tank/cycle ........
 
vejomatic

vejomatic

Member
the nitrogen cycle is somewhat of a science, yet there still is much controversy and heresay surrounding it that you might not get the answer your really looking for...which is probably, "can i begin stocking my tank now?"
to that question; only you, your test kit, and your damsel know the answer.
welcome,good luck and post often!

~mc
 
cushen123

cushen123

Member
Well I just added my skimmer, and it looks to have cleaned up the brown algea, covering my tank, and just a few minutes ago i saw on my 4lb piece of base rock, a pink covering. So it looks like i'm getting coraline aglea. Will this happen during or after the cycle??
 
acekjd83

acekjd83

Member
how much live rock and live sand did you start with? were you skimming or using carbon filters? how big is your tank? one damsel? how much food?
if you started with a lot of live substrate, the bacteria become established faster, and break down nitrogen wastes faster. in a big tank, a single damsel will not be a significant source of nitrogen to measure a cycle. if you skim or use carbon pads, they will eliminate the ammonia and nitrites before they build to significant levels...
 
cushen123

cushen123

Member
4pds lr, 25 pds ls, =22 calcite sand, 15, aragonite sand.
carbon filter
30 gal
1 damsel, feed twice a day, over feed
 
acekjd83

acekjd83

Member
do you have any detritus buildup on the pad, like brown scum or old food? is there junk accumulating in dead spots?
 
acekjd83

acekjd83

Member
it sounds like you just dont have a very large bioload, and you may not see the big nitrogen spikes. this isnt to say that your cycle is complete, or that you can fill the tank with new stuff, just that the bacteria already present were capable of eliminating the ammonia and nitrites, and the carbon pad sucked up the nitrates. this is probably for the best, considering you threw a living animal into a potentially poisonous nitrogen soup... he just got lucky that he was the only one polluting the water.

keep checking your water, and add things slowly after a month has passed, or you may find that your carbon pad will be used up and your wastes will skyrocket, since this is probably what is keeping your nitrogen levels low...
 
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