Yet Another Cycling Question

sueandherzoo

sueandherzoo

Active Member
Hi.
I'm in the process of setting up a 46 gallon bowfront to house seahorses and the water, live sand and live rock has been in the tank for 2.5 weeks. I checked the water parameters one week ago and had zero ammonia, zero, nitrites, and zero nitrates. I checked again just now and have zero ammonia, zero nitrites, and 10 nitrates. I was really hoping to see a higher ammonia indicating that I was in my cycle so I'm a little disappointed at the lack of ammonia and nitrites -- could I possibly have already gone through my cycle without noticing? The live sand was brand new (bagged live sand from the LFS) but the live rock is from a well established tank. However, the live rock was out of water and left in the cold for about 2 hours between going from the old tank to the new tank so I imagine there was probably a lot of die off.
I don't have any brown algae on the sand or rocks, yet -- does one always get the "brown" outbreak at the end of a cycle? I'd love to know where I am in this cycle so I'll know if I should start ghost feeding or buy a raw shrimp, etc. I know I still have several weeks of waiting to do but at this point I don't know if Ive even STARTED to cycle yet or if I'm at the tail end. I should have been checking more often but was all-consumed by the new 55. Darned addicting hobby......

Sue
 
C

cmaxwell39

Guest
Try ghost feeding the tank for a week or so and check water parameters everyday. If the tank has cycled you will see no jump in ammonia or nitrites, if it has not you will see these things come up within that time frame.
It is possible that since you used established rock you wil not see much of a cycle. Two hours is not a long time for live rock to be out of water, especially since when it is shipped it is out of water for two days or longer. HTH.
 
sueandherzoo

sueandherzoo

Active Member
Yes, it does help except that I read ghost feeding can cause high phospates which in turn will cause an algae problem? I guess I shouldn't sweat that - I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. When you refer to ghost feeding, are we talking about a tiny pinch or should I feed it a significant amount to be able to see the ammonia rise from the decaying food?
Also, is there always an brown outbreak when the cycle is done? Is that a reliable way to determine when a cycle has occurred and completed, or is it just a "sometimes" thing?
Sue
 
nycbob

nycbob

Active Member
having rocks out for 2 hours isnt gonna cause much dieoff. ur tank wouldnt go through a cycle since u used cured liverocks. i used cured liverocks back when i set up my reef. no cycle at all, and added fish within a week.
 
sueandherzoo

sueandherzoo

Active Member
Wow, thanks for that info. That could be really good news, or really BAD news. The good news is that I might already be cycled - the bad news is that I may now be tempted to try some livestock in there and it may be bad for them if the tank isn't fully "seasoned" yet. I don't really want to start with a clean up crew since there is so very little to "clean up" in there.
I have two fire gobies in my 55 gallon established tank.... perhaps if I can catch them I can move them to the 46 horse tank? I understand fire gobies make decent tank mates for horses so if they survive they could stay there.
The other very TEMPTING possibility is to quarantine my new porc puffer in the 46 gallon bowfront for a few weeks. I've got him in a 12 gallon right now and feel bad for him being in such tight quarters but I hesitated putting him in the 46 gallon not knowing if it's cycled or not. The 46 could serve as the QT tank and if, God forbid, the puffer does show signs of ich, I could remove him to a hospital tank and let the horse tank remain fallow for another 6 weeks. Hmmmmmmm...... tempting.
Sue
 
sueandherzoo

sueandherzoo

Active Member
Hi, and thanks for your advice regarding the seahorse tank. Actually I do have quite a bit of macro-algae growing in there already as well as a HOB refugium where I'm growing copepods (about to move it from my 55 gallon to the horse tank). I do also read and post in the seahorse forum often - I'm sure it's going to be my second home once I get closer to actually ordering the seahorses.

Why do you suggest not putting anything in there before the seahorses? Wouldn't putting a fish or two (seahorse compatible, of course) in the tank BEFORE I buy horses be advisable? I would figure they would help "season" the tank and I'd rather find out if the tank is ready for livestock by using fish rather than seahorses as my guinea pigs, wouldn't I?
Sue



 
lkgrenegade22

lkgrenegade22

Member
Originally Posted by nycbob
http:///forum/post/2828484
having rocks out for 2 hours isnt gonna cause much dieoff. ur tank wouldnt go through a cycle since u used cured liverocks. i used cured liverocks back when i set up my reef. no cycle at all, and added fish within a week.
This explains why mine never cycled and the LFS said my water was good to go after only a week...
 
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