Am I done cycling?

[jomatty]

i would order a good cuc from reef cleaners. there are a number of good online places to order fish. reefs2go has free shipping for $150 and I have always been pleased with what i got from them. It seems odd that you are getting a reading of no nitrates. I would actually feel better if you were getting low nitrate readings but no nitrates worries me a little. You may want to throw a piece of table shrimp in and see how the tank deals with it. it may cause a cycle but if so it needs to cycle anyways. it probably will make your nitrates and possibly amonia go up a little but if the tank is cycled it should get back to normal fairly quick if it has already cycled.

 

[Justin_92_92]

Quick update.

I since added a dozen crabs and a few snails to help clean up my tank. While I was at it, I also added a hardy fish. These have been in here for 4 days now. None of my parameters have raised. So a couple questions.

How long should it take for a cycle to raise parameters? (I think I already cycled but want to be sure)

Also, Because my parameters have been spot on, I havent done any water changes...should i?


Thanks!

 

[islander84]

Have you monitored nitrites and nitrates throughout your "cycling" process?
If you did not see an increase in nitrites or nitrates you likely havent built a good bacterial foundation. Try adding some form of ammonia such as a small raw uncooked piece of shrimp, or

 

[islander84]

Normally you will not do any water changes during your cycling process to keep the bacteria population strong, then once all nitrites have all converted to nitrates then you should do a small water change to reduce nitrates. But you dont want to do too large of a change as you will remove too much of your bacteria population thats in the water column.