Am I just being hopeful?

bearsfish · Oct 29, 2019

Here is a little background

my tank got wet on October 12, 2019 I would ghost feed every 2 days or so until the 21st then I added a raw shrimp.. took shrimp out after my ammonia spiked up to 2.0 ppm and held for 2 days then I took it back out (25 or 26th) Sunday the 27th I added a nice chunk of live rock to the tank in order to speed up getting some of the microorganisms in the tank. all is typical and normal thus far.

That is until last night. I tested my water and it read 0 ppm for ammonia.

While I see a few diatoms starting on the rock I am not anywhere near the blooms I have had in previous tanks and this seems very very fast...

Should I put another raw shrimp in the tank? should I consider my CUC or first fish and start feeding this tank?

BeejReef · Oct 29, 2019

The hybrid dry/live approach is tricky.
I did the same and drove my nitrates up to over 200 and phosphate up to over 3.0 ghost feeding a tank with 20% live rock... trying to get to 2ppm ammonia so I could see if it was "cycled." Never was able to get ammonia over .5-1 with multiple, stinking cocktail shrimp.

I'd be interested to see what experienced peeps have to say. Out of hand, knowing that dry rock takes roughly a month, I'd personally probably stay conservative and keep ghost feeding for another two weeks. It would give me the peace of mind that all the rock in the tank is cycled. That said, it's not your first rodeo. A fish can provide a steady diet of ammonia for the rocks as well.

lapin · Oct 29, 2019

I would ghost feed for 2 more weeks as stated above just to be safe. Then change out 90% of your water and you are good to go.
I cycled my dry rock for 2 months with bacteria, ammonia and a shrimp. Since you added a live rock you introduced the needed strains of bacteria.
What is your nitrite level?
As far as a clean up crew if you dont have any algae for them to eat they will starve unless you feed them. You dont want to expose them to very much ammonia. Addding another dead shimp will cause ammonia. How much will depend on tank size, bacteria levels and how big a shrimp you add.