Cycling New biocube with a shrimp

[ericv1122]

i just started a brand new biocube 29, and I've started the cycling process with a piece of shrimp. How long should this take before I see my ammonia go up? Any tips or advice would be great! Thanks

 

[Joeganja]

pm me and ill tell u everything u need to know about starting up a tank

 

[tyler1503]

Ammonia can start to be seen only a couple of days in, but can sometimes take up to a couple of weeks. It really depends on the individual tank.
Looks like your using live rock, so you may not see much of an ammonia spike

 

[ericv1122]

So if I'm not going to see much of an ammonia spike what indication will tell me when the cycle is complete

 

[Dalmatia]

if you put food in aND YOU DONT HAVE A SPIKE IN AMMOINA OR NITRITE YOUR CYCLED. POP IN A FISH

 

[Dalmatia]

You do have 2 cycled rocks by the looks of it

 

[saltyphish]

Once your ammonia and nitrate levels read zero and stay zero for a while then you are good. However, always start slow when adding fish. As you add your good bacteria population needs to build up to take care of the extra bioload. Add to many fish to quickly and you will start a mini-cycle. Also highly recommend QT new fish. Hate to add something to your new tank.

 

[saltyphish]

Sorry, nitrite not nitrate.

Once your ammonia and nitrate levels read zero and stay zero for a while then you are good. However, always start slow when adding fish. As you add your good bacteria population needs to build up to take care of the extra bioload. Add to many fish to quickly and you will start a mini-cycle. Also highly recommend QT new fish. Hate to add something to your new tank.

 

[ericv1122]

These are my perimeters after just 1 week. How is it looking? Does it look as if the cycle is nearing the end?

 

[newbe]

I'm also new to the hobby but I want to know when can I add a coral to my tank!

 

[Joeganja]

How old is your tank?

 

[fishroomlady]

yes, you are definitely cycling, you need to see ammonia and nitrite hit 0 and your nitrates most likely will go up a little. We usually suggest a water change at that point and test again and you should be good to go if you have no ammonia or nitrite.

 

[zemuss]

eric go take a look at this link: How to set up a saltwater reef aquarium tank- REEFEDITION and Section 5: the Cycle

 

[newbe]

I have a 29g bio cube and I have about 35 pounds of cured rock 25 of live sand I let it cycle for week and tested the water and I had all 0 on the water test!
Then I bought a pair of clown fish and they are doing great I test the water out every 3 days and I have not had any spikes? Is that normal

I just want to know when will I know I'm ready for small corals?

 

[newbe]

But I've had the tank for 3 days! I been going on the recommendation of my local fish store!

 

[newbe]

3 weeks my bad

 

[zemuss]

It depends.. what I would do is put something that will give off a spike. something you can take out again. See if it spikes your parameters or if you don't notice a change. We call it a cycle but that cycle really never ends. It just gets better as the bacteria develops and multiplies in our tanks. When the bacteria is seeded, it reduces the ammonia and nitrite spikes because there is a consumer of the waste.

 

[glb]

As long as you have any ammonia or nitrites, the cycle isn't over. But the fact that you have nitrates means it's well on its way. When I started my nano, the die-off from the live rock created a natural cycle within a few days. It's different for every tank though. Good luck!