Cycling question

[Ben13]

hello guys I have gotten myself pretty confused about cycling, I have had live rock for a week now and I was wondering what I do now, do I go get a crab or some small livestock in a week or so, and is there something else that I need to do? Sorry for the bad question
Many thanks
Ben

 

[skinz78]

How long has the rock been in the tank for?

You need to check your nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia and see where the levels are at. I wouldn't add anything till the nitrites and ammonia are zero and the nitrates are fairly low.

 

[Ben13]

a week and ok ill do another test tommorow what do you believe is "fairly low"? for nitrates

 

[skinz78]

Less than 50ppm is good for fish and inverts, and coral is less than 20 IMHO. I wouldn't add anything for at least another 3 weeks.

 

[Saltgator]

How long has the rock been in the tank for?

You need to check your nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia and see where the levels are at. I wouldn't add anything till the nitrites and ammonia are zero and the nitrates are fairly low.

+1 to Skinz. Check your levels and go from there. It may take a bit longer for the cycle to begin. Adding livestock will only cause issues this close to the cycle. If you want, add a cycling additive like Seachem Stability. The bacteria within the Stability will keep the levels from going crazy, but they still need to be checked.

 

[Ben13]

thanks for the help so quickly guys and ill wait as you say and just moniter the nitrates etc every 3-4 days