Cycling Rock Question??

revhtree · Nov 22, 2007

I have never cycled rock and I have been cycling my Marco rocks getting ready for the new tank.

Well about a week or so ago I checked the rock and the ammonia was almost down to 0 and the nitrites were spiking. Well I took all the rock and moved it into the new tank with 100% fresh salt water. Three days ago and today the ammonia is still 0 but the nitrites are still very high with no sign of coming down. Also I am getting good Nitrate readings as well.

What would you suggest at this point? Wait it out longer without doing anything? Do another water change?

My deltec is skimming the heck out of it though..LOL!

surfn · Nov 22, 2007

actually, i wouldnt have moved the rocks until the nitrites were completely gone.

nitrites can decimate any corals/fish/inverts. as well as cause strange algae problems IMO.

by doing a water change, and/or putting the rock into new/different saltwater, you have just prolonged the cycle by introducing new water.

i learned this the hard when setting up my g/f's nano 2 years ago. she had 5-10ppm nitrites, that just didnt seem to go away after a month. i kinda figured it was no big deal.....but we had problems keeping stuff for a while until those nitrites went away which seemed like it took forever.

i'd also keep the lights off until the nitrites AND the nitrates go away. this may take a while........but better safe than sorry. slow is the name of the game and wins the the reef race IMO.

surfn · Nov 22, 2007

OH......i'm not sure what kind of sand you have used......but IMO every time i've used the Arag-Alive brand of sand.......the cycle has been speed up every time. that sand works wonders IMO.

revhtree · Nov 22, 2007

Well I moved the rock to the empty tank where there is no coral. I also introduced to small pieces of LR that had some polyps and shrooms on them along with a couple snails and a crab. All of them are doing fine and the polyps stay open. They have been doing good for over a week now....

surfn · Nov 22, 2007

revhtree said:
Well I moved the rock to the empty tank where there is no coral. I also introduced to small pieces of LR that had some polyps and shrooms on them along with a couple snails and a crab. All of them are doing fine and the polyps stay open. They have been doing good for over a week now....

sounds good, i'd just keep the lights off until the nitrates completely go away. otherwise you may give algae a head start if there are plenty of nitrates for them to grow.

if the inverts look good.....i think adding snails/hermits would be ok. maybe add a fish or two (something hardy...easy to keep...i.e. damsel/clownfish) just to give the nitrifying bacteria something to work for.

just take it sloooooow, i know its hard.

i also highly recomend a bag of that Arag-Alive sand. (add straight to the tank, don't wash)...just to give the nitrifying bacteria a boost!! it may help to complete your cycle faster.

NapoliNewJersey · Nov 22, 2007

Hey rev,

If it's not too late, make sure you scub the rock as well. Try to remove as much as the dead crud off it as possible.

Sounds like you're already done though.

-Mike.