Has my tank cycled?

[FeelingSalty]

New to Saltwater and should have done far more research before we began......ugh!

Set-up 1/22/2023
Tank is a 60 gal cube
Started with Caribsea dry live rock and sand
Nutri Seawater
2 Clownfish, lemon peel Angel and Shrimp added 1/26/2023
Began testing for Amonia, Nitrite and Nitrate on day 6 (1/28) using Red Sea Marine Test Kit
Picture of tank included


Let me start by saying I think we have been lucky. If I ever cycle a tank again, I will do the fishless cycle! After hours of reading, research, and sifting through posts on this thread, I am still unsure if my tank has completed the cycle. Your knowledge and assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Below are my readings from day 6 to current. One day I tested twice because the nitrates had increased.

Day 6
Amonia 0.2
Nitrite 0.05
Nitrate 2

Day 7
Amonia 0.2
Nitrite 0.1
Nitrate 2

Day 8
Amonia 0.2
Nitrite 0.2
Nitrate 2
Salinity 1.027

Day 9 (1st test) Day 9 (2nd test)
Amonia 0.2 0.1
Nitrite 0.2 0.2
Nitrate 3.5 4.5

Day 10
Amonia 0.1
Nitrite 0.2
Nitrate 4.5

Day 11
Amonia 0.1
Nitrite 0.2
Nitrate 5

Day 12 (today)
Amonia 0.1
Nitrite < .05
Nitrate 2

 

[Big G]

Generally speaking, it usually takes about 30 days for the initial ammonia-nitrate cycle to balance.
And usually takes about a year for the tank to settle in under "normal" circumstances.
Of course your mileage can vary.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I see no powerheads in your tank, just the inlet tube of a hob filter, I also see flat water surface. Flow is very important in a saltwater tank, you will want to get at least 2 powerheads for that size tank, one should be pointed at the water surface to create agitation and gas exchange, the other pointed at the first to try to create random flow patterns.

 

[brandon429]

why yes, yes that's cycled.

its why your fish are alive

there aren't half cycles.

see this thread, which your thread is now added to

welcome to reef2reef's updated cycling science friends group

(the tests you have aren't digital, they're approximates that fully cycled reefs also read. your bottle bac worked fine, everyone does this nowadays, your fish aren't burnt or they'd act burnt)

the only issue is skipping disease preps, which those are prone to in about 3 months or so.

 

[brandon429]

How to unstick any seemingly stuck cycle

Updated Cycling Science in Action This is a testless reef tank cycling thread, the only one from any board. If you ever had trouble with reef tank cycling in the past, you won't any longer after working some jobs with us. chances are you are using/about to use a method of reef tank cycling...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[vetteguy53081]

Im not sure asking if a tank is cycled yet and there is livestock in the tank already and a lemon Peel angel is not a good first fish while its not impossible to raise it in a new tank. Typically you want to add ammonia chloride and then monitor ammonia. When your ammonia is steady at zero for 5 days and Nitrate is steady at 20 or below- You are cycled. Ignore nitrIte Unless sky high. This process can last 10-14 days and as long as 21 days.
The tank will go through two phases in which ammonia will rise then fall and nitrate will rise and fall which is normal. When fish are added, the bacteria population will increase with the new bio load, converting waste to nitrate.
Overloading tank with too many fish up front will exceed what the bacteria can handle which is why its best to stock fish slowly over the next few months so that the bacterial levels can adapt to the new loads. You may want to refrain from any more additions for 2-3 weeks to assure tank is holding steady and not going through a series of spikes in ammonia and/or nitrate

 

[FeelingSalty]

I see no powerheads in your tank, just the inlet tube of a hob filter, I also see flat water surface. Flow is very important in a saltwater tank, you will want to get at least 2 powerheads for that size tank, one should be pointed at the water surface to create agitation and gas exchange, the other pointed at the first to try to create random flow patterns.

Thank you! I do have one power head. Maybe the angle of the pic. Positioned on back left of tank. Picture taken from side. I have the output from my fluvol 307 and one power head. Was told that was plenty. Will purchase another.

 

[brandon429]

Cleaner shrimp simply don’t tolerate bad water

him being in there for days doing fine is about like getting a free icp test reporting in spec. What shows in a full tank picture factored by known number of days underwater allows testless reef tank cycling. We know right there above your ammonia never hit toxicity, for example.

 

[brandon429]

The ammonia above is nh4, for reefing we convert it to nh3 per chemistry friends in the chem forum

converted to a typical nh3 presentation in a reef tank .2=.02 nh3, well under toxicity and in fact it’s lower than that, only a seneye can read the real reading: .002 nh3

that reading above is two decimals off truth.