Is my tank cycled?
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Flippers4pups
Fins up since 1993
Sure looks like it.
New&no clue
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When I first start to add fish I put in the seachem ammonia alert badge. It is a quick way to see if ammonia is in the tank without having to test.
Bryn
Valuable Member
Is my tank cycled? Its been 2 weeks with live rock.
To be sure that you are cycled, you could make an ammonia application to a known parts per million, and watch for a color change on your tests within 24hrs, looking for the test to return to zero, or vary close to zero. I test 6 hours after ammonia application, which also gives me confidence that my kit is working, and then 24hrs later to see if it has returned back to zero.
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Birddog61
Active Member
When ample " cured " live rock is used to start a system is dose not need to be cycled. However one needs to inch up the bioload gradually
When the live rock is un cured you may need to wait to add live stock as the rate of die off can out weigh bacteria colonys temporary
When the live rock is un cured you may need to wait to add live stock as the rate of die off can out weigh bacteria colonys temporary
I want to add a third dynamic, benthic verification
when we think of live rock, is that devoid of attached growths and pigments, does it stay white forever?
the hallmark of live rock makes an unmistakable verifier for ammonia cycling ready, without having to burn them with ammonia. nitrifiers always come before visual benthic growths in a reef tank
diatoms phase? whatever is coated in diatoms is cycled.
coralline? number one cycle verifier on the planet. takes months to show up.
live rock cycled in a vat / dark and purposefully made blank-looking can still be cycled, but how common is that
if this tank description is accurate, with one picture we can tell if its cycled or not. if you have live rock cured in such a way as to not look live (hope you didnt pay full price) then ammonia oxidation move down is ideal to confirm
if you brought home wet rocks they're live Ill bet. any standard cycling chart shows us ammonia under control in about 8-10 days, so you taking longer than 8-10 days to be ready would be abnormal
and that chart isn't for already cycled rocks, its for dry starts
Notice in cycle threads, we never give an option for just plain done...nothing left to vary, you're cycled
its always approached as an unlikely, must verify
but in moving wet rocks tank to tank, they never uncycle. dieoff doesnt occur, that's just api crossreads on normal respiration waste production and conversion. if this was live rock with visual proofs then it was cycled the minute you set it in the new tank.
.25 and .5 and .1 free ammonia reads, the common measures for api, dont occur in reefing even during the cycle if you consult seneye .00x true conversion data. Our kits grossly overreport ammonia presence tank to tank.
to me that looks like .5 ammonia above. but its not
if this was a dry cycle assess we're missing a pic: the before shot where you up-dosed test ammonia, and we have this one to compare results.
when we think of live rock, is that devoid of attached growths and pigments, does it stay white forever?
the hallmark of live rock makes an unmistakable verifier for ammonia cycling ready, without having to burn them with ammonia. nitrifiers always come before visual benthic growths in a reef tank
diatoms phase? whatever is coated in diatoms is cycled.
coralline? number one cycle verifier on the planet. takes months to show up.
live rock cycled in a vat / dark and purposefully made blank-looking can still be cycled, but how common is that
if this tank description is accurate, with one picture we can tell if its cycled or not. if you have live rock cured in such a way as to not look live (hope you didnt pay full price) then ammonia oxidation move down is ideal to confirm
if you brought home wet rocks they're live Ill bet. any standard cycling chart shows us ammonia under control in about 8-10 days, so you taking longer than 8-10 days to be ready would be abnormal
and that chart isn't for already cycled rocks, its for dry starts
Notice in cycle threads, we never give an option for just plain done...nothing left to vary, you're cycled
its always approached as an unlikely, must verify
but in moving wet rocks tank to tank, they never uncycle. dieoff doesnt occur, that's just api crossreads on normal respiration waste production and conversion. if this was live rock with visual proofs then it was cycled the minute you set it in the new tank.
.25 and .5 and .1 free ammonia reads, the common measures for api, dont occur in reefing even during the cycle if you consult seneye .00x true conversion data. Our kits grossly overreport ammonia presence tank to tank.
to me that looks like .5 ammonia above. but its not
if this was a dry cycle assess we're missing a pic: the before shot where you up-dosed test ammonia, and we have this one to compare results.
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