New tank cycle questions

[caitlinmarie91]

So I have a new 10 gallon saltwater tank being cycled that’s been running for about 2.5 weeks. Live rock was put in at set up that was taken directly from an already established tank and a thawed shrimp was put in to jump start the ammonia cycle. I have been regularly water testing to keep up with where it’s at in the cycle and saw a big spike in ammonia and then it leveled itself out with no detectable change in nitrite or nitrate. I guess my question is if there wasn’t enough ammonia present to get the process going quickly or could the live rock have produced enough bacteria to balance and cycle my tank already?
TIA

 

[andrewey]

Welcome to reef2reef!

Just to confirm, was all the rock you utilized live and from an established tank? If so, you really wouldn't need to cycle anything- the bacteria is already there and you don't need to "cycle" your tank (just process any residual ammonia from anything else you added such as die off from certain sand products)

However, now that you have introduced a large source of ammonia into your tank via the dying shrimp, it's important to make sure that ammonia has been fully processed before adding livestock. Is the shrimp still in the tank or have you removed it?

If you used mostly live rock and a bit of dry or uncycled rock, then with a tank that size, it's adviseable to cycle normally and validate that your tank is able to process ammonia into nitrate effectively.

 

[Perthegallon]

Definitely cycled your tank already but probably killed off some bacteria but no worries

 

[Perthegallon]

Wait put the ugly stage before putting corals in don’t do what I did but do start adding fush

 

[caitlinmarie91]

I all of the purple rock in the tank is from the established aquarium, the white rock however is not live rock. The decaying shrimp was removed once I hit a high enough ammonia spike, and the ammonia level is now back down to ideal/safe levels and no nitrate or nitrate spikes have occurred.

 

[Perthegallon]

I all of the purple rock in the tank is from the established aquarium, the white rock however is not live rock. The decaying shrimp was removed once I hit a high enough ammonia spike, and the ammonia level is now back down to ideal/safe levels and no nitrate or nitrate spikes have occurred.

Your test kits are dead’s then you have nitrate if ammonia went down unless you did a water change

 

[Perthegallon]

Continue to add ammonia so the bacteria stays alive

 

[caitlinmarie91]

I haven’t done a water change :/ I have been using water test strips and all of the other measurements on the strip have been showing up, just no measurable nitrite or nitrate. You think I need new ones?

 

[andrewey]

I don't know that I would agree with most of what is written above. No need to add any more ammonia at this point, the bacteria won't die right now . You can add it to test your filter, but no need for constant additions. Secondly, it's unlikely you killed any bacteria with introducing the shrimp. It's possible, just unlikely in most situations you're describing by adding a raw shrimp and pulling after you see an ammonia spike. Thirdly, ammonia will convert to nitrite- the absence of ammonia does not mean you have nitrate. Fourthly, I wouldn't be so sure your test kits are dead. It's possible, but I wouldn't jump to that conclusion yet. Fifth, I would advise not using the test strips if you are able to afford an alternative such as liquid test kits

 

[Perthegallon]

If you get a new test kit do a Red Sea don’t do anything else I’ve had everything from nyos to salfert and I hate them all and Hanna is coming out with one soon

 

[andrewey]

To each their own

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Just saying hi, and #WelcometoR2R

Got great advice all around. As @andrewey mentioned I don’t think you need more ammonia, and as mentioned I think your cycled. Also mentioned would be to hold off on coral.

My 2 suggestions. Research and put in a fish appropriate for you tank size and a member for the CuC. The will provide you future bacteria needs. The second is an Auto Top Off or strict top off regiment. Your water level is low. if you let you water level fluctuate in a smaller tank you will have larger salinity swings and will also affect you filter performance.

After that. Invest in test kits like Andrewey mention. Don’t have to spend a fortune out of the gate. Until coral go in API ph is accurate for me and cheap and a refractometer is good

I think you’ve got it, but I still reread this a lot.

Cycling an Aquarium

Cycling a new aquarium. One of the earliest topics a new aquarium hobbyist needs to learn is how to properly cycle their aquarium. There is a ton of information on this process and many different methods on how to accomplish it. There are many different chemical and biological cycles our tank...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[caitlinmarie91]

Thank you all so much for all of your advice and input!!