no cycle?

zoalander1 · Aug 30, 2019

Im not new to reef tanks but recently setup a new 75g tank a little differently than i normally do. I cured all of my rock with bleach, and used dry sand. I took a small piece of rock (5x5inch) along with a large (5x12inch) filter floss from my established tank and placed the rock in the sump (30g) and the filter floss in the tank ( i also squeezed it a few times and released all that gonk into the tnak). Let it run for a week with some daily ghost feedings. Didn't see any spike in ammonia nitrate or nitrite. tested daily and all remained at zero. I added 3 damsels, its been a week and still no spikes. Im assuming I had enough bacteria in the floss to support the small addition of fish and since I didnt use live rock, I had zero die off to create that common ammonia spike. Has anyone else done something similar? The last thing I want to do is harm any fish. I feel this way of "cycling" might be the best way for me thus far. I plan to continue another week with daily testing and if everything remains the same, add another fish. i would continue a weekly adding of a fish for the next 4 weeks. I would also start slowly adding some coral in two weeks. Does this plan seem ok or am I dooming myself for a large crash?

Coralreefer1 · Aug 31, 2019

You might be ok. I set up my tanks using water, live rock and sand from an established tank so I do not succumb to a cycle.
I would definitely not add anymore livestock till you test your water and wait at least a week to ensure everything is going well with your water parameters.
Go slow...

Auquanut · Aug 31, 2019

I've used a similar method to set up fresh water tanks with no adverse effects, but don't have the nerve to try it with salt water. I personally would want to see a rise in nitrate without a coresponding spike in ammonia and nitrite before I called it cycled. I agree that you should GO SLOW! And test, test, test.

zoalander1 · Sep 1, 2019

Any other thoughts?

hllb · Sep 1, 2019

I’m seeing something similar in mine, though it’s only been 8 days. My ammonia went to .5 and then dropped (currently between 0 and .25). I’ve never seen nitrites, and my nitrates are around 10 right now. Algae is blooming. I’m not planning on adding any more fish for a month just in case (I have one small clown), but I suspect my mini cycle may be all I see. I would just encourage you to wait at least a couple of weeks to add anything else, just in case.

GoVols · Sep 1, 2019

zoalander1 said:
Any other thoughts?

Keep taking it slow with your damsels. If it get an ammonia spike, most damsels can make it thru the cycle.

Don't adding anything else for a while, and until you hit nitrates, with no ammonia or nitrites.

W1ngz · Sep 1, 2019

A lot of people use this method, especially when it comes to quarantine tanks. Keep some media, dollar store sponges or ceramic blocks in their sump for the bacteria to colonize, that way you have instantly ready pre-seeded media for a quick setup QT or hospital tank. There's no reason it can't be applied to seeding a full reef system.

Like above, however, take it slow. You only have so much bacteria right now, so too big a bioload will quickly overwhelm it until it can take hold in the rocks.