Hello all! This is the first time I have cycled a saltwater aquarium using as much 'live' media sources as I have and have a quick question. I set up the system 5 days ago with mature Real Reef Solutions live rock, 30lbs live sand mixed with 30lbs dry, 1L of Aquaforest Life Bio Fil in media bag, 2L of Siporax in media reactor with slow flow. I have been dosing Aquaforest Bio S for the last 5 days. I have not noticed an increase in ammonia or nitrite. Nitrate has been steady the last 3 days at 2ppm. Will I observe an ammonia or nitrite spike with this much live media in place?
Quick question cycling aquarium....
- Thread starter Eredus
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malacoda
Valuable Member
You could always add a little bit of raw shrimp or fish food and watch for a spike in ammonia and nitrate. If there is one, then the tank is still cycling, and will continue to cycle as normal. If there isn't one, then you'll know your biological filter has established a foothold thanks to the Bio S just as you had hoped/planned, and a major cycle will not occur.
Luke Schnabel
I like corals...
Its always best to take everything slow when starting out. I would wait 2 weeks or so and then "ghost feed". Meaning feed your tank like you have fish. If you get a giant spike in ammonia and nitrite then your not ready for fish. If you don't and the only thing that goes up is your nitrate then I would say your cycled. All this test means is your tank will be able to process the bio load your fish would produce.
Vahanyos
Valuable Member
I stopped reading after i saw "Cycling" and "putting this and putting that in"..
Leave it alone bud... stop dosing anything and just let your tank sit there for a couple weeks. Only thing i suggest adding is a piece of shrimp (which you should remove after like 2-3 days) or add a small bottle of bacteria like "Dr. Tims" or something similar. And just let it sit. You should not be doing ANY dosing if this is your first tank or you're fairly new to the hobby. That's intermediate territory... My tank is about 7 months old and i am still not dosing... growing corraline and my corals are thriving... Get the basics down... and learn to run your tank with a more "natural" approach... I'll be happy to answer any specific question you have if i gave you very general points lol but i'm hoping you get the picture... Keep it simple and give it some time! Cycle's can take up to a month or so and it's important you UNDERSTAND what a cycle is and why you're doing it.
Leave it alone bud... stop dosing anything and just let your tank sit there for a couple weeks. Only thing i suggest adding is a piece of shrimp (which you should remove after like 2-3 days) or add a small bottle of bacteria like "Dr. Tims" or something similar. And just let it sit. You should not be doing ANY dosing if this is your first tank or you're fairly new to the hobby. That's intermediate territory... My tank is about 7 months old and i am still not dosing... growing corraline and my corals are thriving... Get the basics down... and learn to run your tank with a more "natural" approach... I'll be happy to answer any specific question you have if i gave you very general points lol but i'm hoping you get the picture... Keep it simple and give it some time! Cycle's can take up to a month or so and it's important you UNDERSTAND what a cycle is and why you're doing it.
Aquaforest Bio S is similar to Dr. Tims. This is the only thing I am dosing, nothing else. The other medias that I mention in my post are recommended by Aquaforest when starting a reef of the type I want it to have. I have cycled aquariums in the past, just not with this much live media. So I was just wondering if a spike in ammonia/nitrite would ever occur ( I understand that it can be subjective). I started phantom feeding today to see if I can get any changes in my tests. Thank you for your input @Vahanyos . The only thing I am adding is Bio S everyday. That's it 
. Ill keep ya all posted 
. Ill keep ya all posted 
chefjpaul
2500 Club Member
Aquaforest Bio S is similar to Dr. Tims. This is the only thing I am dosing, nothing else. The other medias that I mention in my post are recommended by Aquaforest when starting a reef of the type I want it to have. I have cycled aquariums in the past, just not with this much live media. So I was just wondering if a spike in ammonia/nitrite would ever occur ( I understand that it can be subjective). I started phantom feeding today to see if I can get any changes in my tests. Thank you for your input @Vahanyos . The only thing I am adding is Bio S everyday. That's it
I started my latest tank completely on AF. Same as you, I didn't see a spike per - say, I did have bio block and media from another tank. So virtually a non existent cycle, very minimal ammonia spike.
I did get very bad diatom blooms this time, but transferred fish over within two weeks.
Just go slow and be patient
@chefjpaul Awesome! Yeah I started with Real Reef Rock about 60lbs worth from Real Reef Solutions which according to my research has been cured/seeded for approximately 4 months before consumers can get there grubby hands on it and 1 liter of Life Bio Fil which is seeded with tons of live bacteria. I have a feeling I will observe similar results, but we shall see.
and 1 liter of Life Bio Fil which is seeded with tons of live bacteria. I have a feeling I will observe similar results, but we shall see.I got burned. Let me tell you how. I put in a bunch of live rock covered in coralline algae and live sand in my 175g tank. Guy from my LFS said tank probably wouldn't even cycle because of all the good rock and sand. So I put in a couple fish. No ammonia spike. Put in a couple more and a couple corals. No spike. Params all looked good. Kept this process up until I had half a dozen fish and a dozen corals. Everything was great. Then I got diatoms. Took care of it. Then I got hair algae. Took care of it. Then I got cyano, took care of it. Then I got a bacterial bloom, took care of it. Then I got cyano again, took care of it. Now I'm dealing with hair algae again (7 months in) and I see a little cyano in my sand. Sigh.
Lesson? It's not all about the cycle. Even without my tank needing a real cycle, it still needed to go through the uglies. I never go NTS, never got high ammonia or anything, I've just been bouncing from one ugly to another. Each would have been a ton easier to deal with if I had less livestock in the tank. You can go dark for a week to kill algae if you don't have any coral. Can't do that with a bunch of corals in there. So be patient and go super slow until the tank seems to be done with the uglies. JMHO.
Lesson? It's not all about the cycle. Even without my tank needing a real cycle, it still needed to go through the uglies. I never go NTS, never got high ammonia or anything, I've just been bouncing from one ugly to another. Each would have been a ton easier to deal with if I had less livestock in the tank. You can go dark for a week to kill algae if you don't have any coral. Can't do that with a bunch of corals in there. So be patient and go super slow until the tank seems to be done with the uglies. JMHO.
