Quick Questions for Cycling - Biocube 32

[xxsobesxx]

Hey All!!

Just wanted to say Hey and get some worries off my shoulders.

Started my fishless cycling about 4 days ago with just live sand. Been letting it sit around 78 degrees with a light cycle(12hrs on and 12 off). Around days 3 I saw .25 ppt ammonia and today(day 4) about .50ppt. Nitrates are still at 0. I guess my question is, do I need to do anything else other than just let it sit or do I need to add anything else to make sure it completes the cycle? My worry is that I leave for vacation in 5 days and will be gone for a week. I dont want to ruin the cycle. I have been reading so many different articles that my head hurts from all the different approaches.

Let me know your thoughts if I should get anything this week before I leave or if I can let it ruin its cycle for the next week without touching it but adding RODI water.


Thanks All!!!

 

[Kryptonian]

I've cycled three tanks in my home in a similar fashion but with one big difference. I added bottled nitrifying bacteria. I've used Fritz, Bipspira, and did a whole quick cycle package from Algae Barn (that last one was definitely the best). Once your ammonia starts turning to Nitrite, you need to create a source of ammonia. If the nitrifying bacteria doesn't have an ammonia food source, they will die off. This is why a bunch of old-school tanks needed to add a fish to create a constant ammonia source.

You don't want to lose the benefit of live sand, so I'd suggest adding food to the tank before leaving town. You can even dose the tank with straight ammonia to keep the bacteria alive. Food is good though because it will take a day to change from "food" to ammonia.

 

[Kryptonian]

Waste goes from Ammonia to Nitrite to Nitrate. I'm not too surprised you have 0 nitrate on day 4 since your nitrifying bacteria that converts nitrite to nitrate is still in the very beginning phase.

Since it's fishless, I'd suggest dropping a decent dose of food pellets in the water before you leave.

 

[xxsobesxx]

Thanks! Will definitely throw some food in there before I go. I have flake food that I got. Does it matter if it’s pellet or flake?

Also, Would you add a bottle of bacteria as well? I was reading that if you have anything live in the tank, it could mess it up with the two different sources of bacteria. If it doesn’t matter, can I add that in before I leave as well or should I wait till I am back if something were to fail during that time?

 

[Daveouthere]

Thanks! Will definitely throw some food in there before I go. I have flake food that I got. Does it matter if it’s pellet or flake?

Also, Would you add a bottle of bacteria as well? I was reading that if you have anything live in the tank, it could mess it up with the two different sources of bacteria. If it doesn’t matter, can I add that in before I leave as well or should I wait till I am back if something were to fail during that time?

Hey All!!

Just wanted to say Hey and get some worries off my shoulders.

Started my fishless cycling about 4 days ago with just live sand. Been letting it sit around 78 degrees with a light cycle(12hrs on and 12 off). Around days 3 I saw .25 ppt ammonia and today(day 4) about .50ppt. Nitrates are still at 0. I guess my question is, do I need to do anything else other than just let it sit or do I need to add anything else to make sure it completes the cycle? My worry is that I leave for vacation in 5 days and will be gone for a week. I dont want to ruin the cycle. I have been reading so many different articles that my head hurts from all the different approaches.

Let me know your thoughts if I should get anything this week before I leave or if I can let it ruin its cycle for the next week without touching it but adding RODI water.


Thanks All!!!

I have Biocube 32 I started with live sand and dry rock added some nitrifying bacteria(biospira) and dosed with ammonia till cycle was done be patient don’t stress. I cycled for a good 3 months because I was in no rush all that time with lights off. You don’t need light while cycling your tank, is what everyone says since it will cause algae

 

[Anthony Scholfield]

If the nitrifying bacteria doesn't have an ammonia food source, they will die off.

This is not true.

@brandon429

 

[Anthony Scholfield]

Is my tank cycled?

Is my tank cycled? Its been 2 weeks with live rock.

www.reef2reef.com

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These have helpful info

 

[K7BMG]

The question I have for you is.
In your first post you say nothing about adding anything but live sand as your beneficial bacteria source.
What did you add for the ammonia source?
Shrimp, ammonia, nothing?

If you added no ammonia source then I am wondering what is dying off to create your rise.

Also what test kits are you using?

 

[brandon429]

Here’s my take on this cycle:

bac from any source get feed via aerial inputs in a home and by direct contamination during the actual build. It’s not possible to arrange anything wet in a home and keep out myriad bacteria and feed if the lid isn’t a tight seal...most tanks actively exchange with the home environ and in that all bacteria will self feed but it’s slower than boosting with bottle bac or feed as recommended


if you left your setup in place nothing added for a 20 month vacation and someone just kept it topped off, you’d come back to a fully cycled system. Can’t starve when open to the home environment

the bac from the sand will commute to the other surfaces like dry rock probably within 30 days based on comparative no-assist cycle n wait threads (And all cycling charts on the internet/30 days for a reason)

Adding feed will boost the transmission rate probably up to about 15 or so days to completion in every tank, none will be sterile after fifteen days boosted in a home, and our test kits are unlikely to reveal anything accurate since we’re not dealing with digital ammonia measures.

if you add any strain of bottle bac then it bumps up to being cycled in about 3 days regardless of what brand you use. I’ve seen it written as well about mixing bac strains canceling out, it’s not the case. An open system in a home is a filthy mix by rule anyway, they’re always competing. Multi strains vie for space and nutrient even if we dose no bottle bac, or six different kinds at once, same outcome, all tanks cycle in the same time frame based on boosters they use

the reason nobody agrees with me on that is because not everybody has a seneye ammonia meter or a mindstream to see what’s really going on. We ballpark with api, thats the rule.

 

[xxsobesxx]

Here’s my take on this cycle:

bac from any source get feed via aerial inputs in a home and by direct contamination during the actual build. It’s not possible to arrange anything wet in a home and keep out myriad bacteria and feed if the lid isn’t a tight seal...most tanks actively exchange with the home environ and in that all bacteria will self feed but it’s slower than boosting with bottle bac or feed as recommended


if you left your setup in place nothing added for a 20 month vacation and someone just kept it topped off, you’d come back to a fully cycled system. Can’t starve when open to the home environment

the bac from the sand will commute to the other surfaces like dry rock probably within 30 days based on comparative no-assist cycle n wait threads (And all cycling charts on the internet/30 days for a reason)

Adding feed will boost the transmission rate probably up to about 15 or so days to completion in every tank, none will be sterile after fifteen days boosted in a home, and our test kits are unlikely to reveal anything accurate since we’re not dealing with digital ammonia measures.

if you add any strain of bottle bac then it bumps up to being cycled in about 3 days regardless of what brand you use. I’ve seen it written as well about mixing bac strains canceling out, it’s not the case. An open system in a home is a filthy mix by rule anyway, they’re always competing. Multi strains vie for space and nutrient even if we dose no bottle bac, or six different kinds at once, same outcome, all tanks cycle in the same time frame based on boosters they use

the reason nobody agrees with me on that is because not everybody has a seneye ammonia meter or a mindstream to see what’s really going on. We ballpark with api, thats the rule.

This is a clean write up! I think what I will do is add some feed at the end of this week right before I leave. So it will give my tank about a week to break that down for when I get back. If I still dont see anything happening I will probably get a bac solution to drop in to force it a bit. I really appreciate this and all the posts! Its awesome hearing from you all!!

 

[xxsobesxx]

These are my readings from day 6. Everything looking normal?

 

[brandon429]

those wont indicate much, the truth is its all in the number of days underwater also factoring boosters added

once we meet a little more submersion time, considering what you've added to start, the system will self complete. The interim tests dont mean much, though current cycling approaches wouldnt agree


want to know another time larger reefing disagreed staunchly

when we asked them if pico reefs could work lol they said no

 

[Kryptonian]

This is not true.

@brandon429

I'm not saying all of the nitrifying bacteria is going to die off instantly. It's probably a very small percentage each day and being gone for a week won't change anything but there has to be a mortality rate. If there wasn't, then bio-load wouldn't be a factor in a well established tank and a large increase in bio-load wouldn't cause any problems, which it does. Bacteria counts are determined by and stabilized at a number that consumes the available bio-load. If bio-load is small, less bacteria are present because there isn't enough food source to sustain higher numbers.

My point was just that it is best to sprinkle some flakes or other fish food in the tank to help build bacteria numbers faster.

 

[PacoPetty]

Welcome to reefing and the reef2reef family! I started my bio cube 32 in January with live sand and dry rock. I added nitrifying bacteria and did not run the lights at all for the first six weeks. I added a little bit of flake food every three days and checked my levels. At the end of the six weeks I added a pair of clown fish. I would definitely recommend adding the nitrifying bacteria before your trip.

 

[Daveouthere]

Welcome to reefing and the reef2reef family! I started my bio cube 32 in January with live sand and dry rock. I added nitrifying bacteria and did not run the lights at all for the first six weeks. I added a little bit of flake food every three days and checked my levels. At the end of the six weeks I added a pair of clown fish. I would definitely recommend adding the nitrifying bacteria before your trip.

Awsome tank

 

[xxsobesxx]

Welcome to reefing and the reef2reef family! I started my bio cube 32 in January with live sand and dry rock. I added nitrifying bacteria and did not run the lights at all for the first six weeks. I added a little bit of flake food every three days and checked my levels. At the end of the six weeks I added a pair of clown fish. I would definitely recommend adding the nitrifying bacteria before your trip.

Hey Bud! I just ordered some Brightwell Aquatics MicroBacter7 for giggles. I heard its good to have on hand as well for possible issues later. I am going to ghost feed today and tomorrow. Then drop this in on Friday before I leave. I have been doing research all day and it seems that this could be a good option. I can do my testing when I get back and the week after to make sure everything is up to par.

 

[Daveouthere]

Welcome to reefing and the reef2reef family! I started my bio cube 32 in January with live sand and dry rock. I added nitrifying bacteria and did not run the lights at all for the first six weeks. I added a little bit of flake food every three days and checked my levels. At the end of the six weeks I added a pair of clown fish. I would definitely recommend adding the nitrifying bacteria before your trip.

What do you have stocked fish wise besides the pair of clowns

 

[PacoPetty]

What do you have stocked fish wise besides the pair of clowns

A Midas Blenny and a green Mandarin dragonette.