Tank cycling... Help me

[Stolireef]

BTW, the main reason you may want to run your skimmer during the cycle is to break it in. Skimmers need to develop a bit of slime coat to work at peak efficiency. Also, if you want (though not at all necessary) you can ghost feed your tank a tiny bit of flake (and I mean tiny, like a couple of flakes) once or twice a week during the cycle. It doesn't really do anything but it gives you something to do.

 

[Reef_Tank_Fan_SC]

What are the thoughts an putting live rock fragments and sand/crushed coral in the sump? I am not gonna have a refugium because of the lack of space but is it possible to get some small benefits from doing this?

 

[Sammi Mi]

What are the thoughts an putting live rock fragments and sand/crushed coral in the sump? I am not gonna have a refugium because of the lack of space but is it possible to get some small benefits from doing this?

I don't have a sump...so I'm not positive, but I've done some research on sump vs. Canister, and the only thing I can say for sure is that the LR adds to your biological filtration, but in the sump it would have to be cleaned regularly to avoid nitrate build-ups(at least thats what I've read) You have dry rock that your going to be using correct? Dry rock in your DT is already giving you biological filtration.
Maybe someone else can chime in and give you more info.

 

[Reef_Tank_Fan_SC]

I don't have a sump...so I'm not positive, but I've done some research on sump vs. Canister, and the only thing I can say for sure is that the LR adds to your biological filtration, but in the sump it would have to be cleaned regularly to avoid nitrate build-ups(at least thats what I've read) You have dry rock that your going to be using correct? Dry rock in your DT is already giving you biological filtration.
Maybe someone else can chime in and give you more info.

Would the dry rock not eventually become live as the tank cycles itself though? Or would it remain in a dead state because of being in a sump..

 

[Sammi Mi]

The only difference between "live" rock and dry Rock is that live rock can contain algae and pests and Hitchhiker's. Where is the dry Rock will not because it was allowed to dry out and essentially kill all those hitchhilers.
So, yes even in a sump the dry Rock would become filled with the good bacteria and become part of your biological filtration.
( again mind you I don't use a Sump, but when I weighed the pros and cons of dry Rock vs live rock for my tank, I found that dry Rock will still become filled with the good bacteria and become part of the biological filtration inside your tank, so I can't imagine it wouldn't do the same inside your sump)

 

[Reef_Tank_Fan_SC]

The only difference between "live" rock and dry Rock is that live rock can contain algae and pests and Hitchhiker's. Where is the dry Rock will not because it was allowed to dry out and essentially kill all those hitchhilers.
So, yes even in a sump the dry Rock would become filled with the good bacteria and become part of your biological filtration.
( again mind you I don't use a Sump, but when I weighed the pros and cons of dry Rock vs live rock for my tank, I found that dry Rock will still become filled with the good bacteria and become part of the biological filtration inside your tank, so I can't imagine it wouldn't do the same inside your sump)

Right, that's what I was thinking also. So once I get the good bacteria on it the it will be a good natural booster for the DT. I would probably be better off using just the rock in there though and no substrate.

 

[Sammi Mi]

Right, that's what I was thinking also. So once I get the good bacteria on it the it will be a good natural booster for the DT. I would probably be better off using just the rock in there though and no substrate.

I believe that's correct, a no on the substrate, but I'm not sure. Wish I had more answers for you.

@Stolireef @jeff williams @Randy Holmes-Farley
Maybe one of those guys can give more info...

 

[Reef_Tank_Fan_SC]

So my tank has been up and running for about 3 or 4 days now and I have seen no noticeable ammonia spike.

Current parameters

Salinity 1.026
Ammonia 0.50
Ph 8.0
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0

I have live sand in the tank and I have put Bio Spira in there also.. do i just need to wait longer to see the spilke?

Suggestions?

 

[Mombo]

Well your ammonia has to hit 0. The bacteria the process the ammonia produce nitrites so you might see that climb up before hitting 0 but with bio spira you might not see it as it could be quick. The bacteria the consume the nitrites produce Nitrates. That is the final phase there.

Seems like the Bio spira isnt doing its thing though. Seems like most people have 0 ammonia the next day after putting it in. Maybe its die off from the live rock creating ammonia? I dont know I used dry rock....plus super new to this as well haha.

Nitrates should be higher then 0 though. Really by the time you are done cycling. So you still have some time. I am cycling right now and I dose my tank with ammonia every morning to keep building up the bacteria in the tank. The consume it down to 0 by the time I wake up every morning. Of course I will stop that before I add fish haha. Just keeping the thing moving along.

 

[Reef_Tank_Fan_SC]

Well your ammonia has to hit 0. The bacteria the process the ammonia produce nitrites so you might see that climb up before hitting 0 but with bio spira you might not see it as it could be quick. The bacteria the consume the nitrites produce Nitrates. That is the final phase there.

Seems like the Bio spira isnt doing its thing though. Seems like most people have 0 ammonia the next day after putting it in. Maybe its die off from the live rock creating ammonia? I dont know I used dry rock....plus super new to this as well haha.

Nitrates should be higher then 0 though. Really by the time you are done cycling. So you still have some time. I am cycling right now and I dose my tank with ammonia every morning to keep building up the bacteria in the tank. The consume it down to 0 by the time I wake up every morning. Of course I will stop that before I add fish haha. Just keeping the thing moving along.

I am also using dry rock.. that's why I put the bio spira in there. It has only been in the tank for about 24-30 hours though. I haven't dosed any ammonia as I wanted to give the chance to do it naturally if you will. I will give it a bit longer to see it it will take off. It not then I will try to dose it. I may even try the shrimp in the tank deal.

 

[Sgolden]

I just finished cycling dry rock. Not an expert but this was my finding. Using rodi water as source, brought saline to 1.026. I circulated with powerheads w/air. Periodical skimmer after a couple weeks. I started with one whole ready to eat shrimp, tossed in a nylon filter bag.
I tested every day, took about a week or so for ammonia to rise to a medium level. I dosed bio s for 2 weeks. I removed the smelly shrimp, no water changes, periodical protein skimmer. Nitrites rose fairly high until about 3rd week. A slow taper. Note: if u added prime nitrites are not accurate to measure. I did begin dosing seachem stability at week 3. At 30 days I am ammonia 0 , nitrate 10-15. Added an ordered snail only cuc to the 150 gallon tank last week. Purchased 2 Bengali cardinal fish today to put into quarantine .

Credit to countless hours in this forum!

 

[salty209]

I recommend this stuff. Cuts your cycle time down

 

[Reef_Tank_Fan_SC]

Last might when I checked my parameters they were at...

Salinity 1.025
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5
Ph 8.0

Is it possible I just missed the ammonia spike? I'm not putting anything in for a while still obviously. I'm in no rush and will let the tank have ample time to steady itself out before I move to livestock. Also my tank is losing about a half a gallon of water a day. Is that normal.. just seem like a lot to me. I have no leaks so I don't know where the hell it is going, lol

 

[Dom]

So tomorrow I will be moving the tank into the house and I will be starting the cycling process. I have never had to cycle a tank before so I honestly don't know what steps to take.

I usually get something hearty, like damsels, and put them in the new tank with substrate and live rock laying on the bottom.

Then I feed and monitor ammonia until the cycle is complete. Once that happens, I remove the damsels as I find them to be nasty and disruptive to the tank.

I aquascape after the cycle so that the damsels are easier to catch as they don't have hiding spots.

 

[Mombo]

Do you have a lid over the tank? Are you running your lights while you are cycling?

My tank is completely enclosed so I dont have to much water evap but for a larger tank with an open top I imagine that you would see quite a bit of loss. Hence why everyone loves there Auto top offs so much. When you have substantial water evap your salinity levels can vary through the day.

Also ya when using bottled bacteria you could miss alot of the initial spikes and move straight to nitrates. I am not sure if you can just let it sit with dosing it though. The bacteria need to eat to stay alive so if there is no ammonia source you might undo your cycle. On that note I have no idea how long they last without food so you might be ok for a while.

 

[Stolireef]

You did see the ammonia spike when it hit .5ppm. Your best approach now is to ignore the tank for about three weeks other than topping off evaporated water. If you want, add some ammonia to bring it up to 2ppm. If it drops to 0 within 48 hours, your initial cycle is complete.

 

[Reef_Tank_Fan_SC]

Do you have a lid over the tank? Are you running your lights while you are cycling?

No lid on my tank yet, it is a freshwater tank that I converted in reef ready tank. So I am going to have to make the lid still. Also I am not running any lights on the tank yet. I knew I would have some evaporation but I wasn't expecting that much.

 

[Reef_Tank_Fan_SC]

You did see the ammonia spike when it hit .5ppm. Your best approach now is to ignore the tank for about three weeks other than topping off evaporated water. If you want, add some ammonia to bring it up to 2ppm. If it drops to 0 within 48 hours, your initial cycle is complete.

Okay, I guess I was expecting a higher spike than that so I didn't realize that was it. Do I need to dose with ammonia to see how fast it goes down or is that something I can just do after a few more weeks?

 

[Mombo]

Haha ya I think alot of people go lidless and just deal with the evaporation. Might be worth looking into the Tunze Osmolator for 100 and setting up an ATO to make your life easier. I am wanting to get one but have justified it yet since I only have about a half a cup of evap every other day.

I dose mine daily with ammonia since I have it on hand. The bacteria present consume all of it daily at this point. I know some people just feed there tank and the food breaks down etc.

 

[Reef_Tank_Fan_SC]

Also ya when using bottled bacteria you could miss alot of the initial spikes and move straight to nitrates. I am not sure if you can just let it sit with dosing it though. The bacteria need to eat to stay alive so if there is no ammonia source you might undo your cycle. On that note I have no idea how long they last without food so you might be ok for a while.

Do I need to put something in there to make the ammonia stay up higher for a bit longer? Like the shrimp in the tank?
Or should I just try to ghost feed it for a week or two and see how the tank responds