Tank cycling... Help me

all cycling threads have to have a section on submerged duration being -part- of the end cycle assessment, it cannot be based on an oxidation test alone since bottled bac may be doing the work in suspension vs adhered to the critical areas in our tank as the true cycling goal/locus. after a few weeks submerged with any form of cycle boosting into place, and then a passed oxidation test = cycled or at least the ability to handle entry level bioload without having an ammonia event. A key factor in cycle completion is % water change wont affect the tank's ability to process nitrogenous waste... even multiple 100% water changes back to back in a flushing manner will not strip an active tank of bacteria. A tank that hasn't met its submerged time period is depending on no water change so that critical bac aren't removed before they adhere and reproduce.

Maturation is ongoing but we need a term that deems a start date complete, some time we can move in animals based on various needs and I like the term cycled for that specific allowable start date.

most of the cycles here need to have a minimum 3-4 weeks underwater so that suspension cycling isn't giving the reading. when there's a need for an emergency hospital/relocation tank, its ok to have the type of cycle where whats in the water column is doing all the work. being dynamic in your cycling gives you massive control over your aquarium.

Any surface area you put into a reef immediately starts to become colonized with bacteria as soon as its hydrated (terrestrial bac were covering the surfaces before and make fine food dieoff for nitrifiers btw) but if I had to estimate how quickly nitrifiers will colonize the surface area to the point you can do the water change oxidation test on them Id predict its between 8-30 days depending on the combination of boosters we use. to get anywhere near the 8-15 day mark it has to be an ideal setup, most speed cycling is capped at 2 weeks minimum duration.

if you are using bottle bac, a few rounds sustained 2 ppm ammonia and accurate ammonia testing you can be legit cycled in two weeks submersion time.
 
Last edited:
Ive never done the shrimp thing. Makes a big mess in my opinion. I use Janitor grade ammonia from stores like ace hardware. You just have to make sure you buy the type with nothing added i.e. surfactants. You should be able to shake the bottle and the bubbles should go away immediately at the top not site on top of the water and take a time to burst.

I think ghost feeding works just fine as well. I am not sure on what works best and what you should actually do. I am also very new so I am just sharing what I am currently doing haha. It seems to be going smooth so far so it cant be super wrong though haha.
 
Ive never done the shrimp thing. Makes a big mess in my opinion. I use Janitor grade ammonia from stores like ace hardware. You just have to make sure you buy the type with nothing added i.e. surfactants. You should be able to shake the bottle and the bubbles should go away immediately at the top not site on top of the water and take a time to burst.

I think ghost feeding works just fine as well. I am not sure on what works best and what you should actually do. I am also very new so I am just sharing what I am currently doing haha. It seems to be going smooth so far so it cant be super wrong though haha.
I appreciate all your help my friend, I guess we newbies have to stick together.. lol
 
I used the shrimp, I also had a few ppl say to use the ammonia and a few to say ghost feed the tank....I guess it's all a matter of opinion. I think the real point is to get the ammonia levels to rise again and see if they drop back down within 48hrs, to see if your initial cycle is complete. Also want to do this to keep the good bacteria alive and well.
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.
 
Well I waited a day or two to check the parameters and today I seen quite a difference in my results.

Salinity 1.026
Ammonia 0
Ph 8.0
Nitrite 1.0ppm
Nitrate 20 ppm

Temperature is a steady 78° and today I noticed that I'm starting to get a litte bit of green alge in my sump. Is it normal for me to get alge in there that quickly? Also do I need to clean it or leave it until cycle is completed.. Thanks fam
 
I believe the algae is just part of cycling. Dont need to clean it yet. Your nitrates went up much quicker then mine! Plus clearly youre still building up your bacteria colony otherwise the nitrites would be down to 0 as well.

I still dont have any algae growth in mine :( Atleast none that I see yet. I would like it to start though so I could add some of the clean up crew.
 
I believe the algae is just part of cycling. Dont need to clean it yet. Your nitrates went up much quicker then mine! Plus clearly youre still building up your bacteria colony otherwise the nitrites would be down to 0 as well.

I still dont have any algae growth in mine :( Atleast none that I see yet. I would like it to start though so I could add some of the clean up crew.
Mine is only in the sump though. Still nothing in my DT
 
Ah. Well... I dont have a sump! So no idea on that one. Im sure its fine though. I know there are many phases of algae that come while the tank is cycling and maturing and it all slowly builds and goes away.
 
Ah. Well... I dont have a sump! So no idea on that one. Im sure its fine though. I know there are many phases of algae that come while the tank is cycling and maturing and it all slowly builds and goes away.
Yeah, I'm just gonna let it hang out for a while as is. I started ghost feeding today to start putting something in there to feed the bacteria so to speak. I'm in no rush for livestock... I'm gonna make sure this thing is 100% ready to go before I do anything else
 
I just added my clown fish today! 3 weeks yesterday I think is when I put water in. They are awesome :) Cant wait to see your tank going.
 
I just added my clown fish today! 3 weeks yesterday I think is when I put water in. They are awesome :) Cant wait to see your tank going.
Nice man, sounds good. I look forward to putting in some fish.. just wanna be sure they are safe first. Three weeks will probably be about my time frame also. Do you have pics of your clown on your build thread?
 
So I have been ghost feeding my tank for the last week and all the parameters are holding strong.

Salinity 1.026
Ph 8.0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
Ammonia 0

Is that good are should I be expecting anything to change. I'm not sure what the ideal parameters are supposed to be at
 
Its strange that a new tank would be running at 0 nitrates in my opinion. What are you running filter wise that would be removing them? Refugium or anything?
 
No filter at all.. just running return pump and skimmer. Up until today it was showing 10 to 20 nitrates the last two weeks. Today was the first time I checked it and it was at 0
 
Did you do any water changes? Being new.....(wish other people were helping.) I am not 100% sure about this but I didn't think the skimmer would remove nitrates at all. If you don't have macro algae or coral absorbing nitrates I just can not imagine what would cause them to go down to 0. I think as tanks age and the rock ages it can start to absorb the nitrates but I don't think a new tank would. Really 10-20ppm of it.

Maybe retest it to double check your results. If you are using the API test kit make sure you are violently shaking the test bottle #2. It is easy to get false readings with it. I always bang it around on stuff and shake it a lot.
 
Guys , Consider not letting the nitrates get that high. 20 ppm is way too high. Do a big fat water change get the nitrates down to 10 ppm and keep doing what You're doing and this is why. If the nitrates are that high, it will promote algae growth. this stuff will take over the tank . The beneficial bacteria that grows deep in the rock grows a lot more slowly. Pretty soon the algae will keep the tank in balance not the good bacteria Ya want. This is just my opinion but is well worth looking into further. Good Luck !
 
I agree that you wouldnt want them up at 20ppm. But what do you think would cause his tank that was at 10-20ppm to go down to 0ppm on nitrates when his tank is fairly new. Thats all I was trying to figure out. I wish my nitrates would go down to 0 on there own! I guess with coral and what not youre suppose to have 5-10ppm or something like that for the tank to stay healthy?
 
So I have been checking my parameters every 3 to 4 days and they have been holding as steady as I could have hoped for.

Salinity 1.025
Ph 8.2
Ammonia 0
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0
Temperature 78°-80°

I went to my LFS today and picked up a pretty nice sized piece of live rock that is completely covered in purple coraline alge so that I could start putting some color in the tank. I also picked up 4 little camel shrimp because my son loved them. I am going to hold off on fish for a few more weeks still just to be extra sure that nothing changes. I just feel like that at 6-8 weeks if I still have solid and consistent parameters then I can start place a fish or two in there. Thoughts?
 
i used biospira, then twice a week seachem stability. i was cycled in 3 weeks on a 120g
 

IF YOU HAD TO TAKE A REEFING EXAM, WOULD YOU PASS?

  • Yes!

    Votes: 32 45.7%
  • Not yet, but I have one that I want to buy in mind!

    Votes: 9 12.9%
  • No.

    Votes: 26 37.1%
  • Other (please explain).

    Votes: 3 4.3%
Back
Top