Hey guys, I haven't been on here in a while but I am in the process of trying to get my tank to cycle (my first saltwater). 120gal, I've got it set up with live sand and live rock & have added seed bacteria and there are no fish. I have had it up for going on three weeks. My pH is running around 8 although I also started adding a buffer called 8.4. All of my other levels are at 0 and are staying at 0. I have been testing daily as of this past Saturday. Am I being impatient or is there something I can do to help it along? Please help! Thanks!
Tank won't cycle
- Thread starter rylie221
- Start date
- Tagged users None
melypr1985
totally addicted
If you started with Live sand and Live rock then it probably won't go through a proper cycle unless you add an ammonia source to the tank. The raw shrimp method is a tried and true one. Just toss it in there for a couple days until you read about 2ppm ammonia. Then let it cycle that through.
rylie221
Community Member
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2016
- Messages
- 45
- Reaction score
- 17
Yes it has been zero all along. I only tested once a week for the first two though, this week I started every night. If I put something in it before it cycles will it die during the cycling process?
melypr1985
totally addicted
Yup. Go to the store and ask for a single table shrimp - raw. They might look at your weird.... just tell them you're on a special diet. lol
rylie221
Community Member
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2016
- Messages
- 45
- Reaction score
- 17
Yup. Go to the store and ask for a single table shrimp - raw. They might look at your weird.... just tell them you're on a special diet. lol
lol. That's interesting. Just drop it in there? Should I get veined or deveined or does it matter?
melypr1985
totally addicted
Doesn't matter. Just drop it in. The bacteria arn't as picky as you and I are. Leave it there until you see ammonia present. The tank will probably work through it pretty quick, but the point is to build more bacteria than you have now so you can support fish. It seems weird now, but it works.
Haha Just toss the whole thing in there! Essentially the shrimp acts as a food source for the bacteria and helps jump start the cycle
If you used live rock and sand that had no die off, you most likely won't get a cycle. cycling rock with an ammonia source is for dry rock. Raw shrimp is not a good, controlled source of ammonia. dosing pure ammonia allows you to control the amount in the water (2-4ppm). if you add raw shrimp you have no control of the ammonia level - too much or too little ammonia and you could ruin your cycle. however, in your case I'd say you're good. a test would be to use 100% pure ammonia and dose it up to 4ppm, then wait and see if it falls to 0 within 24 hours. if it does, then you're ready to go!
We discuss in our cycling thread how 100 tanks skip a cycle for the MACNA show, in the same manner. Very reliable technique...they house $10,000 bounce mushrooms in skip cycle tanks ~
Mandrew
Well-Known Member
Where can I find that thread?
Thanks for considering it! We've worked hard to compile all cycle versions there. Like Cro says we do ammonia on dry rock, no ammonia on live rock other than to test if the keeper wants to, and no ammonia applied to uncured rock. We discuss how even though live rock and delicate animals will pass a digest test, it was never needed. Ammonia is literally for dry rock cycling and you can trust the rest regarding bacteria transfers.
http://reef2reef.com/threads/new-ta...d-cocktail-shrimp-live-rock-no-shrimp.214618/
http://reef2reef.com/threads/new-ta...d-cocktail-shrimp-live-rock-no-shrimp.214618/
Dry rock can be readied in three weeks pretty easy by adding liquid ammonia shown there at 1 or 2 ppm constant reading and dosing bottle bac every few days until the system digests ammonia in 24 hours. By week three if the system does that, it doesn't matter what nitrite and nitrate read so we don't test for anything else. Pretty handy one param cycling
nervousmonkey
LPS Lover, SPS Enabler
+1 to what everyone has said; dead shrimp method is old but works, and takes time.
Adding pure ammonia (from any hardware store, I get mine at ACE) is easier though, because you can add what you want to see how your tank is progressing and just like Cro and Brandon said, you can cycle quickly with that method, or if you have true live rock and live sand, you are ready to go Day 1. I just did that with a new tank, and was ready Day 2 (cause I tested Day 1), corals in the new tank, fish in new tank Day 2 and no issues at all, no death, etc. Everything still happy and growing two months later
Adding pure ammonia (from any hardware store, I get mine at ACE) is easier though, because you can add what you want to see how your tank is progressing and just like Cro and Brandon said, you can cycle quickly with that method, or if you have true live rock and live sand, you are ready to go Day 1. I just did that with a new tank, and was ready Day 2 (cause I tested Day 1), corals in the new tank, fish in new tank Day 2 and no issues at all, no death, etc. Everything still happy and growing two months later
this is how every nano reef ive ever put on the web was made, exactly like this
1. get live rock covered in coralline and pods from the pet store vat. put in empty Styrofoam box not even the complement of water included. get ready for tough livin, rocks
2. buy Fiji pink wet pack live sand
3. buy a bag of frags, basic sps lps etc
4. buy a shrimp or something pico appropriate
go home and rinse out the live sand 100% until it cannot cloud. finally set the purple rocks into water, add frags and shrimp, post pics for ten yrs. just like that
my regular maintenance water changes are harsher than the build steps, I drain the pico 100% and leave it empty for 30 mins or less, it varies, to condition the reef into toughness over the years. tidal outflow model. broke my drain/air contact time record last week chatting on the phone during water change-35 mins. I suspect my tank could do an hour totally empty and still not cycle or lose anything, its conditioned. one gallon is tougher than 90% of giant tanks, heh./
1. get live rock covered in coralline and pods from the pet store vat. put in empty Styrofoam box not even the complement of water included. get ready for tough livin, rocks
2. buy Fiji pink wet pack live sand
3. buy a bag of frags, basic sps lps etc
4. buy a shrimp or something pico appropriate
go home and rinse out the live sand 100% until it cannot cloud. finally set the purple rocks into water, add frags and shrimp, post pics for ten yrs. just like that
my regular maintenance water changes are harsher than the build steps, I drain the pico 100% and leave it empty for 30 mins or less, it varies, to condition the reef into toughness over the years. tidal outflow model. broke my drain/air contact time record last week chatting on the phone during water change-35 mins. I suspect my tank could do an hour totally empty and still not cycle or lose anything, its conditioned. one gallon is tougher than 90% of giant tanks, heh./
Last edited:
