cycling

nemo79 · 07-09-2006, 10:46 AM

good day eaveryone, i am cycling my tank with the liverock in it. my ammonia and nitrites are not 0 yet. will this slowly happen on it's own or am i to do something? also should i test every day and do i do any water changes? when can i start adding crabs, shrimps, and eventually fish and corals. i'm really confused with the test part.

miker296 · 07-09-2006, 11:31 AM

yes you should test daily, just to make sure its doing the right thing. And no, you dont have to do anything. Actually, by looking at your sig, it shows you only have 10 lbs of lr for a 55? is that correct? if so, then it may or may not have a very noticable affect, since thats such a little ammount. It would eventually turn the rest live tho, but that woudl take quite a while, and it will cycle i think, but it would be slow. your best bet would be to get more live rock (unless price is an issue, which it is for me!)

as far as water changes...i would only do one if your amonia goes really high, but if its on its way back down, just let it be...once it hits 0, if there is some brown algae growing, then i'd say you could add some snails...well, when it hits 0 the cycle is done, but i usually wait at least a week before i add fish, just to be sure.

i probably left something else out, but if you have more questions, fire away.
hope this helps
mike

coral reefer · 07-09-2006, 11:37 AM

You need to wait til your ammonia and nitrites read 0 and your nitrates are<10. How much live sand do you have? You should add livestock slowly to allow the bacteria to adjust to the increased bioload. The key here is to go slowly and be patient or you will kill your livestock and possibly send your tank into another cycle with spikes in your ammonia, nitrite and nitrates!
Water changes are not needed during a cycling process.
If you want to test daily you may as there is nothing wrong with it, in fact, it will help you develop a good habit of checking water parameters frequently.

rickzter · 07-09-2006, 11:47 AM

You dont have to check daily. Check every couple of days, it'll save you some tests. Also, do water changes to eliminate the nitrate spike. You can also help remove the ammonia with water changes. Keep the salinity steady, you should be fine.

miker296 · 07-09-2006, 12:14 PM

ya i say you should do water changes..only if the stuff gets too high. If it doesnt, dont bother changing the water. And ya every couple or 3 days is fine as far as testing. If you have living stuff in there, then you would wanna test every day...sry bout that.

fletch · 07-09-2006, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rickzter

You dont have to check daily. Check every couple of days, it'll save you some tests.

This I agree with but

Quote:

Originally Posted by rickzter

Also, do water changes to eliminate the nitrate spike. You can also help remove the ammonia with water changes. Keep the salinity steady, you should be fine.

Doing water changes during your cycle will only prolong your cycle time ( If you remove the ammonia you will slow down the cycle process ) you have to let the cycle take it's course Ammonia to Nitrite to nitrate If you remove the ammonia you will not get a complete cycle and you will reduce the amount of Beneficial bacteria that are produced

miker296 · 07-09-2006, 01:22 PM

yes true...but if there is anything living on the rock, even stuff you dont know about, you might end up killing it off...and plus, patience is needed.

Monacle · 07-09-2006, 01:43 PM

I hate all the waiting..... however I have found if you are patient and wait for the entire cycle to happen the benefits in the long run are well worth it. I am not in favor of water changes during the cycle time for the reasons stated above. Good Luck!!

amcarrig · 07-09-2006, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by miker296

yes true...but if there is anything living on the rock, even stuff you dont know about, you might end up killing it off...and plus, patience is needed.

This is a chance you have to take if you want your tank to ever finish cycling.

nemo79 · 07-09-2006, 03:47 PM

thanks guys. i actually bought more live rock today, so i have 17.5 pounds now. i'm not very happy with the live rock i got today. it looks like ****..i apologize for my french but $70 on rock that looks like nothing. the rock i got the other day has red, pink, purple stuff on it and what looks like wee tiny little feather dusters this has nothing and the bag kinda smelled the others didn't. i'm really upset. i don't want dead rock. i will definitly check my perameters every few days and i won't do a water change cause i don't want to wait forever. thanks again.