How am I doing??

[camfam]

First of all, hello to all and thanks for this excellent area to educate those of us new to the hobby. There is an amazing amout of knowledge being shared in this forum.

My family has dove into the hoby with a 46 gal bow front with 50#'s of LR, about 1.5" of LS, 250 watt heater, and a used pinguin 350 powerfilter.

After sand/LR setup and addition of water mixture, I think that water was to be as expected:

Ammonia: ~.25ppm
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: ~ 5ppm
pH: ~7.9

After a few days I see some articles about speeding cycling up by adding pure ammonia in small portions or using a shrimp cocktail. I was unable to find any pure ammonia, so I added a few shrimp (and increased the temp to help the bacteria growth).

I think it kick started the cycle, but instead of seeing an ammonia spike (remains 0.5-1.0 ppm),the nitrites have increased to ~1-2 ppm, and the nirates have increased tremendously to ~30 ppm. The pH is about 8.1 and SG 1.023 (both increasing slowly).

Does this sound like it is beginning to cycle?

I read an article that stated that I shouldn't try to cycle my tank with cured LR. Is it going to be OK even with the higher temps?

Any and all suggestions are appreciated.


Worthy and family

[tjtsj]

Cycles are in 3 stages. The first is where waste is produced, or in this case you added the decaying material. This creates Ammonia. Once the ammonia is present then there will be nitrosomonas (bacteria), that converts the ammonia to nitrite, this is stage two. Once there are sufficient levels of nitrite in the system nitrospira (also bacteria) will begin to develop. This is the third stage. The nitrospira will convert the nitrite, NO2, to nitrate, NO3). It sounds like your system is still building the necessary bacteria to deal with the current levels of ammonia.
The problem is that the nitrate dose not get removed by regular systems. It can either be consumed by plants or diluted out by water changes. It will cause algae problems if it gets too high, along with inverts not doing well.

As for using the rock to cycle the tank, it should be fine. The reason you might want un-cured LR to cycle the tank is because of the die-off that will happen. It's going to die some and that will produce the ammonia. So if you use cured, your not going to get as fast of a cycle. Oh and the temps should stay below 82 to maintain the health of the LR. Some people say that in a pinch it can go to 85, but then you risk any critters living in the rock.

My only thought/concern about your setup is lack of water flow. You said that you are using a penguin 350 hang on type filter. Are there any power heads in the system? I ask because I don't think that filter will produce enough water movement to keep waste from building up and to provide adequate water flow for any critters that might be in your live rock.

Sounds like things are going well, welcome to 3reef.

[omard]

To 3Reef!!!

Glad you found your way here. 3Reef is a great place to get answers to any questions asked.

You are off to a good start...agree that you need to get a couple of powerheads or something else to get some flow going in tank.

Be patient with the cycle...it will work itself out.

The Tao of Marine Aquaria
Tips for Our Hobby and Life

© 1997 Adam H. Whitlock
Edited By Elizabeth M. Lukan 11/25/00

[camfam]

So did I nuke all my LR by having the temp up to 90? :{

Not many LFS where I live, where is the best place to get powerheads and a skimmer??

[IBMGeek]

Originally Posted by camfam

So did I nuke all my LR by having the temp up to 90? :{

Not many LFS where I live, where is the best place to get powerheads and a skimmer??

Try getting the stuff online.

[tjtsj]

You probably damaged some of the LR from the temp. It will regrow, it will just take longer as there is less to start from. And online is the best place to get equipment for your tank. I use Discount Aquarium Supplies, Tropical Fish Supplies and Fish Tank Supplies from Foster & Smith.
They are cheep and the shipping is great.

[Frizza]

If you dont have much flow in your tank then I would recommend that your increase your sand depth. At the moment it is around 1.5", this means that it could become a nutrient trap if the flow is not strong enough.
I had a similar sand bed in my first tank and I found that after a period of time (8 months or so) it was just a bed of nitrates!! (You will have to make sure that you sift the sand on a regular basis)

I wouldn't worry about your live rock, considering what the rock goes through I think if you drop the temperature you will be fine.

Good luck, welcome to 3reef and most of all enjoy

[camfam]

Thanks for all the great info!!

[nemo79]

I cycled my tank with LR and it was fine. You definitely need powerheads for flow in the tank. I really prefer the hydor koralia's and the tunze. These have more GPH but a gentle flow. Maxijets and similar powerheads have a very strong and direct flow which can be damaging to corals. I have 2 hydor koralia #1 in my tank and I love them. Take a look at Your Canadian Aquarium Supply Specialists!!, they have great prices and are very nice to deal with...they also price match.

During cycling you want to see Ammonia rise then drop to 0, then nitrites rise & drop to 0, same goes with nitrates. Don't add any livestock till a few weeks after cycle...just to be sure. Never add more than one fish at a time either. For your sand bed, stir it often and when the time is right get nassarius snails to keep the bed clean and turned over...conches will help to if you can get them. Keep us posted, what do you plan to keep? Also remember, don't leave the top of the tank covered, use egg crate instead of a canopy, you may want to invest in a skimmer too. Oh yes, clean out filter media regularly or it will raise phosphate and nitrate levels. Have fun!

[camfam]

NEMO79 wrote: "Keep us posted, what do you plan to keep?"

Son of course wants a "nemo" fish and daughter wants a "dori fish", but from my reading it sounds like the blue tang will get to big to quickly for my tank, so I might need to do some more research and maybe some bribing/incouraging for a change in opinion.

PS Thanks for the supply site!!

Worthy