Skipping the nitrogen cycle? help me out!

lubyone1 · 08-19-2007, 05:41 PM

Hi and thanks in advance to anyone who helps me out with my question.

I recently got back into the wonderful hobby of saltwaters aquariums. I have a 75 gallon overflow tank with sump, skimmer, etc, etc. The day after I set my tank up I bought 100 lbs of live rock from someone living about 10 minutes away. That individual was going to upgrade to a larger tank once he moved which is about 5 months from now. Nonetheless, he needed to get rid of his live rock so I gladly bought it for really cheap. Most if not all of the rock is covered in coraline algae and other miscellaneous creatures.

Right now, we've got 2 false percula clowns in the tank as "starter fish" even though I'm sure the live rock would have cycled the tank for us. My wife couldn't dare have her party without any fish in the tank so I said w/e...its your money.

Now comes my question, as of now we are getting no ammonia and no nitrites...the only reading I can get from my test kits are nitrates at about .5-1.5 ppm. Is it possible that my tank may not go through the nitrogen cycle (or it already did) since I got all that live rock from an established tank?

Please help me! I'm dying to at least explore the option of adding a few hardy corals to my tank.

Thanks
B

nemo79 · 08-19-2007, 06:13 PM

Well either way your tank will go through a cycle. Is the saltwater and substrate all new? The rocks would still have some die off from moving them to one tank to another. Sometimes it takes a while before the levels go up. When I cycled my tank I had no ammonia or nitrites but nitrates for the 1st 2 weeks. After that I started getting ammonia and nitrites. I would not add any corals at this point. Let the tank settle, with the clowns eating and pooping it will cause a spike in your readings. A cycle can go anywhere from 6 -8wks sometimes more. In this hobby going slow is the most important advice we can give you, then it's research and learning as much as you can. Don't add anything more. Let the tank cycle, test your water frequently and keep it written down. After the tank cycles you'll want a clean up crew. You want your water perameters to be stable and the water good before adding any corals as they are more sensitive. Rushing things will only put a big dent in your wallet.

nemo79 · 08-19-2007, 06:14 PM

Oh I forgot what type of lighting are you running, this is a very important factor to having corals.

lubyone1 · 08-19-2007, 06:30 PM

I have about 80lbs of sand in the tank and 4 48" VHO lights (2 blue and 2 white actinic) and I also have a DIY moon light set up that I just made

Thanks for the heads up about the cycle, I was getting pretty confused because I thought I'd see ammonia at detectable levels by now. Should I bother doing water changes when I see the ammonia/nitrites spike or should I let it just take the course?

Thanks!

Otty · 08-19-2007, 06:30 PM

Slow down cowboy! The only thing in saltwater that happens fast is trouble. Let the tank run and nature take its course. Don't waste your money on Nitrate, Nitrite, and Ammonia test kits, that is all stuff that will come and go no matter what you do. What you need to be worried about is you Magnesium, Calcium, and ALK. I cycled my tank for 12 weeks and I could still see bacterial blooms when I added a fish to the tank. Just remember, things you do now will either haunt or help you months down the road. It won't happen over night.
Go slow and let it grow. If you wanted a fast hobby you should of taken up drag racing. Tell the Mrs. that it's not a piece of furniture you added to the house.

Don't change any water, you will only prolong the cycle.

mattgeezer · 08-19-2007, 06:35 PM

totally agree with otty and nemo+1 ..slow down let nature take its course . Cycling time is good time for research and working out what you want to keep. You will have a better tank in the long run and save you alot of $$$ and save nemo!!lol

lubyone1 · 08-19-2007, 06:52 PM

lol I didn't mean to say that I wanted to skip the cycle because obviously this can't happen - I just wanted to know if it was normal to get nitrate readings already. My alkanity is pretty high which someone told me is because we have a well and aren't on city water. My top off tank is filled with RO water from our upstairs sink if that matters.

Any recomendations on calcium/magnesium test kits?

Otty · 08-19-2007, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lubyone1

Any recomendations on calcium/magnesium test kits?

Slaifert, easy to read, no color chart.

reefboy23 · 08-20-2007, 04:52 AM

Its all about patience,planning,research,and experience if u have these things along with routine maintenance u shouldnt have too many problems.

ziggy222 · 08-20-2007, 05:21 AM

your right in thinking the cycle will happen but because you used live rock from an established tank,your cycle may be small.with all that new sand,you may get some red diatom forming on the sand in the areas where there is low flow.they will pass in time.i moved from a 29 gallon to a 55 gallon,the only thing i added was a small amount of aragonite sand and the extra water and a few tuffa rocks to fill some space.whatever cycle i had was not noticable and every test from the 1 month point till now 5 months has been perfect.however i may have just been very lucky.