How long until signs of cycle starts?

[Bogie]

Well my cycle for my 55 gal took 3-4 weeks with 30 lbs live rock, 60 lbs live sand and a fluval 305 canister filter -that's it. The more LR the better. I killed 2 damsels early while the nitrite part of the cycle was still spiking. It goes Ammonia spike, then Nitrite spike (deadly toxic to fish), followed by Nitrate spike. Only by testing your water parameters will you know what part of the cycle you are in. If that's not what you're looking for, PM me and I'll walk you throught the rest of your cycling questions if you don't find the answers on these forum boards. Bogie.

[Ryan]

Thank you.

So to clarify, the ammonia spike is the first indication of the cycle beginning?

[Bogie]

Yup, followed by Nitrite.
It's all part of which bacteria (and how much of it) grows enough to break down your (raw shrimp, hot dog, hamburger, damsel shiit, or whatever you are using to cycle) into nitrite (which is deadly to fish and may kill your first damsel), and other bacteria which are living in your live rock and live sand break those nitrites down to nitrates - which build up with a regular fish livestock bioload (fish poop) and uneaten fish food, that you'll eventually have to skim and filter out of your tank.

[Ryan]

That is where I am a bit confused. I got a lot of little "hitchhikers" with my LR (45 lbs). I would imagine they put some sort of a bio load on the tank that would raise ammonia levels? Do they not have waist?

If my ammonia test "0" wouldn't that indicate that there is enough bacteria in the tank to break down the hitchhikers waist?

[R34dawn]

There is a lot of die off from the live rock alone! but what kind of critters are you talking about?

[Bogie]

Ryan, Check your PM (private messages) - top right corner of web page.

[Ryan]

Update:

05/27/08
Day 10

PH: 8.4
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0

So far all is very good!

I am starting to get a slight growth of what I think is diatom algae on some of the rocks and sand. Some of the coralline algea that had already turned white when I bought the rock is now turning very dark green and purple, and I am also getting little purple purple dots on my power heads.

I am buying a Ocellaris Clown on Saturday! Dont worry Bogie, its not going in the tank Its going in my 10 gal quarantine tank for 4 weeks for observation. If he is eating, apears to be healthy and ick/parasite free I will introduce him the main tank during week 6.

[GuitarMan89]

Im kinda of going through what you are right now too. I am currently cycling. I started with 55lbs of lr that was precured in the lfs tanks and 40lbs of live sand. It has been about 2 weeks and I have still have not seen any ammonia. I have had my nitrites at 1 ppm and have now dropped off to .25 ppm, nitrates about 20ppm. I am using 1 yellow tail damsel to feed the bacteria. I am going to it go for another couple weeks without adding anything, but through my research, using precured lr and live sand CAN shorten the cycle to as low as a week. I know this may cause some more experienced people cringe but the length of any given cycle is not set in stone. I plan on continuing my testing every 3-4 days to see if the nitrites settle down and to make sure there is no ammonia.

One more thing, keep in mind the the clown in the quarantine tank will produce waste and ammonia. Do you have any sort of chemical filtration? I am using a sponge filter in my 10gal quarantine tank. I currently have the sponge in my display tank to colonize it with bacteria. You may be able to get away without the bacteria, but you will have to do frequent water changes. Good luck and if you can, post some pics