How long until signs of cycle starts?

Ryan · 05-20-2008, 11:33 PM

I just set my 36gal bow front up on Saturday. Including sump, sand, & live rock I have a total of 42 gallons of water running though my system.

I started with RO/DI water, Crystal Sea Salt, 45 lbs of cured live rock, 30lbs of #1 aragonite, and 10 lbs of live sand from my local reef supply stores LR curring tubs. I also added a peppermint shrimp today to get a head start on the Aiptasia.

I am not running my skimmer yet.

I just did my first water test with a 4-in-one test strip (quick and easy) and came out with the following results:

pH: between 8.0-8.4
Alkalinity: 300 ppm
NO2: 0 ppm
NO3: 0 ppm

I figured I would see somewhat of a raise or spike in NO2 or 3. I am not sure how accurate these test strips are, but my local reef supply store says they are great for quick daily tests to make sure your parameters are in check.

How long will it be until I see any sighs of my new tanks cycle beginning?

mandarin11 · 05-21-2008, 01:08 AM

The reason you aren't seeing anything right now is because you are testing for the wrong thing. At this point the ammonia cycle will just be starting. That is what you need to be testing for. By the way your peppermint shrimp shouldn't be in there when the tank hasn't even cycled. You need to get him back to the store ASAP. If you're worried about aiptasia then get Joe's Juice.

Also, sometimes the cycle needs a little help to start. Try putting a raw shrimp in a filter bag and throwing it in for a little bit. That should give your tank enough ammonia to get the ball rolling so to speak.

Hope this answers your question (I can't tell you exactly when your cycle will start, that is up to your tank), and please from now on refrain from adding any livestock to an uncycled tank.

lunatik_69 · 05-21-2008, 02:55 AM

You wont see any spikes until the 4 or 5 week and the cycle can last up to 12 weeks. Introduce one small damsel after the 1st or 1.5 month, dont do any water changes, the lights should be off and only test for NH3/4, NO2 and NO3. Read this web-site saltwater101.com is suspended Luna

Sorry I didnt know it was suspended.

Stingray · 05-21-2008, 04:16 AM

I put a blue yellow tailed damsel in my tank from the start he's doing great been just over 2 month now Cycles finished now nitrate at 10ppm all other tests ok, my lights were on every day T5 for around 9 hours,& my skimmer was running from around week 5, but what works for me may not for you...good luck...

Otty · 05-21-2008, 04:31 AM

Throw those test strips away, good for freshwater but not saltwater. You can throw a yellow tail in there after about 3 or 4 days so that he can get the bacteria load up and let him stay in there with the lights off for about 4 or 5 weeks.

If you already have stuff on your rock that you don't want then you should of cleaned or nuked the rock before you started.

That shrimp will likely not make it.

Ryan · 05-21-2008, 01:56 PM

Thanks for the replys!

Looks like I leaned my first lesson, exactly what I was planning on not doing (jumping the gun) since I started this project!

Well I went and got a new test kit. Its made by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals (API). It is their "Saltwater Master Test Kit." It test pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, & Nitrate.

With this test, I got the following results:
pH: 8 ppm
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 0 ppm

Does this indicate that my cycle has not even started yet?

Is it possible that with all of the live rock and sand (from a very well established, high bio load system) that I kind of gave my tank a kick start?

The live rock and sand went from their system, to my tank in less then 60 minutes. Is it possible that it already had a high amount of bacteria built up on it?

Iraf · 05-21-2008, 02:05 PM

you'll still have a cycle, just not as long of one as you would if you started from scratch, 8ppm ammonia is a sign of the beginning of a cycle, give it a couple of days and you should see that turn into nitrite, then to nitrates, then disappear totally

bleh i misread that my bad, just keep an eye on it

Ryan · 05-23-2008, 08:53 PM

Update on parameters:

Day 6
5-23-2008

PH: 8.4
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0-5

Nitrates might be SLIGHTLY elevated. The color is slightly darker then the "0 PPM" color (bright yellow), I would say in between 0 & 5ppm. I tested it twice and got the same result.

Any words of wisdom?

Thanks!

Bogie · 05-23-2008, 09:00 PM

Ryan,
Read all of this first>>>
3reef.com - Forums for coral reef aquariums, salt water fish, corals, inverts, protein skimmers, aquarium lighting and more! - 3reef Articles - Reef Aquarium Articles and How To's - How NOT to set up your first reef tank.
You're welcome.
Eric

Ryan · 05-23-2008, 09:18 PM

I think you may have missed the point of this post. It was not "I just bought a Eclipse Tank yesterday, so Im going to add an anemone today.

I may not have a 180 gallon tank, but In my opinion I have a very well thought out and planned system. I do not plan on adding any livestock to it for some time (other then the shrimp).

This is my first saltwater setup, and have never gone through a cycle before. My intention for this post was to get experienced opinions on how long it takes a cycle to start/be detected, how LR & LS effect the cycle, and others experiences that you all have gone through.

Boggie,
On the flip side, if you know of any articals/3 reef posts regarding water parameters that is worth reading, please let me know!