How do I cycle my tank?

My tank is now up and running! ;D Now I just need to let it cycle, but how do I get it going? It is a 20g long tank, solormax T5 HO lighting, two 425 gph powerheads, and a heater. The tank is full of RO/DI saltwater that I bought from my LFS. I have added 20 lbs of live sand, 3 lbs of live rock, and another random rock. I'll be adding more live rock eventually. I'm also buying a test kit tomorrow to follow the cycle step by step. What do I do to start the cycle, or is it already underway due to the live rock/ sand? Also, I saw a very small white sea star on the rock (he is hiding now) and a very small snail, will they survive? Thanks for the support everyone, you are all very helpful,

 

I think the sand and rock will produce some ammonia for you. Depending on how you test, you may want to do something else to get a stronger spike. Look into the API Saltwater Master kit it'll have everything you need to test for the cycle and isn't much money.

good luck

 

You use dry fish food, or a raw shrimp from the supermarket.

The star fish sounds like an Asterina star, harmless most likely.

The snail I have no clue without a description. There is a good chance they will survive the cycle, if not you will get more as you add more rock and corals.

You basically need some thing organic to decay, decay produces ammonia, certain types of beneficial bacteria convert that ammonia to nitrite (still toxic) other types of bacteria convert the nitrite to nitrates (harmless within reason ).

 

read the threads at the top of this! they will help ya out alot! Get a test kit, and get ready to buy a CUC in about 5 weeks when your algae starts to grow! After the ugly brown algae which should start in about 4 weeks and isnt reallt algae! Welcome to the addiction of reefing and always remember to go slow! Add everything 1 week after you think is safe! What are your plans for the tank?

 

+1 to the raw shrimp and a test kit, you can also use some sort of bacteria booster. A word of caution, you said you would be adding more live rock later on. You will want to be careful about adding too much live rock at once as it can start another "cycle" in your tank. If you get fully cured live rock locally where you won't have much if any die off during transport, it probably won't be as much of an issue. Just remember like everyone says, go slow and let it grow.

 

So let me just get this straight. Will a biological (bacterial) additive start the tank cycle?

 

will speed it up as long as ammonia is presented to it

 

question

i stared my tank with 20lbs of live sand cured dry rock and 30 sand,, but my filter isnt working how long do i have before the sand dies off , the tank is filled

 

With a little shrimp

 

its just sitting water , should i put the salt in, i was going to put the salt in when the filter was running but its not working prob for another day or two,, should i put the salt in anyway and let it sit