10gallon tank trying to cycle 14 days old .. need asap help

[300]

Hey guys

I'm brand new to this site, I'm also new to saltwater aquariums. I started my tank on 2/5/2016 Its a 10 gallon tank I have around 12lbs of live rock,that all came from the fish store's tank they said its been there for probably a year. no live sand at all I'm using crushed shells. I have a good heater, water stays at 80 degrees and power head, I'm using 2, 25watt incandescent bulbs I'm getting a led coral light on monday. I'm using saltwater purchase from the local fish store. Using api master test kit

Ok so my tank has been up and running for 15 days with live rock that came from established tanks at the fish store. I've been testing for a week and a half with a steady ph 8 ammonia 0 nitrites 0 nitrates 0

On day 13 my friend cut a nice piece of his filter for me and game me a rock from his crazy perfect aquarium. He also gave me api quickstart stuff and said it worked amazingly for his tank.

So that same day, I used the recommeded amount of the quickstart waited about 4-5 hours and tested ph stayed at 8 ammonia was at .5 and the other two were at 0. Now its day 15 and I'm reading, ph 8 am 1ppm nitrite0 nitrates 0

Idk what the heck I'm doing wrong please can someone help ill post pictures if that helps. I'm trying to be patient, I'm not sure if I should cut my loses and just buy a new bigger tank. Soo please comment

 

[p.pep85]

patients is the key. no tank is the same it could take up to a month for your tank to fully cycle. and a 10 gallon tank is most likely going to be nothing but headaches for you if your new to saltwater vary little room for error. there is a lot off good reading on here about cycling and nano tanks. take your time and do lots of reaserch. hope this helps.

 

[brandon429]

http://reef2reef.com/threads/new-ta...d-cocktail-shrimp-live-rock-no-shrimp.214618/


This covers every question you have on cycling times

We listed the only param you need to measure, just the ammonia. The reasons nitrate ph nitrite and any other param isn't used is because only the ammonia portion matters for the goal of when can you start. The others matter as the tank is running later on, and the nitrite doesn't matter at any time the reasons for that claim are listed in the thread.

 

[KSReefing]

My 10 gallon nano is cycling still and I started it back in January I don't plan on starting to add anything until middle of March. Pep said it, patience is super important. I also agree with the 10 gallon being headaches for a new person to saltwater. While waiting for your tank to cycle maybe start saving up for an RODI unit because you're not going to want to go to the store for saltwAter every week because water changes and top offs in a 10 gallon tank need to be spot on.

 

[Cencalfishguy56]

Hey guys

I'm brand new to this site, I'm also new to saltwater aquariums. I started my tank on 2/5/2016 Its a 10 gallon tank I have around 12lbs of live rock,that all came from the fish store's tank they said its been there for probably a year. no live sand at all I'm using crushed shells. I have a good heater, water stays at 80 degrees and power head, I'm using 2, 25watt incandescent bulbs I'm getting a led coral light on monday. I'm using saltwater purchase from the local fish store. Using api master test kit

Ok so my tank has been up and running for 15 days with live rock that came from established tanks at the fish store. I've been testing for a week and a half with a steady ph 8 ammonia 0 nitrites 0 nitrates 0

On day 13 my friend cut a nice piece of his filter for me and game me a rock from his crazy perfect aquarium. He also gave me api quickstart stuff and said it worked amazingly for his tank.

So that same day, I used the recommeded amount of the quickstart waited about 4-5 hours and tested ph stayed at 8 ammonia was at .5 and the other two were at 0. Now its day 15 and I'm reading, ph 8 am 1ppm nitrite0 nitrates 0

Idk what the heck I'm doing wrong please can someone help ill post pictures if that helps. I'm trying to be patient, I'm not sure if I should cut my loses and just buy a new bigger tank. Soo please comment

There honestly shouldn't be much of a cycle if you have all that established Rock from previous tanks, try some Doctor tims bottled bacteria and also liquid ammonia to check it out and get a kickstart

 

[300]

I don't understand why the ammonia hasn't changed in three days

 

[300]

Tested my water today ammonia went down 2 to 1 ppm and nitrite up .25 to .50ppm .. also saw tiny patch of green algea starting to grow on top one of my life rocks this is normal right?

 

[brandon429]

those are api readings, the linked thread above shows a problem with the readings. also the type of rock, to know where you stand per that thread above we have to know if you used cured or non cured rocks

I believe the thread literally describes your tank and all possible start dates signaling the end of the cycle. per the thread I think its saying you should be dosing no ammonia, and by dosing some, you are killing live animals. but that's only if you truly have group B rocks, we discuss how to tell

 

[300]

All the live rock I have came from the same fish store I was told that they are cured rocks and we're I'm the same tanks for months... I tested today ammonia is at .50ppm nitrite up to 1ppm nitrate is 0 ph is 8

 

[brandon429]

Yes our thread shows that's opposite of the cycle needed, since you are using cured live rock with animals on it

Are you using the group b rocks from my thread above? cycling used to be very confusing agreed...we broke it down by clean pics to make it simple.

if your rocks are group b clearly, and we show how to tell in that thread, this this current cycle is opposite of whats needed.

But if they are group a, you are on track. It makes things tricky having to go from what lfs says, so we use visual cues instead that you can see our not see on the rock (coralline primarily)

 

[300]

I'm trying to upload some pictures now. .I tested today and got ph 8 ammonia looked like .25ppm to 0ppm nitrites 2ppm to 5ppm nitrates looked like 5ppm

 

[brandon429]

that helps to see. its important to know that the objective part of my thread doesn't change per rocks, if you want to test ability to digest you go for 3-4 ppm so your levels are currently too high, need to do a water change and get them into spec.

no two people usually agree on cycling procedures outside the actual testing which is the same for all tanks (its not what a single reading says, its how long it takes your tank to go from 3 ppm down to zero, you keep waiting and adding bottle bac if it doesn't do it so far)

but my take on your rocks would be different. all of them would be removed, brushed down rinsed clean to have no fuzz on them, and continue the cycle per my thread at half your current ammonia levels, factoring nothing about nitrate or nitrite along the way. that's not the only way to cycle, you can chase the other params endlessly or spike ammonia to 12, but its not part of a consistent way of cycling which we cover. good pics, that helps. that rock appears to be closer to group b than group a, the rock you have is not bone white like in my pics.

 

[300]

So u recommend a water change asap? But won't cleaning the rocks stop or recycle my tank?

 

[brandon429]

I gotta let you research that q in the thread only because reefing info has painfully long reads involved lol I had to go through it (Randy ha!)

no id never recommend anything that would recycle your tank, the thread explains in several places why it doesn't recycle. And that was only personal preference too, not everyone would recommend you clean it all off. you must choose. the simplest part though for you is when will my cycle be done, and that's covered in the first post of the thread on cycling below

if you are interested to know why id clean it:
-it has nothing to do with the cycle, it has to do with algae its clearly mixed in and per our linked thread here we don't house algae during a cycle, we kill it off or rinse it off. check this thread both pages it will clear it all up
http://reef2reef.com/threads/new-ta...d-cocktail-shrimp-live-rock-no-shrimp.214618/

 

[brandon429]

even my statements on algae are personal preference, many would leave it in the tank on purpose and hope it doesn't take over, that's a valid option. the only part that everyone agrees on in cycling is that your cycle is done when your tank can process 3 ppm of ammonia down to zero within 24 hours using a test kit that is reliable and accurate. anything beyond that in cycling is pure opinion.

 

[Oceansize]

It looks like your ammonia is going down and nitrites are going up. That's what you want to see. So you're good, just give it time. When both go back to zero, you're cycled. I would recommend against a water change, you're just delaying the process.

I love brandon, the guy knows his stuff, but it seems like his recommendation for every problem is to completely break down your tank and scrub everything, lol.

Don't worry brandon, just giving you a hard time, lol.

 

[brandon429]

HA
all beckoned and welcome sir all in a days posting. who's reef OCD you say? I like to leave caveats here and there that basically summarize as "99% of people wont do X, but I recommend X because" then link drastically long thread. its not to be mean, its literally how I reef at least its consistent over the decades heh

my reco came because his rock isn't fully class a from the thread, and nothing we do to water retroscales existing bacteria in an impactful manner outside of dosing meds. opinions vary is more important takeaway ~ still I hate to see that algae, you know where this winds up in 15 mos~

 

[300]

Haha I didn't take it like that... I appreciate all the helpand quick resopnses. In the middle of reading the thread you sent

 

[300]

So my test today said ph 8 ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 5ppm .. is my cycle complete? So now its water change time then I can start slowly adding my cuc ?? So excited lol

 

[brandon429]

I would see if it will digest ammonia set at 2 ppm down to zero just once more before begin, as long as its been at least a month and your tank is able to digest that small ammonia more than once to zero, good to go for a light start!