Cycling a 10 Gal Day 1

[Taiga2003]

Good morning everyone, new to the hobby here. Posted late yesterday with the initial setup but I left out a key inquiry.

After surfing Reef2Reef I’ve come across a lot of helpful information regarding how to cycle a tank and noticed it varies from person to person.

My goal: Soft corals

I want to hear from the community on how to efficiently cycle a 10 gallon saltwater tank! Here are the specs again to aid your guidance :)

What’s inside?

- live rock covered in coralline algae
- CaribSea sand
- Microbe lift (starter bacteria)
- Saltwater from a 6 year old established system (tested at 35ppt)

 

[Matt Bravo]

I would recommend not running lights while it’s cycling, even when you get fish I would dim them just enough to not get an abundance of algae, I’m curious to see if you’ll even get that bad of an “ugly stage” since your foundation is coming from a 6 year old system. Be patient and don’t forget to enjoy the hobby!

 

[Jamie9]

I’m not sure the water will do that much, but the live rock should make your cycle pretty easy.

 

[fishywishy]

used saltwater isn’t going to do anything. If you have access to established tank just get some used filter media or some rock and skip the cycle all together.

 

[Mrcote1]

Welcome! How much live rock did you add? Adding all liverock to a tank can get you cycled very quickly

 

[twentyleagues]

If you used coralline covered live rock there would be little to no cycle. You dont need to add bacteria the rock has it all already. Since the live rock is established and has coralline growing lights on is needed. Plans for fish? Now would be the time to add them. Cuc as well. Could probably start adding corals as well. With actual good live rock all you need to do is wait for the water to clear. Focus on keeping parameters in line.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

If you used live rock covered in coraline then the tank will be insta-cycled. Its all about the rocks, the science works.

 

[Taiga2003]

Welcome! How much live rock did you add? Adding all liverock to a tank can get you cycled very quickly

100 % live rock!

Been about 12 hours now water is starting to clear up!

(Lights are on just for showcase :3)

 

[Jamie9]

I can’t tell from the photo, but if there’s no space behind the rocks, you might consider moving them out from the back wall slightly. Some like to have the rocks pressed against it, so that’s not unusual. But others like to have a little space to allow some flow back there to prevent detritus from building up in an area it can’t be reached.

 

[Taiga2003]

If you used coralline covered live rock there would be little to no cycle. You dont need to add bacteria the rock has it all already. Since the live rock is established and has coralline growing lights on is needed. Plans for fish? Now would be the time to add them. Cuc as well. Could probably start adding corals as well. With actual good live rock all you need to do is wait for the water to clear. Focus on keeping parameters in line.

Here are my parameters thus far!

The Ammonia was tested today.

Do you still recommend I add hardy corals and or a beginner fish within the first week?

:)

 

[Taiga2003]

I can’t tell from the photo, but if there’s no space behind the rocks, you might consider moving them out from the back wall slightly. Some like to have the rocks pressed against it, so that’s not unusual. But others like to have a little space to allow some flow back there to prevent detritus from building up in an area it can’t be reached.

Good idea ;)

 

[twentyleagues]

What did you test ammonia with? But yes unless you added ammonia that .5 is nothing to be concerned about. I guess I should ask was the live rock kept wet for the majority of transport? LR kept wet "submerged" = insta tank. There is nothing you need to do to get the tank cycled as the live rock is already cycled, just wait for the water to clear. If the lr dried out at all you may need to let it cycle for a week or so. You could use a bit more rock as well, thats a personal preference though.

There is a lot of fish disease stuff you should be thinking about and many ways to go about it. Pre quarantined fish is a very good solution. I know the three lfs I go to have a qt procedure they use unfortunately I also know they break QT often when adding fish and some more delicate ones dont get qt'd at all so your results may very. Some people dont qt fish at all and believe there is natural immunity with in the fish if fed the correct diets live worms mostly, this is not the norm though. All that gets into the weeds but honestly that is where your thoughts should be going forward.

 

[Taiga2003]

What did you test ammonia with? But yes unless you added ammonia that .5 is nothing to be concerned about. I guess I should ask was the live rock kept wet for the majority of transport? LR kept wet "submerged" = insta tank. There is nothing you need to do to get the tank cycled as the live rock is already cycled, just wait for the water to clear. If the lr dried out at all you may need to let it cycle for a week or so. You could use a bit more rock as well, thats a personal preference though.

There is a lot of fish disease stuff you should be thinking about and many ways to go about it. Pre quarantined fish is a very good solution. I know the three lfs I go to have a qt procedure they use unfortunately I also know they break QT often when adding fish and some more delicate ones dont get qt'd at all so your results may very. Some people dont qt fish at all and believe there is natural immunity with in the fish if fed the correct diets live worms mostly, this is not the norm though. All that gets into the weeds but honestly that is where your thoughts should be going forward.

To test the basics I use a API master saltwater test kit.

The rock was submerged for 1 year, my LFS wasn’t to specific on what they introduced into the LR storage tanks just that it was Interconnected between a 300 gal reef and a 150 gal macro algae tank.

 

[Taiga2003]

What did you test ammonia with? But yes unless you added ammonia that .5 is nothing to be concerned about. I guess I should ask was the live rock kept wet for the majority of transport? LR kept wet "submerged" = insta tank. There is nothing you need to do to get the tank cycled as the live rock is already cycled, just wait for the water to clear. If the lr dried out at all you may need to let it cycle for a week or so. You could use a bit more rock as well, thats a personal preference though.

There is a lot of fish disease stuff you should be thinking about and many ways to go about it. Pre quarantined fish is a very good solution. I know the three lfs I go to have a qt procedure they use unfortunately I also know they break QT often when adding fish and some more delicate ones dont get qt'd at all so your results may very. Some people dont qt fish at all and believe there is natural immunity with in the fish if fed the correct diets live worms mostly, this is not the norm though. All that gets into the weeds but honestly that is where your thoughts should be going forward.

To test the basics I use a API master saltwater test kit.

The rock was submerged for 1 year, my LFS wasn’t to specific on what they introduced into the LR storage tanks just that it was Interconnected between a 300 gal reef and a 150 gal macro algae tank.

Kept wet during 10 min transport to the house :)

 

[twentyleagues]

To test the basics I use a API master saltwater test kit.

The rock was submerged for 1 year, my LFS wasn’t to specific on what they introduced into the LR storage tanks just that it was Interconnected between a 300 gal reef and a 150 gal macro algae tank.

I had a feeling it was api. Not that its bad its just not super accurate you are fine. I ran tests with just api for years on a large reef. Let the tank clear and decide what fish, cuc, and corals and how you will add them.