I'm still confused after reading so much lol

notyoungk

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Hello everyone! Long time reader, first time post-er.

My question is: Is there a way to make sure my tank is actually cycling right now so I don't wait 4-6 weeks (like I've read) before adding any corals just to find out that the tank has been doing nothing this entire time. :D I don't have any livestock and don't plan to add any. I didn't use any chemical to start the cycle such as Dr. Tim's One and Only. Is the live rock from the LFS and the live sand enough to start the cycle on its own?

After a very long break from having a fish tank, (7 years?), my wife finally caved and let me back into the hobby. Currently, I'm 1 week in the cycling process and I just tested the water so see if anything is happening. It's hard to tell with this API Saltwater Test Kit, but from the looks of the chart and colors, it seems like it could be:

8.0-8.2 pH~
0 ppm Nitrite
Ammonia looks like it could be anywhere from 0.25ppm to 0.50ppm based on the color of the test
The color of the Nitrate liquid looks like it could be anywhere from 0ppm to 10ppm.

The setup is a 10 gallon tank with a Aquaclear 70 filled with Fluval media, heater and waiting on a surface skimmer attachment. Lights have been off. 5 pounds of live sand by CaribSea. 10 pounds of live rock from LFS. Don't know what kind it was, but it was priced at $7.99 a pound.

The filter media is Fluval biomax, Fluval clearmax phosphate remover, Fluval biofoam, and Fluval ultragrade carbon.

From various things that I've read, I'm planning to change the filter media on the next change out to Chemi-pure Blue, Matrix Seachem, and add Kalk+2.

My plans are to just have corals and little to no fish, however, if there's corals and/or fish you'd recommend keeping in a nano tank, I'd love to hear it!

Any help, advice, recommendations/suggestions are all incredibly appreciated. Links to great resources are always welcome also!

Thanks in advance everyone!
 

Pistondog

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Add some starter bacteria. When the nitrates start to rise, the bacteria are working. Do not add any chemical filtration for at least 3 months. Control the nitrates and phosphates thru water changes.

I love my tailspot blenny for algae control.
 

Idoc

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My question is: Is there a way to make sure my tank is actually cycling right now so I don't wait 4-6 weeks (like I've read) before adding any corals just to find out that the tank has been doing nothing this entire time. :D I don't have any livestock and don't plan to add any. I didn't use any chemical to start the cycle such as Dr. Tim's One and Only. Is the live rock from the LFS and the live sand enough to start the cycle on its own?

Your tank will cycle no matter what you do in around 4 weeks, especially if you started with live sand and live rock that was already soaking in saltwater at the LFS. But, it is best to add something to feed the nitrifying bacteria so they grow and populate the tank. This can be done by adding fish food to the tank, small amounts of pure ammonia, etc... This will speed the process up greatly. There was probably some mild die-off on the live rock you used from the LFS caused by the transport to your house...which is probably what has helped to start the process.

Also, it isn't a bad idea to just add some bottled bacteria, like Dr. Tims One and Only or Bio-Spira just to give it a jump start.

Give it another week and retest your ammonia and nitrates...checking every day will just frustrate you.
 

Mr. Mojo Rising

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Feed a pinch of fish food every couple days to make sure your cycle keeps going. That’s what I did and it took almost 2 months for the cycle to complete. If you want it to go faster then you can add bottled stuff, you can cycle in a day if you want. But to me that’s a different road to a bunch of different problems. I think your doing everything right so far, I suggest to continue to be patient. And also turn on the lights IMO, turning lights on will make a lot of different things happen in your water , it will happen now or later, might as well start the process now IMO.
 

brandon429

why did you put a reef in that
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What was your take after reading the multi page live rock thread I linked to you, you can see that your cycle is done and not getting undone. Very reliable and clear info

we don’t add bacteria to live rock, it shows up already full.

we dont need to feed live rock, it acquires feed on its own, without us, you don’t need to do anything but set in the tank.
 
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brandon429

why did you put a reef in that
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that shows you are done, and will never uncycle, and you don’t have to test anything, in there is four years of work examples linked. There can’t be any confusion now because that’s pages of your exact setup.
 

Cell

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With sufficient live rock, you are instantly cycled. Not sure why people waste money on bottled bac if they are using live rock.
 

brandon429

why did you put a reef in that
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and we have to erase any hint of doubt that transfer cycles sometimes fail. They never fail to work just fine

says every reef convention carrying two mil in animals the last few decades. Sellers never have problems, buyers are supposed to have them it’s an ideal rule set.


Even if we get the hobby to agree it might be remotely possible to move live rocks kept totally wet into another tank and this isn’t an antibiotic action, we still have the classic dead worm fear as if one tiny micro life nearing the end of its time explains all stuck api reads. All of the hesitation, 100% of it, comes from the impacts of thirty years of api misreads on the hobby.

if we had thirty years of seneye training, the bottle bac industry would be a third of its current value. Buyers would be sellers, sellers wouldn’t get redundant income, the world in shambles, all because accurate ammonia testing let us draw accurate inferences about water bacteria in water. Forums are always like: your cycle won’t complete until you do ________ _________ and ____________

each ___________ is a purchase of some type. Trained. We are cycle dependents and buyers by training. refuse/resist
 
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Aqua Man

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we don’t add bacteria to live rock, it shows up already full.

With sufficient live rock, you are instantly cycled. Not sure why people waste money on bottled bac if they are using live rock.
Likely the LFS says they NEED it. If so, find another store!
 

brandon429

why did you put a reef in that
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and I'm not even mad at them when they recommend that, they're doing what they honestly feel is right. we have literally been trained by the sellers, that's the problem in my opinion. I think not many folks at the LFS agree skip cycling is possible, but ironically when they get shipments they add the rocks and corals to existing tanks without enduring new cycles or going through gallons of bottle bac with each new shipment received.

but customers routinely buy bottle bac, for those uses, well after a cycle and hands are shaken/money exchanged. folks feel better.

our training has kept very important contextual balances outside the rules, nothing in the common cycling link has an allowance for what reef conventions have always done, its simply outside the rule set. and they make millions due to that distinction.
 
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