Is my cycle done?!?!

[Jeff5333]

a week ago today I started to cycle in my 265 gallon tank with probably a 30 gallon sump. I used ATM’s live bacteria and added 4 small clowns. I have not noticed a spike in any parameters and have been feeding very lightly. I have been testing at least once a day if not more haven’t seen a change.
Has my cycle completed? Or is the water volume so large that nothing is really a pollutant in the tank compared to the size of the clowns and how little I’m feeding?

 

[ngoodermuth]

Hi there! Welcome to R2R :)

Did you use live rock or dry? How much? Any other information on the system you care to share? Generally, it's not recommended to start a cycle with fish... but with your volume and the added bacteria you could be"soft cycling", which you wouldn't really see the typical spikes. Same idea as using frequent water changes to dilute nitrite and ammonia in an emergency, or in a smaller QT tank. Or, upgrading to a larger tank using already established rock from an existing tank (I didn't see a cycle in any of my "upgrades").

You might still see those spikes yet... so definitely keep monitoring.

 

[Jeff5333]

Using dry rock ...not my first time cycling this tank. Itjust used to be a fish only system with wet dry filter..when I cycled this tank in the past I used bacteria and larger fish and I know they produce a lot more waste then 4 small clowns ...changing to a big reef!

 

[ngoodermuth]

Well, that's exciting! I'd say at this point don't worry until you have to... just keep checking, and actually maybe just start doing regular water-changes since you do have fish, to soften any spikes that might occur.