Cycling help

[EpicWin]

So I started up a new 50 gal cube a week ago. I put a couple handfuls of sand from my established tank in it along with quite a bit of water from the established tank. I also used a decen amount of live rock. Probably 30 lbs which is about 1/4 of the total amount. I tested for amonia every day and never saw any. I did however get nitrates. I added fish and now,a week later, am at a steady 10 ppm nitrates. My question is this. is it bad I never saw ammonia? Do I lose out by cycling the way I did in any way?

 

[Rocky_Mtn_Reef]

Depends on the condition of the liverock and how much decay was on it and if you cured the LR outside the tank before adding it. Are you dosing anything into the tank? If you used MB7 or Zeostart then its not unheard of. Might notice some here in the next couple weeks though.

 

[bertoni]

Seeing zero ammonia is fine. It might take longer for the nitrate filtration to get going, though. I wouldn't worry. 10 ppm nitrate is not going to harm a fish, or even come close. If it was several hundred ppm, I might start doing something.