cycling my new 37 gal bowfront with Dr Tims and Live Rock/Sand

[Callmeq]

Hi there,

I have a new 37 gal bowfront that i've been cycling since Friday night. Today is Monday. I'm going on day 3.

I have 80 lbs of sand (40 dry/40 live) for a 4" deep sand bed... no sump. 57 lbs of Rock (20 dry/17 live). I've added Dr Tim's One and Only and i am doing a fishless cycle.

So far my temp has been stable at 78, and my salinity had been a high at first at 1.03 but i slowly brought it down to 1.27 over 3 days. I had room in my tank after adding sand and rock for more RODI water.

My Ammonia has been steady at .25, Nitrates went from 20 to 40, Nitrites went from .5 to 2. (i think i'm reading those crazy colors right!)

This all sounds like its going ok... but since i'm so new at this I think i need some reassurance.

I'm guessing the die off from the "live rock" will help keep the ammoina for the bacterica for the Dr Tim's One and Only. I purchased ammonium chloride but i'm not sure if i need it.

Here's the fun part... QUESTIONS! YAY! LOL...
Any advice?
Am i doing the right things so far?
Should i be testing more than once a day?
How can i tell if the live rock had hitchhikers that are going to benefit my DSB?
When do i know i'm done cycling? I know this question has been asked a million times, but I thought i'd as one more time for prosperity. LOL. No seriously... whats the queue for my cleanup crew?

btw... i have the heater, two hydor powerheads, and the filter running. I have not hooked up my hang on back protien skimmer yet. Do i hook it up after the cycle?

Thank you all in advance for all of the help, advice, n00b comments... And thank you for all the help in what was already in this forum. You all have helped me so much by getting my confidence up enough to take the first step into this hobby.

CallmeQ

 

[reeferstace]

Sounds like you are well on your way. Test once a day. When ammonia and nitrites have dropped to zero its safe to slowly start adding livestock/cuc. Check out all the "cycle" stickies if you haven't yet. They are loaded with good info. Congratulations and good luck!

 

[Callmeq]

Oh yeah, i forgot.

I have the Coralife Lunar Aqualight HO T5 Quad 30-Inch for lighting set up but not turned on. Should I have that on now or wait for the cycle to finish?

 

[thegrun]

The main thing to test for during the cycle is salinity,ammonia, nitrates and nitrites. I would test for them daily not because it is necessary but because it will help you learn about the basic cycle and get used to using test kits. When your ammonia and nitrites spike and then drop to zero your initial cycle is complete. Wait another week and then add your clean-up crew. I would not run your lights during the cycle unless there are corals on your live rock you are trying to preserve. As far as hitchhikers go, it's early to worry about them and some that you do have will not survive the cycle. Night time is a good time to use a small flashlight to look for them, most come out at night. If your nitrates get over 10 ppm I would run the skimmer during the cycle.

 

[Callmeq]

Thanks! It looks like i have some traces of Diatoms on my sand next to my rock. Thats a good thing right?

Do i need to add ammonium chloride or will the live rock provide enough ammoinia?

 

[reeferstace]

Thanks! It looks like i have some traces of Diatoms on my sand next to my rock. Thats a good thing right?

Do i need to add ammonium chloride or will the live rock provide enough ammoinia?

Diatom blooms are a normal part of new tank set-ups. They will wane in time. I wouldn't worry about them.

You are already showing a fair amount of ammonia. I don't think you need to add any more. When it comes time to start adding livestock just add slowly so that your nitrifying bacteria can keep up with the new bioload.

As far as the light goes, there's really no reason to turn it on at this point, IMO. It would just waste electricity.

 

[Callmeq]

just a little update... the Dr Tims worked GREAT! I was at 0 in about 7 days. i'm still taking it slow and cautious though. My cuc is now in and i'm getting my QT together and this weekend my clown goes in. I was thinking about QTing both a Clown and a Yellowtail Damselfish together, but i'm afraid that a 10 gal qt tank is too small for both of them for 4 weeks.

Or is it?

 

[Vadafallon]

Are they small?

 

[Sk8r]

Damsels in general (and clowns are damsels, too) should not be together in a small tank. Most damsels to have multiple species require a 100 gallon tank for residence. The yellowtails are more forgiving, but I wouldn't risk it.