Cycling Tank

[patrickpernell]

I have a 30-gallon BioCube that I started over with. I put live sand, live rock, and saltwater and have been running for several days. What is the best way to get the ammonia levels down?

 

[FishAndPhysics]

Honestly, time. If your live rock and sand were really live, i.e. you didn't bleach or sanitize them, there they came in with a lot of biomass that died off due to the stress of changing tanks etc. I would wait at until your ammonia and nitrite read zero for a week (this will probably be 4-6 weeks after you started the tank), then start feeding 1/4-1/2 a teaspoon of some sort of pellet food before you add fish. You'll get a mini-cycle when you start feeding the tank, but once that subsides you should be able to add fish and not have a mini-cycle from the added waste they produce (because you were already adding that waste in the form of food).

Good time to quarantine your first additions though!

 

[lapin]

Yep Time is the key. The bacteria is there it just needs to process the ammonia into nitrite then into nitrate. Once the ammonia and nitrite are gone change out the water to bring nitrates down then you can add things slowly....

 

[herostar]

Time x3
Be patient

Your tank needs time to establish a balance. If you do large water changes while the tank is cycling then the tank won't reach an equilibrium until you get it stocked and on a regular water change schedule.