Fast cycle?

[syngraves]

Got my 10g nano tank up and running two weeks ago. once the water cleared up after the first 24hrs I added a chunk of raw shrimp to start the cycle. Ammonia jumped to 1ppm, I removed the shrimp and started daily testing every day after work.

The ammonia stayed high for about a week then slowly dropped as I saw nitrite raise to .20 but it never spiked like I assumed it would. Nitrite stayed there for about 2 days as ammonia dropped to zero.

As of yesterday, ammonia- 0, nitrite- 0, nitrate- 10ppm. Also have had a diatom bloom which I noticed on day 10.

Is it safe to say my cycle is done and I can start adding some CUC snails? I was expecting this to take a lot longer to be honest which is why I'm here for advice lol

Thanks

 

[mcgyvr]

The tank has cycled and you can slowly start adding things..

Did you use "live rock" or "dry rock"? and if live was it sourced locally or shipped to you?
Its certainly possible for a tank to cycle in that time.. It just may not be able to take a large increase in bioload without some consequences..

 

[syngraves]

Live sand and dry rock with a small half pound piece of live rock from a friends reef tank to help seed my tank.

Cool deal. I'll keep testing over the next few days and probably add a couple of snails this weekend.

 

[mcgyvr]

Live sand and dry rock with a small half pound piece of live rock from a friends reef tank to help seed my tank.

Cool deal. I'll keep testing over the next few days and probably add a couple of snails this weekend.

The piece of live rock from a friends tank is what allowed the quicker than normal cycle.. Had you not done that you can typically expect around 4-6 weeks to fully cycle a tank from dry rock..

 

[spudrucker114]

Good already live rock will speed things up. That is the only way I start tanks now. As i have very little patience. Lol

 

[Green Chromis]

The piece of live rock from a friends tank is what allowed the quicker than normal cycle.. Had you not done that you can typically expect around 4-6 weeks to fully cycle a tank from dry rock..

:fish1: Hi, yes to cycle a tank with bacteria only takes 4 to 6 weeks, but if you would like to have a very stable system with a lot of biodiversity, I would wait a minimum of 8 months or so, and that is using a very high quality Live Rock and Sand, which are both uncured fresh from the Ocean. :fish1:

 

[mcgyvr]

:fish1: Hi, yes to cycle a tank with bacteria only takes 4 to 6 weeks, but if you would like to have a very stable system with a lot of biodiversity, I would wait a minimum of 8 months or so, and that is using a very high quality Live Rock and Sand, which are both uncured fresh from the Ocean. :fish1:

Yes basically any system will be fairly "mature" by the 8-12 month mark..
No need to wait that long to start stocking but after that time the tank typically gets much easier to maintain..
It seems to take about that long to get the denitrifying bacterial colonies well established.. Nitrifying bacteria seems to get established much quicker..

 

[Sethdarkus]

I cycled my nano with 20lbs of base rock, 1 small live rock from Petco i slightly regret due to the hydroid issue, kept tank fishless for 2 months to ensure ick parasites were non existent. Other things I started with was Nutri seawater which contains natural ocean bacteria along with 20lbs of cribsea direct live sand. I actually used rotifers, tisbe pods and phytoplankton for a month and a half of my cycling with adding some omega one mini pellets for ammonia spikes. My tank cycled extremely fast, within a month I added 2 hermits and a emerald crab than another month a blood red fire shrimp followed by 2 more hermits along with 2 snails and later a Falco Hawkfish a month later than another month 2 clowns. Cheato and dragons breath helps along with my unconventional use of a submersible turtle filter intended for up to 30 gallons that I can add carbon to and it serves as a wave maker kinda. My hang on back refugium I add some media to but prefer my cheato and dragon breath to take care of the rest.

 

[Sk8r]

For all wanting to speed things along---there are things that help, yes, but remember that as you've just cycled, you're just barely in possession of enough bacteria to take care of a little bit; as the tank gets 'lived in,' its system gets stronger (if well-cared-for) and it becomes more able to handle unexpected problems. Translated: start slow and keep testing. Don't overrun your system.