My tank hasnt cycled yet

[sdc19982002]

I have a 55 gallon oceanic tank with corner over flow, wet dry filter, protien skimmer, 50#s live sand,15#s live rock and 5 damsels.The tank has been set up for about 15 days. I have not gotten a rise of ammonia,nitrite or nitarate,potien skimmer is producing well, got the dusting of the tank with brown algae whick is about gone on its own. I know not to rush the cycle but I would have thought i'd see a change by now by seeding the tank the way I did. Any imput would be nice...

 

[an411]

Did you start off with dry rock and dry sand and then seed it with live sand? I didn't see much change except for nitrates. I didnt run my skimmer during the cycle. If you don't mind waiting you could put a piece of shrimp in there from the grocery store. That will get you ammonia and nitrates. I hope that you intend on getting more live rock for that size tank I would suggest at least another 40 pounds. Also if you can I would remove those damsels unless you plan on keeping them in that tank cause they are going to be hard to remove later on and they are not really needed for the cycle.

 

[sdc19982002]

The rock and sand are both live, The damsels are just in there to please the eyes during the cycle, they will be moved to another tank before the bulk of the live rock goes into this one. If I use the piece of shrimp, how long before I see a rise in ammonia?

 

[kernyboy]

I'd take out the fish. Its considered cruel to cycle a tank with live animals. When the ammonia eventually spikes, your fish are essentially swimming in poison. I made the same mistake when i started my tank. Now I'd advise anyone to use a cocktail shrimp. Plus its cheaper


On a 55 gallon, it will take a while. Add more live rock.

 

[cdness]

Cycling with shrimp is easier than with live fish and doesn't cause the fish to suffer and possibly die... You will get the cycle but it could take time. Get the fish out, toss in some shrimp, then when the parameters clear add the fish back in...

There is no need for a fish to suffer just to cycle the tank...

 

[sdc19982002]

Thanks for the advice,I'll put the damsels back in the kids tank. Guess I'll be having shrimp for dinner.....

 

[Dark~Euphoria]

i dont beleive in cycling with fish or shrimp... just make sure the tank has a good protein skimmer, and put in a bunch of live rock, and wait a month or 2 until everything evens out and your good.

 

[an411]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13230905#post13230905 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Dark~Euphoria
i dont beleive in cycling with fish or shrimp... just make sure the tank has a good protein skimmer, and put in a bunch of live rock, and wait a month or 2 until everything evens out and your good.

I agree but if its not live sand or Rock. And just seeded I am not sure how much of a cycle that is going to cause>

 

[Tangweed]

15 days still might be kinda of quick even with with the fish and LR and sand. If it's a new skimmer they sometimes take two weeks to break in also. I'd hang on for a week or so.

 

[sdc19982002]

When I used the word seeded I meant that by adding it to the tank I would assume things where going to be spead up. The subsrate is 25# live aragonite and 25# live sand.The live rock is true live rock. I didnt put alot in yet because I didnt want to spend the money on alot of base rock. I want to do a couple of islands with decorator rock,which is more costly and dont want to damage it during the cycle process.

 

[an411]

well a cycle is caused by a dieoff maybe the rock that you got was cured and there wasn't much die off and if its live sand then you should be fine. At this point just as Tangweed said wait a week or so.

 

[WhiteLightsaber]

The skimmer takes all waste out before it can decompose, it is definitely slowing your cycle. Activated carbon will remove the ammonia as well. I would turn off the skimmer and remove all carbon. I use pure ammonia (the cleaner stuff) to cycle tanks. I do not condone using live animals for cycling. I haven't cycled a tank in a long time, so I don't remember the dosing for ammonia, but I think that is the best way to build up a good base of bacteria, without injuring or killing a single animal.

 

[sdc19982002]

I turned off the protien skimmer and removed carbon from the sump. Yesterday i was testing water agian and it is as follows

ammonia 0
nitrite 0
ph 8.2
nitrate 10-20 ml

why would i have rising nitrate without seeing any rise in ammonia or nitrite first

 

[jbc123]

Because you aren't doing a full cycle most likely.

Using live sand and cured live rock can shorten or eliminate the cycle if you get setup with a diverse and healthy population of bacteria.

 

[greenbean36191]

The tank is already cycled. What you did was essentially a tank transfer. You already had bacteria established on the rock and the sand so there was no period when ammonia wasn't being processed.

When cycling a tank with LR already in it, there is no need to add fish, a dead shrimp, or ammonia. If the LR is already cured, there is no need to force a cycle. If it isn't cured, the dieoff from it will provide more than enough ammonia to kick off the cycle.

Despite the common belief in the hobby, elevating ammonia during the cycling process is not desirable at all and doesn't speed things up. All it does is kill off more life and make the tank take longer to mature.

You can put the skimmer and carbon back. They aren't doing anything detrimental to the tank.

 

[sdc19982002]

Thats what I was thinking after my original post I added another 15 # of live rock. How long should I wait before adding a fish or two

 

[mindytoy]

like 2 weeks...if i was u id ADD all the rock your getting because your never gonna stop cycling. theres gonna be die offs and followed by more. add all the rock id say atleast 50-60lbs and let it cycle. ones nitrates hit zero go buy your first fish.

end of story.

 

[BurntOutReefer]

What GreenBean said............solid advise there!

 

[sdc19982002]

Going to go out and get the rest of my rock tommorow. Thanks for your help.