ok guys i have had my 100 gallon long setup for over a week now. I started the tank with dead sand 80 pounds of live rock and a 12oz bottle of complete bacteria that smelled like nasty poop lol. I have beent testing my water everyday. Throught the week i saw ammonia nitrate and nitrite spikes as well as an algae bloom. But now i tested my water today and it all was at zero is this normal and what could i add to keep the cycle going...
New tank questions about cycle
- Thread starter wake2life
- Start date
DrPheel
New member
Nice setup !! Id try to put a black or blue background to give your tank that extra pop 
at this point if your cycle is finished you can start with a good clean up crew to take care of that algae bloom ( i suspect diatoms ). You can also make a move on your first fish and go from there. Your live rock will indeed speed up the process and with time your sand will also have beneficial bacteria. Some people like to dose a bit of ammonia and check how long the tank takes to process it. This will also confirm your cycle is over but with live rock i'd say you are good to go for a CUC and one or two fish
Happy reefing :beachbum:
at this point if your cycle is finished you can start with a good clean up crew to take care of that algae bloom ( i suspect diatoms ). You can also make a move on your first fish and go from there. Your live rock will indeed speed up the process and with time your sand will also have beneficial bacteria. Some people like to dose a bit of ammonia and check how long the tank takes to process it. This will also confirm your cycle is over but with live rock i'd say you are good to go for a CUC and one or two fish Happy reefing :beachbum:
thanks guys we are still working on the setup so far the tank is a 100 gallon long with trigger crystal sump nyos 160 skimmer and 2 radion xr30w...we are ordering our liter meter this weekend and an mp40 powerhead to finish it off...just ready to get my fish out of the 20 gallon they are in.....
bat21
New member
If you saw nitrate, it should have stayed, and not disappeared. Nitrate is the end product of the nitrogen cycle. When ammonia spikes and goes to zero, it has become nitrite. When nitrite has spiked and gone to zero, it has become nitrate.
Before adding any living things, I would test it with some pure ammonia. Get it up to 2ppm and see if it goes back to zero quickly.
Before adding any living things, I would test it with some pure ammonia. Get it up to 2ppm and see if it goes back to zero quickly.
jbvdhp
Active member
Good advice
BigEZ77
Member
What he said, lol. My bad.
