One Week into Cycle

[Brandon0034]

Process so far goes as follows:
-30 gallon trash can with 25lbs reef savor
-800 gph powerhead
-2/13/16 I used .5ml pure ammonia per 10 gallons
-I add a few ml of bacteria in a bottle daily, also phosphate reducer

The ammonia was low(.05ppm) at one week, and I dosed with ammonia again per LFS advice. I know its still only a week out but I haven't really noticed anything. No smell, no build up(water still perfectly clear without filter), or other signs I've read on this site. I intend to let this cycle for another two weeks before transferring to the display tank.

 

[MondoBongo]

i haven't picked up any noticeable smell from cycling rock before, so i wouldn't use that as an indicator that things are or aren't progressing.

your best bet is going to be to get a test kit that does ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. it will give you a much clearer picture of just what's happening in your water. when i'm cycling i usually test every other day, until things start moving more quickly (usually around week two or three), then i test every day.

i also haven't ever had water go cloudy or anything like that. after the cycle is complete you will usually end up with some funky algae blooms, but only if you're running lights, which it sounds like in this case you are not.

 

[thegrun]

Do not add any more ammonia, doing so will only leave you with higher nitrates at the end of the cycle. If you are cycling dry rock without and dried on organics there should be very little smell. As posted above frequent testing is the only way to monitor the cycles progress.