Rust in Tank cause problem with cycle??

[reef_guy81]

Well I have my 40Breeder cycling since 2 weeks. I put in a couple of raw shrimps to help cycle about 2 weeks ago, and strangely they do not seem to be decomposing. Curious as to why, I was checking water params yesterday when I noticed that one of the Koralia I was using showed signs of rusting at where the inner magnet is located in saltwater. I pulled it out and upon further inspection found significant amount rust on the the magnet mount and also rust on the glass where the powerhead was located. I cleaned the glass and stopped using the koralia..

Should I start the cycle again? Would rust affect the cycle anyway?

Cycle started - 2 weeks ago with 15 pounds dry rock and 30 pounds sand. Ro/Di water used. No live rock or sand used.
40 breeder
Ph - 8.0
Salinity - 1.24
Temp - 76F
Ammonia approximately 2ppm since like 10 days.
No nitrites, nitrates.
No dosing of anything, skimmer and powerheads turned off.

Should I use aftermarket products like BioStart ?? Also should I run the powerheads/skimmer while cycling? Does one need to seed the tank to start the cycle? What could be the reasons that the tank shows no nitrites and nitrates after nearly 2 weeks.


Appreciate any advice.


Thanks.

 

[belgian_waffleman]

If you really want to jump start your cycle, use pure ammonia, couple ml's a day, within 2 weeks you will have nitrates.
I don't think the rust would inhibit the cycle. but you should replace the Koralia.

m2c
Waffleman

 

[Willistein]

So you don't have any live rock or sand? I would recommend a few pounds of rock to get your cycle going...

The rust is fine. Rust is a popular way of absorbing phosphates (look up GFO).

 

[jaybfresh]

I'm probably speaking from ignorance... but isnt GFO just a granular form of rust?

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

Appreciate any advice

got any REALLY LIVE liverock in there?

 

[SushiGirl]

If you didn't add any live rock or sand, then you likely don't have any bacteria to process the ammonia.

 

[reef_guy81]

Thanks for the replies.. Nope I have no live rock whatsoever in there.. Does one need to compulsorily seed the tank to start a cycle? I thought people could cycle with nothing but base rock and sand, but yeah it would be a slow process.

I wanted to cycle my tank with just dry rock and was worried about rust affecting my cycle.. Now that rust aint a factor, I guess I would get some live rock and add to my tank to speed up the cycle.

Thanks..

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Yes, you need a way for an initial population of bacteria to get in to the tank.