No cycling occuring in my new reef tank...

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Hey brotha, did you get that nitrate spike? If you didn't, your not cycled. Also your gonna wanna wait at least 6 months to add any coral or a nem. There's a lot going on and it may be rushed a bit. I wanted almost a year before I added my first anemone and almost another 6 months before coral. Things move very slowly in this hobby and things can change very fast. Test test and then test again before doing anything. 16 hours for the shrimp in your tank may have been too little time. I had the shrimp in all three tanks for over a week. It sounds as if you are going to be adding a high stock to your tank, so the higher your bb is, it will only be beneficial.
 
I'll start with 2 clown then wait 1-2 month before I add anything else.

I bought a 50-90 gallon skimmer for my 20 gallon, maybe this will help ? I didn't saw any ammonia, any nitrites, and nitrates are too low to get a read I think... The guy at the LFS was keeping LR in a nasty tank, he said this way the customers don't have to wait for cycle before introducing fish... Like if LR were already cycled... I soaked them in clean SW, then put them in the tank, whey were very clean...

I've put a lot of fine grinded fish food in that tank since beginning, no ammonia spike. I use API nitrate test, maybe for this reason I don't get reading ?

I can't find 100% pure ammonia, I would like to test the strengh of the cycle... But I can't... My tank smelled nasty 16 hrs after I put the shrimp (was a very big chunk of shrimp) that's why I took it out... Was smelling like old unchanged tortle water... Ammonia was 0...
 
melosu58 said:
If your rock and sand are truly live then you might not see a cycle. The beneficial bacteria is taking care of the ammonia source.
Click to expand...

That folk said it was possible to buy cycled LR like what I think I've did...


The LFS guy told me they were expensive because I don't have to wait cycle... He explained my he had uncured rock in another tank for cheaper price, but with them I'll have to wait for cycling period.

At first, I didn't belived him, I tought he was telling that to me;
1. to sell more expensive stock to me
2. to sell me fish the day after
3. If the fish get ill i'll have to buy products

So I waited to see if any ammonia will appear, nope. I've trown food, no ammonia, I've trown a shrimp, no ammonia...
 
Jmkb02 said:
Hey brotha, did you get that nitrate spike? If you didn't, your not cycled. Also your gonna wanna wait at least 6 months to add any coral or a nem. There's a lot going on and it may be rushed a bit. I wanted almost a year before I added my first anemone and almost another 6 months before coral. Things move very slowly in this hobby and things can change very fast. Test test and then test again before doing anything. 16 hours for the shrimp in your tank may have been too little time. I had the shrimp in all three tanks for over a week. It sounds as if you are going to be adding a high stock to your tank, so the higher your bb is, it will only be beneficial.
Click to expand...

You dont have to wait that long for your average zoas,mushrooms,xenia,polyps, and other hardy corals. I waited about 3 weeks after the cycle in my 37g to add my corals and ive never lost any of them. Nems need a mature tank as stated 6-12 months. I like dosing ammonia as it is easy to find how much you need to dose depending on your stock idea.
 
Is it ok to have a 50-90 gallon skimmer on a 20 gallon ? That's what I'm running... I bought it yesterday
 
SWC HOT mini skimmer. It's a "clippable" one.

I just bought Red Sea tests, (3 tests for 60$). They very accurate. Are thoses good parameters?

KH: 10°
Ca: 350 ppm
Mg: 1400 ppm

Are thoses values in the good range for corals?
 
It shouldn't really matter as long as the levels don't go out of whack. Regular water changes will keep it where it needs to be since nothing besides some coraline algae will consume it. This usually only goes out of whack where it causes issues when additives are thrown into tanks without testing, reaching astonomical levels. But for the most part, your fish don't care about your calcium levels.
 
Have you had any nitrates yet? That's going to be key to knowing your tank is cycled. You have to have a spike even if your tank is cycled you will still have one, how your tank responds is how you will know.
 
Jmkb02 said:
Have you had any nitrates yet? That's going to be key to knowing your tank is cycled. You have to have a spike even if your tank is cycled you will still have one, how your tank responds is how you will know.
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I'm sorry but I totally disagree with what you're saying about the spike. The spike happens only when there is not enough beneficial bacteria to consume it to reproduce more bactreria. If the tank has already more than enough bb you will never see a spike.
 
jeffaquarius said:
I'm sorry but I totally disagree with what you're saying about the spike. The spike happens only when there is not enough beneficial bacteria to consume it to reproduce more bactreria. If the tank has already more than enough bb you will never see a spike.
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That's fine you can disagree. I have never not had a spike in any tank no matter how much live rock/sand you use. Even in a well established tank, if you loose an animal especially in a 20 gallon tank, you will have a spike and even more, you should be able to watch it go through all three stages.
 
jeffaquarius said:
I'm sorry but I totally disagree with what you're saying about the spike. The spike happens only when there is not enough beneficial bacteria to consume it to reproduce more bactreria. If the tank has already more than enough bb you will never see a spike.
Click to expand...

You will almost always get a spike, unless there is seeded media than you will infact have a spike. Your saying if you have more than enough BB than you wont get a spike, but isnt the reason you cycle to colonize BB in system? Heres a link to cycling if you wanna read more about it...

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+1379+314&pcatid=314
 
Jmkb02 said:
That's fine you can disagree. I have never not had a spike in any tank no matter how much live rock/sand you use. Even in a well established tank, if you loose an animal especially in a 20 gallon tank, you will have a spike and even more, you should be able to watch it go through all three stages.
Click to expand...

Also there is no reason to have a spike in a established tank, and if your fish dies than it may not be the fish, but the water chemistry itself
 
Fishman007 said:
Also there is no reason to have a spike in a established tank, and if your fish dies than it may not be the fish, but the water chemistry itself
Click to expand...
The reason a spike accrues is because of something out of normality in a tank, ex a death of a fish or such. I'm saying he should see a spike in his no3 as in after his bb has processed the nh3. The op is worried about ca levels when his tank has yet to actually cycle. My point is, I would hate for the op to add anything to his tank and it fail and fail fast.
 
Jmkb02 said:
The reason a spike accrues is because of something out of normality in a tank, ex a death of a fish or such. I'm saying he should see a spike in his no3 as in after his bb has processed the nh3. The op is worried about ca levels when his tank has yet to actually cycle. My point is, I would hate for the op to add anything to his tank and it fail and fail fast.
Click to expand...

Yes i know rotting inside the tank creates ammonia and then blahblahblah, and i think i know about cycling too.
 
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