Is this normal for a re-cycle?

[haub]

Quick background....
6 month old tank 40 gallon tank with aragonite and dead base rock. Everything was going fine until the last fish was added (3 fish total). Experienced a total tank wipeout from Velvet...yes I know...now have a QT.

I emptied the tank (minus the sand), let it dry for a week...did not use any bleach or cleaners.

I refilled the tank (with the existing sand) and started the raw shrimp method of cycling.

Here's the thing...
I'm 2 weeks into 'new cycling' this tank and I have had no ammonia at all yet and the shrimps are almost completely gone. I also have nitrate readings of 20. Is it possible that I'm not going to cycle again and that all of the bacteria survived in the sand bed?

I'm currently letting the tank go empty for 6 weeks to make sure that the Velvet disappears...but am a little clueless as to why I wouldn't at least mini-cycle with 2 raw decomposing shrimp in a 40 gallon tank.

Any help suggestions u can provide would be great. Also I used cupramine in the tank...can I just use Carbon to remove it once I'm outta cycling hell?

Thanks!

 

[quarryshark]

The cupramine may have wiped out the bacteria. Personally I would empty the tank, clean it out real good and replace the substrate. If there is copper in the substrate, that could be why the tank is not cycling.

 

[haub]

it says on the bottle that it remains in solution and does not contaminate the filter bed...so shouldn't the filter bed be fine?

 

[quarryshark]

Anything porous has a tendency to absorb copper sulphate. That is a big part of the reason most suggest treating in a bare bottom qt tank. It also can get absorbed in the seams of the tank. That is why I suggest a very good cleaning.
If I were a betting man, I would bet thats why the tank won't cycle, the copper is killing the bacteria.

 

[indy]

If the shrimp has rotted away and you've not yet seen any ammonia whatsoever, I would tend to think the bacteria survived and you will not see a cycle. Bacteria respond to the ammonia and are not caused by it. If the bacteria had all been killed off your ammonia would be off the charts and never drop. You would never see nitrite or nitrate unless they were present in your topoff water. Have your lfs test your water and see if they're getting the same results. Unless you removed all the sand and actually spread it all out to dry there was likely enough moisture to keep the bacteria alive.

 

[haub]

indy, why would i never see a nitrite spike if all the bacteria had been killed and ammonia spiked? are u saying that i would then not have a normal cycle because of cupramine still in the system? thx for your response

 

[quarryshark]

are u saying that i would then not have a normal cycle because of cupramine still in the system? thx for your response

This is just my opinion, but yes. I am not a believer is shortcuts in this hobby anymore. Because of the copper and since you have no animals as of yet, I would break it down, replace the substrate, rock and start over.
But its you call.

 

[haub]

quarry, before doing that shouldn't i test for the cupramine, run polyfilters and cuprasorb or activated carbon....and then if i still detect copper...then do all that....

that's like $40 in aragonite and $50 in rock that I would have to replace

 

[quarryshark]

You could try. Here is some reading on the subject .
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/curemovalfaqs.htm

 

[haub]

thanks for all your replies quarry....now i'll get a readin'