Started Cycling

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

domant

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Jan 8, 2013
Messages
39
Okay so I have all of the supplies together for my first saltwater tank, a 40b. I have about 30 gallons of sw in a 32 gallon garbage bin. So tell me if I'm doing okay so far. I made RODI water, put my heater and a power head, and about half of my dry rock, 25 pounds of it from reefrocks.net (the rock looks great). I mixed in my salt and then added a shrimp in a pantyhose. Is there anything else I should be doing other than waiting and testing?
 
Here's the pictures of the process.
The first one is the rock I didn't put in the can and the second is the water cycling.
 

Attachments

  • ForumRunner_20130320_201307.jpg
    ForumRunner_20130320_201307.jpg
    61.1 KB · Views: 61
  • ForumRunner_20130320_201320.jpg
    ForumRunner_20130320_201320.jpg
    60.8 KB · Views: 86
First test after two days

pH: 8.0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
Ammonia: .50 ppm
 
Here's another picture
 

Attachments

  • ForumRunner_20130321_123613.jpg
    ForumRunner_20130321_123613.jpg
    35.5 KB · Views: 55
Looks like you're on the right tracks. Don't remove that shrimp!

You'll be curing the rock and cycling the tank at the same time by the looks of it. You probably didn't even need the shrimp but it won't do any harm. Might actually speed the process up. I would recommend renewing that water once the rock is cured then run it for another couple of weeks to make sure it's cycled. Curing will take about 4 weeks but could be longer.

Have you got a tank shot?
 
Looks like you're on the right tracks. Don't remove that shrimp!

You'll be curing the rock and cycling the tank at the same time by the looks of it. You probably didn't even need the shrimp but it won't do any harm. Might actually speed the process up. I would recommend renewing that water once the rock is cured then run it for another couple of weeks to make sure it's cycled. Curing will take about 4 weeks but could be longer.

Have you got a tank shot?

No I still have my 40b set up with freshwater as of now. So what's the difference between curing rock and cycling? From my understanding I thought you had to put the rock in for the BB to settle into. Could you please elaborate for me? Thanks!
 
No I still have my 40b set up with freshwater as of now. So what's the difference between curing rock and cycling? From my understanding I thought you had to put the rock in for the BB to settle into. Could you please elaborate for me? Thanks!

I probably should add that it is dry, never living rock.
 
I too am a beginner and have been cycling my tank for a week now. Ph is around 8.4, no nitrite yet but ammonia level is starting to show trace amounts. Will put a shrimp in today. Power heads and aeration running, temperature is 80 degrees.
 
Ammonia is now up to 4.0 ppm. How high do you think it will spike before it begins to drop?
 
Back
Top Bottom