Cycling issues

[brandon623]

So I have a 220 gallon tank....
Some live rock and some 6 damsels for cycling....
I'm in week 4 getting no ammonia readings at all...
Do I not have enough in the tank to even start the cycle?
any advice?

 

[carey]

That's ALOT of tank to get ammonia from 6 damsels. the easiest and quickest way is fishless cycling in my opinion. You can dose the whole tank with pure ammonia and go from there. You get to control the ammonia level and you can test each day to keep it replenished up to 4ppm which is a good number I think being that your tank is so large.

How much live rock do you have in there? Did you also add base rock as well?
Typically, the live rock alone can kickstart a cycle if you have enough of it.

 

[brandon623]

How long would a fish less cycle take? And as far as rock I only have about 25 lbs ate the time its all I could afford...

 

[brandon623]

Also no base rock just well established live rock...

 

[carey]

While youre cycling I'd say is the best time to add some base rock, it's cheap and it will become live while you cycle.

I've cycled in anywhere from a week to a few days with established rock and ammonia dosing.