how long for live rock to take color

[pairenoid]

the cured live rock i bought came after 5 days, and was slight but bland green/white/purple(live aquatics i believe)

its been cycling for 1 full week so far, and the color has not changed at all

I checked the water params twice so far, both times 0 ammon 0 nitr, but third or fourth color of nitrate

also ph 8.2 constant. The only fluctuation i cant even say with confidence is that the nitrite might of gotten the next step above 0, but was hard to tell, i know it was my bad for waiting a week between tests but now i will check like every 3 days

i cant tell if im already cycled or just not starting my cycle, but the tank doesnt smell bad at all and its sitting in my room

i find it hard to believe my ammonia stays at 0 when my shipping took 5 days, i see a live furry worm that either grows everyday or is leaving the rock, but now its gone and i cant find it. I dont know what to think because i assumed i would have a large amount of ammonia for a while since the die off, but its been at 0 for a week, what should i do

 

[TheTodd]

You should not be cycled in a week. How are you cycling (fish in or shrimp)? If there is nothing in there, it's not going to do anything.

 

[obscurereef]

Coralline isn't going to cover your rocks in a week or really in months. Depends if the calcium, alk, and magnesium is high. Then it should grow, but don't expect things to pop up so quickly..unless they malevolent!

 

[Rosesrblu1]

Coralline could take a long time or not grow at all. I have a tank that was ,fowlr for almost 3 years and no corralline at all. I now have Radions over it for 4-5 months and its badly starting up. Keep up your calc and alk when your cycled and you have a shot.

Good luck!

 

[pairenoid]

i guess when i heard cycling tanks with live rock is the best option i was wrong? i read this on numerous sites

 

[obscurereef]

It's not the wrong option when cycling your tank. It's just that when you get LR there will be die off that will cause ammonia, but most likely not enough to cycle your tank at a reasonable amount of time. Putting a table shrimp is another or additional method of cycling. It's adding another source of decomposing matter that the bacteria will break down and it starts the cycle. A large amount of established LR..like it's old and has A LOT of life will be a sufficient way of cycling w/out adding a shrimp, but most people don't cram so much LR in a tank. Personally, I used all base rock so I wouldn't get pests and it was cheaper. I also used pure ammonia to cycle the tank and it didn't stink like the shrimp method does. Or you could have say 75% LR and the rest be base rock and add a table shrimp. This would be cheaper and the LR would seed the base rock.

 

[pairenoid]

hmm ok thanks for the advice

i have 20 lbs of lr and a 20g long

im not quite sure if i want to add a shrimp, is there any chance my tank is just somehow cycled and there was not die off in shipping?

if my readings at the end of the week still say 0 ammon / nitrite/nitrate would that not mean its cycled?

i guess ill just ask my mom for a shrimp lol i think we have some

 

[Beengirl]

hmm ok thanks for the advice

i have 20 lbs of lr and a 20g long

im not quite sure if i want to add a shrimp, is there any chance my tank is just somehow cycled and there was not die off in shipping?

if my readings at the end of the week still say 0 ammon / nitrite/nitrate would that not mean its cycled?

i guess ill just ask my mom for a shrimp lol i think we have some

No, sorry. You're not cycled. At the end of the cycle, there should be zero ammonia and nitrites, but there should be nitrates, and they'll probably be high if you had a good strong cycle. All zeros just means that nothing is happening and the water is just sitting there. You can toss in a raw shrimp and let it rot, toss in a good bit of fish food and let it rot and breakdown, or use a few drops of ammonia (but only the kind that if you shake the bottle, there are NO bubbles formed). You need a source of ammonia to get the cycle started, and that just means something has to die and rot in there. It's gonna take at least a good few weeks, which I know is horrible to wait through. If you know anyone with a SW tank that you trust not to have bad things in it, you could ask them for some old filter media when they clean the filter and put in your filter. It will seed your filter and get the bacteria growing faster. But you have to put it in your filter pretty quickly (keep it wet) after you get it, or the bacteria will start to die off. I've also heard that turning the temp up to mid-high 80's will help bacteria grow faster. But remember to turn it back down to 78 before you add fish after the cycle is done. Good luck!!

 

[pairenoid]

i added 3 pinches of some fish food

i hope it works

btw, every time i tested my water i had basically 0 am nit but some nitrate

 

[NicoleIsStoked]

3 pinches of fish food is still not going to be enough for a good cycle. Not only that, but it will take a LONG time to break down. I know it sucks to wait but trust me, if you don't do a proper cycle you will regret it. It's a huge heartbreak adding beautiful fish only for them to die of ammonia poisoning. Not to mention its cruel for the fish and a waste of your time and money.