Water Parameters

[chich0]

I have had LR in my tank for 2 days, the ammonia went up to about .20 then went back down. Nitrate and Nitrites read zero??? How long does it take for everything to go up roughly?

[BigAl07]

Is there anything ELSE in the tank? Are you looking for a "Cycle" or is this tank already cycled?

Allen

[lcstorc]

Did you add anything to kick off the cycle? If not you just had a small spike due to die-off from the LR. Put a piece of shrimp from the deli in the tank for a couple of days. Then watch the amonia go up, followed by nitrites followed by nitrates. Once you have 0 amonia and 0 nitrites it is time to do a water change or two to get the nitrates down and then add your CUC followed by your first fish a couple of weeks later as long as your levels are staying stable. Amonia and nitrite are very toxic to fish so you want both of those to stay at 0 after the cycle. A small amount of nitrates < 20 is ok but you want to try to keep the nitrates at 0 as well.

[chich0]

well, this is the deal. in a week i am getting another 40kg of LR so should i manually spike it? i have pure ammonia that i could jsut add to the water, its what i used to use to cycle my FW tanks. Or should i wait untill i get the other 40kg then see how it goes?

[chich0]

im waiting for the tank to start cycling

[BigAl07]

You need to add the shrimp to "entice" the propogation of the bacteria. This starts the process. It's not the ammonia that you're really after but the bacteria. Ammonia is a by=product of the bacteria breaking down the "shrimp".

Yes get it started or you're just spinning your wheels.

Allen

[chich0]

but if the ammonia goes down then i add 40kg of LR, wont it shoot back up? or would the shrimp have made the bio laod big enough?

[BigAl07]

It will go back up but hopefully for less time because your population of GOOD bacteria is more established. It's potentailly a long slow process from start to finish so you might as well get it started now buddy. It could take 5-6 weeks or more. Each tank is different and this is NOT a step to be skipped or rushed.

Allen

[chich0]

off to the deli then..

[chich0]

or can i just sprinkle some fish food in there? Or a bunch of frozen brine shrimp?

[BigAl07]

I don't like the fishfood method but I guess some frozen shrimp will work. I personally like the "deli" shrimp in a netting or stocking for easy removal and replacement.

Allen

[chich0]

ill jsut put frozen brine in a net, cant be bothered going to the deli lol

[chich0]

even though my tank is not cycled could i get some turbo snails or something to cleanup the algae that came on some of my LR?

[lcstorc]

No.
The CUC is also sensitive to the amonia, nitrites, and nitrates. You need to go through the cycle before adding anything live to the tank.
I don't see any reason why the brine wouldn't work, but I would use more than one cube. The point is you need something from the ocean rotting in the tank to produce the amonia which starts the cycle.
If you are getting the new rock in a week I would wait for the new rock and then add the shrimp so you just have one nice big cycle. Either way would work though.

[blue_eyes53813]

You got some very good information, I just wanted to add that in a new tank everytime you add anything ,live rock, fish, corals for the first 6 months to a year. There is a very good possiblity you will see a rise in ammonia. Thats why it is so important to add slowly ( 1 fish-coral or live rock) monthly after the cycle is complete.

With the addition of all the live rock now before the addition of any livestock is the best way to go. You can add your live rock all at once. This is a good way to cycle the tank.

AFTER all level rise and fall (ammonia-nitrites-nitrates) you can add your clean up crew. Waite for a few weeks and try one fish. Keep a close watch on levels each time there is an addition to the tank.