No Ammonia?

[cbjt3905]

Hi Y'all...

Day five and no ammonia. Nitrite & Nitrate are also zero. PH is 8.4.
My setup:
Biocube 8G
12 lbs live rock (very good quality), 1.5" live sand.
Filtration: LR rubble, Chemipure, Purigen
Flow about 260 gph, temp 79 degr. Water is crystal clear (so much so, it's spooky)- no smell whatsoever.
No livestock (save whatever might be on the LR). Very minimal detritus, Lights being left off 24 hrs. BTW, used Instant Ocean & the specific gravity is 1.022

Is that peculiar? Should I drop in some flake food or something to decompose?
Thanks very much.
Jim

[ocean_freak]

I'm using raw shrimp to cycle right now and my ammonia levels are up. It's only been 3 days. Maybe some else can help you but that's my method of cycling. I think it's normal for you...dunno...

*this is my first post, yah!

[CATALYST]

Maybe take out the Chemipure and Purigen. They remove the chemicals you need to let your tank cycle.

[InLimbo87]

Its very possible that your tank just isn't going to cycle. I would suggest (as you said) adding some flake food or something small to decompose in there. If the levels all still stay zero, you're good to go adding livestock slowly.

As for chemipure and purigen, I don't see how they would stall your cycle whatsoever.

[cbjt3905]

Thank you Ian... I appreciate it very much. I ordered my LR and sand from Premium Aquatics after reading good things about them. After it was shipped, the rock and sand were in my tank before 24 hours had passed (an up-side to nano-sized tanks!). It looks as if there has been very little die-off, so I am stumped. All the same, I took the Purigen out and have added some flake food to decompose. I'll watch for an ammonia spike over the next couple of days and let y'all know.
Many thanks,
Jim

[lcstorc]

A small piece of shrimp from the deli is a great way to kick off a cycle. Let it sit a couple of days and start to decompose. Then remove it and let your rock get to work on the cycle.

[cbjt3905]

Originally Posted by InLimbo87

Its very possible that your tank just isn't going to cycle. I would suggest (as you said) adding some flake food or something small to decompose in there. If the levels all still stay zero, you're good to go adding livestock slowly.

As for chemipure and purigen, I don't see how they would stall your cycle whatsoever.

I'm beginning to think this might be the case. I've read a great deal on the aspects of "fishless" cycling, and it is possible to introduce small to moderate, consistent bioload into a new tank which may already contain nitrifying bacteria. In this scenario, there will only be small, brief ammonia spikes which may not be detected. I've been adding flake food twice a day for three days to an 8g tank. Still no ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate. I know my test kits work, but I still took a water sample to my LFS this morning and got the same results. I also called for tech support the companies that make chemipure and purigen. Both adamantly said their products have no effect on the cycling process, except to possibly enhance it.

If I inadvertently cycled a tank quickly and quietly, it's assuredly not due to my skill as an aquarist; it would be a stroke of sheer luck! OR- maybe I just still have a sterile tank for some reason. I'll give it to the end of the week and then maybe buy a small CUC or something, although there's not much to clean up -yet. Thank you.
Jim

[cbjt3905]

Just wanted to follow up; I did toss in a piece of dead shrimp from the deli -just the last section of meat along with the tail; it's only 8 gallons
It sat there for a couple days, and I never did get an ammonia spike. Go figure. The water parameters stayed really good. A week ago I added some zooanthids- shrooms/polyps and a small CUC- some stuff I ordered online. It was overnighted from California to FL, and there has been zero die-off. Oh, and the live rock is sprouting new life and critters all the time.

This morning, amm-0, nitrites and trates-0, ph-8.4, SG-1.024. The new additions are already flourishing. I'm really lucky to have been so fortunate thus far, but I am very attentive to this nanotank. I guess it's just a matter of providing the very best aquatic environment you can, and letting Ma Nature take the wheel.

[lcstorc]

Glad to hear things are going so well. How about some pics?

[moze229]

The ammonia spike likely happened rather quickly in an 8 gallon! My ammonia spike happened over night in my 24 and I never did get to measure it. It's also an indication that your bacteria "buffer" was more than sufficient. The live rock that you have in there is in the "perfect amount" range, and I think that is the culprit for your "missed" cycle Good job!

[BEELZEBOB]

w/o introducing a bio load that is more than the lil bacteriums can handle, id assume that you'd never see any spike at all.

however, the amount of bacteria that you have in a tank that size that young, is probably very minimal.

if you just start adding fish and inverts, id worry about another cycle caused by this additional bioload. and you dont want those lil guys to be exposed to that

id suggest adding a big fat nasty deli-shrimp to the tank. worst case scenario is that your tank goes through a mini cycle as the populations of bacteria grow to meet the demands of the new over-bio-load.

[cbjt3905]

Thank you!