How long did it take for your tank to Cycle?

[Heyyou]

How long was the cycling process for your tank? did you start with cured or uncured live rocks? LS?

[Woodstock]

My QT is brand new and has been cycling for almost three weeks. It has only pvc (hiding places) and bioballs/sponges for filtration. The ammonia and nitrites are currently very high so it will probably take another week or two to complete.
I could not use live rock or sand since this tank will be medicated so cycling it is a slooooow process for sure.
If there are no livestock in yours, you can turn up the temp to 82 to speed up the cycle.

[Melanie]

Hi and welcome to RS!

I used fully cured LR (that I did myself) and LS. I added a deli shrimp. I think mine took 2 weeks. But if I was doing this over again, I would have added another shrimp and waited at least another 2 weeks to make sure it was safe.

[BigAl07]

Hello and Welcome to RS! You've come to a GREAT place to hang out and learn.

I have two tanks:

#1 (10 gallon ) "cycled" fairly slowly because it was cycled with LIVE Fish and a very small amount of LR and LS. I don't have the test results in front of me here at work but I would think it was about 4- 6 weeks total. That is NOT the way to "cycle" a tank.

#2 (12 gallon Nano Cube) "cycled" very quickly because a) No live critters during the cycling, b) fully stocked and cured LR and LS was used c) I added a pair of "deli" shrimp in a stocking to "feed" the cycle. If I remember correctly it cycled extremely quick in fact there were some debates initially on IF it had cycled or not because I barely got any ammonia or nitrite spikes after the first few days. It just sort of spiked initially and then leveled out and over the course of the next 3 -4 weeks additional deli shrimp only caused a small spike at all indicating that a sufficient and healthy biological filtration system was indeed present and working.

What I suggest is that you test your water parameters each day and chart them. Take this time to get to "Know" your tank and how the Nitrigen Cycle works. Do this even AFTER your initial cycle as you'll get "mini-cycles" each time you add a new fish or lose one. It's good to have a solid understanding of how everything sort of works together in this system so you can better predict and prepare for future "issues".

Good luck and HAPPY REEFING

Allen

[Frankie]

My current tank never had a cycle. I added 208lbs of live fiji to some serious ro/di water from a water plant and kent marine salt. The rock never made it to the lfs because i grabbed it at the door as it was coming in. I really think the reason i never went through a cycle is because of these two reasons: #1 perfect ro/di water and #2 the rock had no chance for die off and i did a salinity bath before adding the rock.

[AQTCJAK]

Live Rock, Live Sand, Catalina Sea Water, Tropical Science Marine & Nitro Max about 3 Weeks to complete. With out the Sea Water tanks normall 4-6 Weeks no Shrimp used

[kyle1284]

2 weeks cause i use 2 canister filters and sponges from a buddies tank along with 110 lbs of live rock! lol

[jubbers]

deli shrimp? you mean like dead ones?cocktail shrimp?

[GeeWizzItsMe]

2 weeks with cured live rock and damsels (bad boy)!

[Melanie]

Deli shrimp is coctail shrimp just like you eat at parties. It adds an ammonia source that jump starts your cycle.

The better your water, the more LR and LS you have, the shorter the cycle IMHO.

I agree with BigAl that you should test your water daily (preferably at the same time of day) and keep a written log of your results. You can even start a tank chronicle on RS to store you tests.

I suggest not using live fish for the cycle. It's unneccarily cruel and no better than using a deli shrimp.

I'm guessing you are asking because you are in a cycle right now waiting for your tank to finish. You could use this time to thoroughly research your stocking list, save money for future equipment, get in the habit of testing your water (and perfecting your technique,) and practice that wonderful trait that all reefers need....patience.

It's not uncommon for a tank to take up to two months to cycle. I've read, and agree, that you should not do water changes or run a UV filter during the cycle. These normally beneficial things can actually slow down the initial cycle.

[prow]

my tank has been cycling for years and is still cycling

[jubbers]

oh i heard something about throwing a shrimp in their to cycle that i didn't know they were talking about an actual shrimp that you eat.

[Dentoid]

My tank cycled in 3 weeks. 180 lbs or Tampa Bay Saltwater rock collected and shipped, in water, same day. Was not out of the ocean more than 24 hours before it went into the tank. My ammonia never hit 1ppm in that 3 weeks.

[GeeWizzItsMe]

Wow!

[PEMfish]

My 10g Cycled very quickly, in 2 weeks. I was waiting for a spike for 2 weeks after it leveled out at zero but it never came, even after I added a damsel. I had no LS and only 5lb of LR that I didn't get till I got the damsel. I was very skeptical of it being cycled because I didn't feed it at all. Never had a problem.

Wish I knew how...