start up question

jer1198 · 01/31/2014, 06:00 PM

so i have my tank full of water and reclaimed live sand, its been running for 5 days, salinity is 1.024, ph 8.2

theres a friend of a friend that is goinjg thru some tough times is selling me the live rock out of one of their tank.

my question is how long will it take for the tank to cycle if the live rock is out of the tank for less than an hour?

the sand in the tank is from the same tank as the live rock, the only thing new is the water.

superstorm sandy ruined my old setup, and i havent been able to get back into reefing until now.

thegrun · 01/31/2014, 08:05 PM

Did you use all live fully cured rock? If so there will likely not be a cycle at all. One way to tell for sure would be to add some pure ammonia without surfactants and get the ammonia to 3 ppm. To raise 100 gallons of water from 0 to 3 ppm you would need to add 1.2grams (12 ml) of standard 10% pure ammonia without surfactants. If the tank is cycled the ammonia should drop back to zero in 24 hours. If you can't find pure ammonia drop in a dead raw shrimp. If you don't see any ammonia in a week the tank is good to go. What size is the tank? Unless it is over 100 gallons I would only add two small or one large fish at a time waiting at least a week between additions.

jer1198 · 01/31/2014, 08:11 PM

tank size is 120
i am buying 100 pounds of live rock tomorrow
it wont be out of the water very long, maybe an hour tops

im expecting a spike for a few days, but its been awhile since ive set up a tank.

thegrun · 01/31/2014, 08:14 PM

If the live rock is already cycled you should be able to avoid a cycle. If it hasn't been cycled it could take 4-6 weeks to complete the cycle.

01/31/2014, 06:00 PM	#1
jer1198 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: south jersey-Little Egg Harbor Posts: 597	start up question so i have my tank full of water and reclaimed live sand, its been running for 5 days, salinity is 1.024, ph 8.2 theres a friend of a friend that is goinjg thru some tough times is selling me the live rock out of one of their tank. my question is how long will it take for the tank to cycle if the live rock is out of the tank for less than an hour? the sand in the tank is from the same tank as the live rock, the only thing new is the water. superstorm sandy ruined my old setup, and i havent been able to get back into reefing until now. __________________ Jer1198 Current Tank Info: 1/4 gallon betta bowl

01/31/2014, 08:11 PM	#3
jer1198 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: south jersey-Little Egg Harbor Posts: 597	tank size is 120 i am buying 100 pounds of live rock tomorrow it wont be out of the water very long, maybe an hour tops im expecting a spike for a few days, but its been awhile since ive set up a tank. __________________ Jer1198 Current Tank Info: 1/4 gallon betta bowl

01/31/2014, 08:05 PM	#2
thegrun Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Garden Grove, Ca Posts: 17,023	Did you use all live fully cured rock? If so there will likely not be a cycle at all. One way to tell for sure would be to add some pure ammonia without surfactants and get the ammonia to 3 ppm. To raise 100 gallons of water from 0 to 3 ppm you would need to add 1.2grams (12 ml) of standard 10% pure ammonia without surfactants. If the tank is cycled the ammonia should drop back to zero in 24 hours. If you can't find pure ammonia drop in a dead raw shrimp. If you don't see any ammonia in a week the tank is good to go. What size is the tank? Unless it is over 100 gallons I would only add two small or one large fish at a time waiting at least a week between additions.

01/31/2014, 08:14 PM	#4
thegrun Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Garden Grove, Ca Posts: 17,023	If the live rock is already cycled you should be able to avoid a cycle. If it hasn't been cycled it could take 4-6 weeks to complete the cycle.