Cycle Time?

[Rubicon06]

Hi,

I bought fully cured live rock (5#), sand(4#), and rubble(4#), in a 5.5gal.

How long do you think it would take to cycle, given that everything was already cured?

I'm not a total noob, had a 20h reef setup for 8 months, but took it down to move, now just looking for a compact invert nano to support the addiction

Thanks!

[PiXieCath]

Humm...in a such small volume, I think that maybe 2 to 3 weeks will be ok...

[Sk8r]

COuld be very fast---a week---or frustratingly long---4. Depends on so many factors.
Bring your temp up and stabilize it so there's no more than a 2 degree flux...you'll have to use your lights. Things go faster at warmer temps. That will speed it up.
Be sure you go through the full cycle: ammonia needs to appear, then diminish to 0. That proves the sandbed just ate it. Until it can do that, it's not cycled.
To help your cycle, in that volume tank, feed 3-4 small flakes of Formula One each day until your test strips read ammonia. It will deliberately pollute that tank...and then your bacteria will report for duty and clean it up, proving it is ready for a couple of snails. You will also usually see algae start to grow as your tank nears the end of the cycle.

[Rubicon06]

Ok well, I'm still waiting on my light, tank has been setup for a week, most ammonia I got on my test was .25...

I think that was because a sponge attached to the rock was dying/dead, so I removed that yesterday also when I test the .25 Amm. (I think the sponge died due to being out of water, as I've heard they die if exposed to air).

Temp reads at 78.5, salt at 1.024-25 range, ph 8.1

I was trying not to test everything everyday, since there is nothing but rock/sand/hitchikers at the moment, I did drop a couple pellets in to help cycle if it needs to.

[Blown 346]

Yes sponges will die once they are exposed to air. Like said above a few weeks and you should be on your way to adding things.

[Aquarist007]

Originally posted by Rubicon06
Hi,

I bought fully cured live rock (5#), sand(4#), and rubble(4#), in a 5.5gal.

How long do you think it would take to cycle, given that everything was already cured?

I'm not a total noob, had a 20h reef setup for 8 months, but took it down to move, now just looking for a compact invert nano to support the addiction

Thanks!

cured is a term used very loosly by LFS's. Curing refers to the process where dead matter is released from the live rock. These phosphates, ammonia and nitrates in term fuel the bacteria on the live rock to multiply to take care of the increased bioload in the water--this is what is refered to as cycling.
Even though in scienfic terms cycling is the reduction of ammonia to nitratites to nitrates and finally nitrogen gas.
this is what we watch for and measure and it indicates that the bacteria are increasing in number.
If you had fully cured rock you wouldn't have the hitchhikers, sponges etc on it and the bacteria could be very very low or non existant--making cycling a very long process.

[Rubicon06]

By hitch hikers I meant the bristle & peanut worms, which I've gotten on every piece of LR I've ever bought I think, even rock from a local guy that had been in his tank for a year+...

I'm 99% sure it was fully cured, no egg smell, no debris falling off, coralline even some small algae, and I think a shroom or two (pretty small). But with no light I think the algae might be dying some...

Are you saying that I need something to die or an uncured rock to cycle it?

[george81]

Originally posted by Rubicon06
Hi,

I bought fully cured live rock (5#), sand(4#), and rubble(4#), in a 5.5gal.

How long do you think it would take to cycle, given that everything was already cured?

I'm not a total noob, had a 20h reef setup for 8 months, but took it down to move, now just looking for a compact invert nano to support the addiction

Thanks!

thats easy...you re cycle is done when its done. when all you re readings are zero. no one can give you a time and you cannot speed up mother nature, she takes her time and finishes when she finishes.
no such thing as cured live rock....you will have die off in transport...thats a gimmick lfs's use to jack the price up.

[saltymight]

usually 2-6 weeks with my live sand and live rock it was 2.5 weeks to 0 everything

[Aquarist007]

Originally posted by Rubicon06
By hitch hikers I meant the bristle & peanut worms, which I've gotten on every piece of LR I've ever bought I think, even rock from a local guy that had been in his tank for a year+...

I'm 99% sure it was fully cured, no egg smell, no debris falling off, coralline even some small algae, and I think a shroom or two (pretty small). But with no light I think the algae might be dying some...

Are you saying that I need something to die or an uncured rock to cycle it?

again, its the term fully cured that is the problem--if it was fully cured it would be sterile---most of the rock you get is partly cured --some of the dead stuff has been scraped off the outer surfaces--but definetly not the crevices and inner rock.
the more cured the rock the less the debris so the longer it takes to cycle(bring up the numbers of bacteria) in the tank.

So you need some dead matter to cycle---the partly cured rock or a raw uncooked shrimp from the grocery store will do.

[Rubicon06]

I tested Nitrates and Ammonia today;

Ammonia - 0

Nitrate - 2.5ppm

What do you think?

I wonder if the sponge that died helped it cycle haha...

[Aquarist007]

Originally posted by Rubicon06
I tested Nitrates and Ammonia today;

Ammonia - 0

Nitrate - 2.5ppm

What do you think?

I wonder if the sponge that died helped it cycle haha...

thats good--the nitrates should go down to zero and then your ready to add your clean up crew.

[Rubicon06]

Great!

I was planning on adding a small % of the cuc friday, hopefully that will be a good time.

[msu spartan]

what are u planning on putting in the tank?

just curious b/c i have the same tank


its been cycling for almost 4 weeks, but some of my levels are still high, but i can wait

i

[Aquarist007]

Originally posted by msu spartan
what are u planning on putting in the tank?

just curious b/c i have the same tank


its been cycling for almost 4 weeks, but some of my levels are still high, but i can wait

i

suggestion:
week one
start with snails---mix between jumbos(clean the glass and rocks)
and necarrius--these live in the substrated and keep it clean and lose

I would stay away from hermit crabs-------sooner or later they kill off the snail populations.

week two:
add a couple of cleaner shrimp or coral banded shrimp

week three
add a brittle star and or small urchin

week four
start adding some coral

week six
start adding some fish