So im guessing my Cycle is over????

reice05 · 08/20/2009, 05:18 AM

Lets start from the beginning....i bought 80lbs of live rock from a fellow reefer breaking down his tank, put it in my tank 3/4 full with saltwater and had it sitting in there for 2 weeks with a heater and 2 powerheads. checked the water maybe 3 times in 2 weeks everything looked good. then i bought 80lbs livesand from a coral farm (was filled with worms,snails, etc) and filled the rest of the tank up and sump with saltwater. this past sunday i bought 12 blue leg hermits and 2 emerald crabs, the snail,hermits, and emerald crabs all seem fine also been ghost feeding. been testing the water everyday for the last 5 days

ph- 8.2
ammonia- 0
nitrite- 0
nitrate- 0

so im pretty sure my cycle is done i just missed my spikes huh??

MrHarvard · 08/20/2009, 06:20 AM

This is a tricky question.....It sounds like you got your rock and sand from an established tank. If that is the case you may only see a small cycle if any.....Or it may not have even started yet. If your sand and rock were cured and you transportted it with minimal die off you should be ok....JMO.

der_wille_zur_macht · 08/20/2009, 06:38 AM

Really depends on what you mean by "cycle."

Traditionally, the term meant allowing the bacteria involved in nitrogen processing to establish themselves.

More recently, many reef keepers have taken a more wholistic interpretation, meaning that a tank is "cycled" when it has become a stable ecosystem - rather than just focusing on the bacteria related to a single process.

MrHarvard · 08/20/2009, 06:43 AM

I think what he is wanting to know is if its safe to start adding more livestock? I would start with a fish or two and see how it goes. Keep testing you water and doing water changes. Good luck!

reice05 · 08/20/2009, 06:44 AM

I mean am i ready for fish??

MrHarvard · 08/20/2009, 06:51 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by reice05
I mean am i ready for fish??

I would say yes! but just dont go to crazy! I set my tank up exactly as you did with all rock and sand from an established tank and I have never had any problems! I got alot of flack for not waiting but everyone has there own opinion. I had my tank stocked 5 weeks after I set it up and never lost anything...I may have just been lucky but I think that setting up your tank the way you did you will be just fine... Here is a link to my tank after just 5 weeks. You can read for yourself to see what everyone had to say about it.......I have since rescaped the whole tank and slowed down...LOL

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...readid=1647969

der_wille_zur_macht · 08/20/2009, 06:56 AM

Again, this is a philosophical question, to a certain extent.

Would it be safe to add fish now? Yeah, most likely. If your husbandry and maintenance skills are up to par, they'd almost surely survive.

Would it be ideal to start adding fish now? Probably not, but it really depends on your criteria. Some people just want a box of water with fish swimming in it. Other people want to come as close as possible to recreating an ecosystem.

MrHarvard · 08/20/2009, 07:00 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by der_wille_zur_macht
Again, this is a philosophical question, to a certain extent.

Would it be safe to add fish now? Yeah, most likely. If your husbandry and maintenance skills are up to par, they'd almost surely survive.

Would it be ideal to start adding fish now? Probably not, but it really depends on your criteria. Some people just want a box of water with fish swimming in it. Other people want to come as close as possible to recreating an ecosystem.

This is true!!! You make a valid point....When I started thats what I wanted something to look at and fast. Now I have a whole new respect for reef keeping!!

reice05 · 08/20/2009, 01:41 PM

well i checked again

temp-81
ph- 8.0
nitrite-0
nitrate-0
ammonia-0

merek123 · 08/20/2009, 02:06 PM

Start slow. I'm sure you could add a couple of fish but dont go crazy! I'd add like 2 very hardy fish like clowns. No damsels, I hate Damsels, they get big and mean and are virtually impossible to catch to remove. JMO

08/20/2009, 05:18 AM	#1
reice05 Moved On Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Virginia Posts: 341	So im guessing my Cycle is over???? Lets start from the beginning....i bought 80lbs of live rock from a fellow reefer breaking down his tank, put it in my tank 3/4 full with saltwater and had it sitting in there for 2 weeks with a heater and 2 powerheads. checked the water maybe 3 times in 2 weeks everything looked good. then i bought 80lbs livesand from a coral farm (was filled with worms,snails, etc) and filled the rest of the tank up and sump with saltwater. this past sunday i bought 12 blue leg hermits and 2 emerald crabs, the snail,hermits, and emerald crabs all seem fine also been ghost feeding. been testing the water everyday for the last 5 days ph- 8.2 ammonia- 0 nitrite- 0 nitrate- 0 so im pretty sure my cycle is done i just missed my spikes huh??

08/20/2009, 06:20 AM	#2
MrHarvard "ship it" Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Tampa/Westchase Posts: 2,951	This is a tricky question.....It sounds like you got your rock and sand from an established tank. If that is the case you may only see a small cycle if any.....Or it may not have even started yet. If your sand and rock were cured and you transportted it with minimal die off you should be ok....JMO. __________________ "You gon learn today!" Current Tank Info: SPS Dominant 29g BB Rimless Bio Cube lit by 2x AI Primes, IM desktop Reactor, Tunze ATO, Tunze. 9001 skimmer ........ 40g Breeder with 20g long sump/refugium. ATI 4 bulb T5s....Mixed reef stock heavy on SPS.

08/20/2009, 06:38 AM	#3
der_wille_zur_macht Team RC Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: NY Posts: 17,749	Really depends on what you mean by "cycle." Traditionally, the term meant allowing the bacteria involved in nitrogen processing to establish themselves. More recently, many reef keepers have taken a more wholistic interpretation, meaning that a tank is "cycled" when it has become a stable ecosystem - rather than just focusing on the bacteria related to a single process. __________________ Inconveniencing marine life since 1992 "It is my personal belief that reef aquaria should be thriving communities of biodiversity, representative of their wild counterparts, and not merely collections of pretty specimens growing on tidy clean rock shelves covered in purple coralline algae." (Eric Borneman)

08/20/2009, 06:43 AM	#4
MrHarvard "ship it" Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Tampa/Westchase Posts: 2,951	I think what he is wanting to know is if its safe to start adding more livestock? I would start with a fish or two and see how it goes. Keep testing you water and doing water changes. Good luck! __________________ "You gon learn today!" Current Tank Info: SPS Dominant 29g BB Rimless Bio Cube lit by 2x AI Primes, IM desktop Reactor, Tunze ATO, Tunze. 9001 skimmer ........ 40g Breeder with 20g long sump/refugium. ATI 4 bulb T5s....Mixed reef stock heavy on SPS.

08/20/2009, 06:56 AM	#7
der_wille_zur_macht Team RC Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: NY Posts: 17,749	Again, this is a philosophical question, to a certain extent. Would it be safe to add fish now? Yeah, most likely. If your husbandry and maintenance skills are up to par, they'd almost surely survive. Would it be ideal to start adding fish now? Probably not, but it really depends on your criteria. Some people just want a box of water with fish swimming in it. Other people want to come as close as possible to recreating an ecosystem. __________________ Inconveniencing marine life since 1992 "It is my personal belief that reef aquaria should be thriving communities of biodiversity, representative of their wild counterparts, and not merely collections of pretty specimens growing on tidy clean rock shelves covered in purple coralline algae." (Eric Borneman)

08/20/2009, 06:44 AM	#5
reice05 Moved On Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Virginia Posts: 341	I mean am i ready for fish??

08/20/2009, 01:41 PM	#9
reice05 Moved On Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Virginia Posts: 341	well i checked again temp-81 ph- 8.0 nitrite-0 nitrate-0 ammonia-0

08/20/2009, 02:06 PM	#10
merek123 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Bayfield CO Posts: 56	Start slow. I'm sure you could add a couple of fish but dont go crazy! I'd add like 2 very hardy fish like clowns. No damsels, I hate Damsels, they get big and mean and are virtually impossible to catch to remove. JMO