Helping the cycle?

HectorT · 07/04/2013, 03:26 PM

Hello,

Will adding mature water out of a 2yr tank help the cycling process?

Also using a dirty sock help seed the tank any quicker?

The reason I ask is because 6 wks ago I set up a long 125g w/ a 55g sump.

I used dry rock and sand and a bottle of dr. Tims bacteria to help seed the tank.
I also got a bottle of ammonia.

So its going on 6wks this coming monday and ammonia levels have not gone down.

Any help will be appreciated. Thanks!

Overgrown · 07/04/2013, 03:56 PM

Cocktail shrimp and some patience is the easiest way. To answer your other question, no: water from another mature reef tank will not speed your cycle, and there was no reason to add ammonia.

bnumair · 07/04/2013, 04:25 PM

first off there is no such thing as mature water. bacteria lives deep inside the rocks and sand. bacteria in bottle is also to me a waste of money.
u have setup a tank and there is ammonia in ur tank this means cycle has started. how much is ammonia? did u test?

note: this also confirms use of so called mature water and bacteria in bottle didnt help any...

gone fishin · 07/04/2013, 04:38 PM

+1^^^^^

HectorT · 07/04/2013, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bnumair

how much is ammonia? did u test?

note: this also confirms use of so called mature water and bacteria in bottle didnt help any...

Ammonia is at 4ppm.

I have access to water out of a 2yr old reef tank, I did not say that I used the water.

I was hoping that in 6 to 8wks the cycle would have been done.

bnumair · 07/04/2013, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HectorT

Ammonia is at 4ppm.

I have access to water out of a 2yr old reef tank, I did not say that I used the water.

I was hoping that in 6 to 8wks the cycle would have been done.

sorry i mis-read. no it wont help infact it can hurt because u can import some nasty parasites with it,
do a 50% water change bring ammonia down to 2ppm and let it go from there.
if u used all dry sand and dry rock try getting a few pieces of well established live rock from a fellow reefer or lfs.
that should help

cro117 · 07/05/2013, 12:02 PM

the key to the game is to get bacteria, so there can be some in the water column, but unless your water is particularly cloudy, there isn't going to be much at all. the filter sock though could be a very good source for a bacterial colony.

a very simplistic rule to fallow is - if you don't feel like licking it, it just might help your cycle. if you have and established tank already i would use a small handful of sand, filter media, and a bit of live rock to help seed your new tank.

just be careful not to disturb the sand-bed too much as you can get dangerous gas releases in older systems. so use smaller rocks not buried in the sand, and don't go too deep when getting a scoop of sand. you shouldn't cause too much harm digging in the sand a bit though, it's just when people remove a lot of rock and expose lots of old anaerobic pockets that the gasses become lethal.

kegogut · 07/05/2013, 12:07 PM

Hector If you have access to a 2 year old tank see if you can get a few cups of sand from it or a couple pieces of live rock. That will speed your cycle up.

Ive had a 60 cube up for three weeks and its cycled. I put 10 lbs of live sand and about 50 lbs of live rock in it that came out of my established 120 reef

07/04/2013, 03:26 PM	#1
HectorT Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 15	Helping the cycle? Hello, Will adding mature water out of a 2yr tank help the cycling process? Also using a dirty sock help seed the tank any quicker? The reason I ask is because 6 wks ago I set up a long 125g w/ a 55g sump. I used dry rock and sand and a bottle of dr. Tims bacteria to help seed the tank. I also got a bottle of ammonia. So its going on 6wks this coming monday and ammonia levels have not gone down. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks!

07/04/2013, 04:25 PM	#3
bnumair Dr. Reef at ur service Join Date: May 2009 Location: Tulsa, Ok, USA Posts: 7,751 Blog Entries: 15	first off there is no such thing as mature water. bacteria lives deep inside the rocks and sand. bacteria in bottle is also to me a waste of money. u have setup a tank and there is ammonia in ur tank this means cycle has started. how much is ammonia? did u test? note: this also confirms use of so called mature water and bacteria in bottle didnt help any... __________________ Water Quality: NO3 0,Phos 0,Cal 440,Alk 7.5,Mag 1300 "Reef Fast, You Crash, Reef Slow, You Pass" Mike's Reef 3:16 Current Tank Info: 350g DT,95g sump, 50g Frag tank, 4800gph return 4x Sea swirls. 6x AI Vega Color. 200# Pukani rock, dual recirculating skimmer, Biopellet, GFO Carbon rx's, Cal rx. Closed loop. 1.5hp chiller, genesis renew. Apex & RKE

07/04/2013, 04:38 PM	#4
gone fishin Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Wyocena Wi Posts: 6,936	+1^^^^^ __________________ Tony Current Tank Info: 180gal DT, BM NAC77 skimmer,3 Maxspect razors, Maxspect Gyre 150, 30g QT

07/05/2013, 12:07 PM	#8
kegogut Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: St.Louis Posts: 5,052	Hector If you have access to a 2 year old tank see if you can get a few cups of sand from it or a couple pieces of live rock. That will speed your cycle up. Ive had a 60 cube up for three weeks and its cycled. I put 10 lbs of live sand and about 50 lbs of live rock in it that came out of my established 120 reef __________________ Dave. "I have learned all kinds of things from my many mistakes. The one thing I never learn is to stop making them." --Nicomo Cosca. Current Tank Info: 225 mixed w/ 225 sump 550 lbs live rock,3x MarinePure ceramic blocks,Skimz SM201,Geo 618 CR,Vectra L1,DOS automatic water changes,3x 250w MH w/ 4x actinic T5,All ran by Apex thru Fusion.--57 community tank w/ OR T-247,120 nem tank.

07/04/2013, 03:56 PM	#2
Overgrown Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 250	Cocktail shrimp and some patience is the easiest way. To answer your other question, no: water from another mature reef tank will not speed your cycle, and there was no reason to add ammonia.

07/05/2013, 12:02 PM	#7
cro117 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Lancaster, CA Posts: 240	the key to the game is to get bacteria, so there can be some in the water column, but unless your water is particularly cloudy, there isn't going to be much at all. the filter sock though could be a very good source for a bacterial colony. a very simplistic rule to fallow is - if you don't feel like licking it, it just might help your cycle. if you have and established tank already i would use a small handful of sand, filter media, and a bit of live rock to help seed your new tank. just be careful not to disturb the sand-bed too much as you can get dangerous gas releases in older systems. so use smaller rocks not buried in the sand, and don't go too deep when getting a scoop of sand. you shouldn't cause too much harm digging in the sand a bit though, it's just when people remove a lot of rock and expose lots of old anaerobic pockets that the gasses become lethal.