Cycling Question

aerofish · 06/12/2014, 06:02 PM

I have a sort of unusual question on tank cycling. I have looked through numerous questions and nothing seems to pertain exactly. Probably because it is a fairly unique situation. Here goes:

I happened to stumble upon a 220G tank complete with all equipment, led lights, sump, etc. This was just moved in and I am in the process of getting it going. A quick background, I have been running a successful nano-reef for about 2 years, so not my first tank, but a big step up. The tank was in use up until it was sold and everything kept in good condition. The sand came along with the tank, along with a few extras. There are about 12-24 crabs and snails that were in the sand. I have noticed a copy small stars also coming out. The sand is all live sand from the tank. I had to get live rock (or more conditioned rock) about 250 lbs that was dried, but had been wet for about 2-3 months.

So with all the background my question is on cycling and getting the bacteria in the rock. There should be bacteria in the sand, I have put in some also. I don't think there was much on the rock. I am hesitant about doing a full cycle since I don't have anywhere to put all the critters and would prefer to keep them. Should I just keep it fairly empty and add some food for the crabs (also starting the cycle) or is there a better way to handle this?

I appreciate all the help.

jrozzi · 06/12/2014, 06:26 PM

you don't really have a choice on what kind of cycle happens nature is going to take its course. However with the sand that came from an established tank it should help the cycle complete much quicker, as far as how intense its going to be is going to be based on if there is any dead stuff on your rocks. If there is a lot of dead stuff on the rocks you will see some crazy high ammonia and most likely kill some critters. If your rock is partially cured and doesn't stink (ie not a lot of dead stuff) I would say the bacteria from the live sand wont take long to populate your new rock and should be a pretty smooth and quick cycle.

Xavibear · 06/12/2014, 07:04 PM

Put the crabs & snails in your nano tank.

You are going to go through a cycle. How is the sand? Was it kept wet? If you've already set the tank up, test the water. Chances are with old sand, moving it and filling a tank has brought up a bunch of detritus and you might see some ammonia already.

acabgd · 06/12/2014, 07:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xavibear

Put the crabs & snails in your nano tank.

You are going to go through a cycle. How is the sand? Was it kept wet? If you've already set the tank up, test the water. Chances are with old sand, moving it and filling a tank has brought up a bunch of detritus and you might see some ammonia already.

+1
Using old sand is usually not a good idea, as it acumulates a lot of detritus during years.

jrozzi · 06/12/2014, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by acabgd

+1
Using old sand is usually not a good idea, as it acumulates a lot of detritus during years.

how many years did he say the sand had been in the tank?

aerofish · 06/13/2014, 09:29 AM

Thank you for all the help. The sand/tank/equipment is only 4 months old, it wasn't planned on either end he had to move and I stumbled upon the system. I have been testing it and ammonia is .25 which is expected from messing with the sand. I would love to put all the critters in the nano tank, but not sure there is room for everything. I ended up getting some coral frags with the tank and those are in the nano. I should have mentioned I had the rock for about a week or so before the tank arrived (just due to logistics) and was testing the water. Almost no ammonia from the rock sitting which leads me to believe it is very clean. It definitely looks like it. We also moved probably 75% of the current water to keep everything as close to in check as possible. Of course doing water changes etc as needed right now. My biggest concern is between getting this tank up and getting the overpopulated nano back to normal since I have all the coral etc in that tank right now. Again I really appreciate your help, it is a big step up.

Xavibear · 06/13/2014, 09:59 AM

How big is your nano? What is in it?

What are the other parameters on the tank that you just set up? Is it showing nitrites &/or nitrates?

While it is possible that your rock may be clean, the fact that it was allowed to dry would make me feel cautious about whether or not there will be some die off.

aerofish · 06/13/2014, 11:55 AM

The nano is 14 gallons, right now I have two decent size brain coral, 2 clown fish, 2 frogspawn and about 24 assorted frags with some live rock. There are some crabs and snails in there, not sure if there is room for another 12-20 crabs / snails. The rock was dry at some point, I was told that it had been wet for about 2-3 months before I got it, but no way to verify that. After 3 days the water is .25 ammonia, 0 nitrites, 0 nitrates. I am hoping if I slowly add stuff to the tank the bacteria should be able to keep up. I figure I should start seeing an increase in ammonia if anything is going to happen within a week, so if that doesn't happen I am hoping I will be good there.

Xavibear · 06/13/2014, 12:13 PM

Add a source of ammonia to the tank & see what happens.

06/12/2014, 06:02 PM	#1
aerofish Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 14	Cycling Question I have a sort of unusual question on tank cycling. I have looked through numerous questions and nothing seems to pertain exactly. Probably because it is a fairly unique situation. Here goes: I happened to stumble upon a 220G tank complete with all equipment, led lights, sump, etc. This was just moved in and I am in the process of getting it going. A quick background, I have been running a successful nano-reef for about 2 years, so not my first tank, but a big step up. The tank was in use up until it was sold and everything kept in good condition. The sand came along with the tank, along with a few extras. There are about 12-24 crabs and snails that were in the sand. I have noticed a copy small stars also coming out. The sand is all live sand from the tank. I had to get live rock (or more conditioned rock) about 250 lbs that was dried, but had been wet for about 2-3 months. So with all the background my question is on cycling and getting the bacteria in the rock. There should be bacteria in the sand, I have put in some also. I don't think there was much on the rock. I am hesitant about doing a full cycle since I don't have anywhere to put all the critters and would prefer to keep them. Should I just keep it fairly empty and add some food for the crabs (also starting the cycle) or is there a better way to handle this? I appreciate all the help.

06/12/2014, 07:04 PM	#3
Xavibear Crazy Prophet Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Worcester, MA Posts: 1,008	Put the crabs & snails in your nano tank. You are going to go through a cycle. How is the sand? Was it kept wet? If you've already set the tank up, test the water. Chances are with old sand, moving it and filling a tank has brought up a bunch of detritus and you might see some ammonia already. __________________ 36g bowfront Current Tank Info: Pair of Occellaris clowns, Royal gramma, Yellow Watchman Goby/Tiger Pistol Shrimp, Blue tuxedo urchin, Fire shrimp, Trochus snails, Cerith snails, Nassarius snails, Ricordea mushroom, Kenya tree, Acan brain & Frogspawn

06/13/2014, 09:59 AM	#7
Xavibear Crazy Prophet Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Worcester, MA Posts: 1,008	How big is your nano? What is in it? What are the other parameters on the tank that you just set up? Is it showing nitrites &/or nitrates? While it is possible that your rock may be clean, the fact that it was allowed to dry would make me feel cautious about whether or not there will be some die off. __________________ 36g bowfront Current Tank Info: Pair of Occellaris clowns, Royal gramma, Yellow Watchman Goby/Tiger Pistol Shrimp, Blue tuxedo urchin, Fire shrimp, Trochus snails, Cerith snails, Nassarius snails, Ricordea mushroom, Kenya tree, Acan brain & Frogspawn

06/13/2014, 12:13 PM	#9
Xavibear Crazy Prophet Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Worcester, MA Posts: 1,008	Add a source of ammonia to the tank & see what happens. __________________ 36g bowfront Current Tank Info: Pair of Occellaris clowns, Royal gramma, Yellow Watchman Goby/Tiger Pistol Shrimp, Blue tuxedo urchin, Fire shrimp, Trochus snails, Cerith snails, Nassarius snails, Ricordea mushroom, Kenya tree, Acan brain & Frogspawn

06/12/2014, 06:26 PM	#2
jrozzi Moved On Join Date: Apr 2013 Posts: 580	you don't really have a choice on what kind of cycle happens nature is going to take its course. However with the sand that came from an established tank it should help the cycle complete much quicker, as far as how intense its going to be is going to be based on if there is any dead stuff on your rocks. If there is a lot of dead stuff on the rocks you will see some crazy high ammonia and most likely kill some critters. If your rock is partially cured and doesn't stink (ie not a lot of dead stuff) I would say the bacteria from the live sand wont take long to populate your new rock and should be a pretty smooth and quick cycle.

06/13/2014, 09:29 AM	#6
aerofish Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 14	Thank you for all the help. The sand/tank/equipment is only 4 months old, it wasn't planned on either end he had to move and I stumbled upon the system. I have been testing it and ammonia is .25 which is expected from messing with the sand. I would love to put all the critters in the nano tank, but not sure there is room for everything. I ended up getting some coral frags with the tank and those are in the nano. I should have mentioned I had the rock for about a week or so before the tank arrived (just due to logistics) and was testing the water. Almost no ammonia from the rock sitting which leads me to believe it is very clean. It definitely looks like it. We also moved probably 75% of the current water to keep everything as close to in check as possible. Of course doing water changes etc as needed right now. My biggest concern is between getting this tank up and getting the overpopulated nano back to normal since I have all the coral etc in that tank right now. Again I really appreciate your help, it is a big step up.

06/13/2014, 11:55 AM	#8
aerofish Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 14	The nano is 14 gallons, right now I have two decent size brain coral, 2 clown fish, 2 frogspawn and about 24 assorted frags with some live rock. There are some crabs and snails in there, not sure if there is room for another 12-20 crabs / snails. The rock was dry at some point, I was told that it had been wet for about 2-3 months before I got it, but no way to verify that. After 3 days the water is .25 ammonia, 0 nitrites, 0 nitrates. I am hoping if I slowly add stuff to the tank the bacteria should be able to keep up. I figure I should start seeing an increase in ammonia if anything is going to happen within a week, so if that doesn't happen I am hoping I will be good there.