Currently Cycling a 160L (40G) Tank, Have some questions about the process of cycling

feedl0rd · 12/05/2016, 07:13 AM

Hi guys!

I'm new to the hobby and am currently cycling a 160L tank (40Gals) with about 60lbs of live rock and aragonite sand. I have been cycling for about a week using seachem stability. I am also using a skimmer, a sock filter and seachem matrix biofiler media.

My question is, I have been testing my parameters every couple of days and from about the 3rd day in to now, the tests return the same results each time. These being: 0-0.25ppm ammonia, 0 nitrite and 0 nitrate. Is there something I'm missing? Has the cycle started?

Also, if my salinity is too low (1.021) am I to do a water change with a more concentrated salt premixed or can I add salt directly to the tank?

Thanks guys, any help is greatly appreciated!

JohnnyRedd · 12/05/2016, 07:57 AM

What did you use to kick off the cycle? A piece of table shrimp, ammonia or worst case a fish? Sounds like there has not been anything so the cycle never started.

We all have opinions but I would say stop the stability, skimmer and biofilter. Go to the link and find out how much raw ammonia (must contain no surficants and is available at most hardware stores) and raise your ammonia to 3.0 or 4.0.

http://www.fishforums.net/aquarium-calculator.htm

Then you can start the stability or bio-spira. Stability takes longer to act because the bacteria is still in the spore stage. Anyway you will see the ammonia/nitrate/nitrite numbers start to swing. Let it come down and I always dose back up again just to make sure I have a good bacteria colony. Then I do the 30% water change and start with one fish. Wait a few days and add another, etc. Slowly populate the new tank.

feedl0rd · 12/05/2016, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by feedl0rd

Hi guys!

I'm new to the hobby and am currently cycling a 160L tank (40Gals) with about 60lbs of live rock and aragonite sand. I have been cycling for about a week using seachem stability. I am also using a skimmer, a sock filter and seachem matrix biofiler media.

My question is, I have been testing my parameters every couple of days and from about the 3rd day in to now, the tests return the same results each time. These being: 0-0.25ppm ammonia, 0 nitrite and 0 nitrate. Is there something I'm missing? Has the cycle started?

Also, if my salinity is too low (1.021) am I to do a water change with a more concentrated salt premixed or can I add salt directly to the tank?

Thanks guys, any help is greatly appreciated!

Thank you for the quick reply. I read about adding the shrimp or ammonia but also read that the die-off that occurs on the live rock was enough to produce ammonia to start the cycle. Is this correct?

feedl0rd · 12/05/2016, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnnyRedd

What did you use to kick off the cycle? A piece of table shrimp, ammonia or worst case a fish? Sounds like there has not been anything so the cycle never started.

We all have opinions but I would say stop the stability, skimmer and biofilter. Go to the link and find out how much raw ammonia (must contain no surficants and is available at most hardware stores) and raise your ammonia to 3.0 or 4.0.

http://www.fishforums.net/aquarium-calculator.htm

Then you can start the stability or bio-spira. Stability takes longer to act because the bacteria is still in the spore stage. Anyway you will see the ammonia/nitrate/nitrite numbers start to swing. Let it come down and I always dose back up again just to make sure I have a good bacteria colony. Then I do the 30% water change and start with one fish. Wait a few days and add another, etc. Slowly populate the new tank.

Thank you for the quick reply. I read about adding the shrimp or ammonia but also read that the die-off that occurs on the live rock was enough to produce ammonia to start the cycle. Is this correct?

nereefpat · 12/05/2016, 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by feedl0rd

but also read that the die-off that occurs on the live rock was enough to produce ammonia to start the cycle. Is this correct?

It depends. Was the liverock shipped to you, or was it obtained from a tank and already cured?

If you are using 60lbs of cured liverock, you may not see much of a cycle. You can always add an ammonia source, up to about 1-2ppm, and then see how quickly it is processed to nitrate.

feedl0rd · 12/05/2016, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nereefpat

It depends. Was the liverock shipped to you, or was it obtained from a tank and already cured?

If you are using 60lbs of cured liverock, you may not see much of a cycle. You can always add an ammonia source, up to about 1-2ppm, and then see how quickly it is processed to nitrate.

Thank you for the response. I believe it was cured as it all came from specific tanks from my LFS. Would it be best to add an ammonia source now? Would there be any drawbacks by doing this such as overloading (for want of a better word) the tank with ammonia etc?

Thank you.

nereefpat · 12/05/2016, 09:44 AM

I would add some food or some pure ammonia, then test to see how the nitrogen is processed.

If the ammonia gets over about 2ppm things on the rock, possibly including bacteria, can start to die off. So don't go crazy with adding ammonia. Nitrates will build up, but that can be fixed by a large water change after the cycle.

A cube of frozen food, followed by ammonia testing over the next few days would tell the story.

gone fishin · 12/05/2016, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by feedl0rd

Thank you for the response. I believe it was cured as it all came from specific tanks from my LFS. Would it be best to add an ammonia source now? Would there be any drawbacks by doing this such as overloading (for want of a better word) the tank with ammonia etc?

Thank you.

The trouble with Live rock from the fish store is that you do not know how long the rock has been in their holding tanks. It may be full of bacteria or it may have very little or somewhere in between.

I would pick your method of adding an ammonia source then proceed to check the ammonia and see how it is being processed.

FWIW my preferred ammonia source is pure ammonia added to the tank.

There is also a nice sticky at the top of the forum page called "setting up",look for the big red arrow. It is full of good info. Good luck just my 2 cents worth.

Sk8r · 12/05/2016, 12:08 PM

cycle normally takes about 4 weeks. I just use regular fish food, about 1 flake per 10 gallons per day. Ammonia, starter bacteria with nutrient, dead shrimp, ---all come down to the same thing. Fish food does it fine.

Mark9 · 12/07/2016, 06:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sk8r

cycle normally takes about 4 weeks. I just use regular fish food, about 1 flake per 10 gallons per day. Ammonia, starter bacteria with nutrient, dead shrimp, ---all come down to the same thing. Fish food does it fine.

I think you're missing the point.

Anyways, OP,
If you have 60 pounds of live rock, you probably won't see a cycle.
Like nereefpat and gone fishin said, introduce an ammonia source.
I use Dr. Tims ammonia in a bottle, 1 drop per gallon.
You're in Australia, not sure if you can find that, but introduce some type of ammonia to test the rock. Test for ammonia after adding, test 24 hours later.
I wouldn't add salt directly to the tank to raise salinity, just add 1/2 gallon of salt water daily until you reach your target.
Evaporation is your friend when trying to raise salinity.

12/05/2016, 07:13 AM	#1
feedl0rd Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2016 Location: Australia Posts: 11	Currently Cycling a 160L (40G) Tank, Have some questions about the process of cycling Hi guys! I'm new to the hobby and am currently cycling a 160L tank (40Gals) with about 60lbs of live rock and aragonite sand. I have been cycling for about a week using seachem stability. I am also using a skimmer, a sock filter and seachem matrix biofiler media. My question is, I have been testing my parameters every couple of days and from about the 3rd day in to now, the tests return the same results each time. These being: 0-0.25ppm ammonia, 0 nitrite and 0 nitrate. Is there something I'm missing? Has the cycle started? Also, if my salinity is too low (1.021) am I to do a water change with a more concentrated salt premixed or can I add salt directly to the tank? Thanks guys, any help is greatly appreciated!

12/05/2016, 09:44 AM	#7
nereefpat Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Central Nebraska Posts: 3,190	I would add some food or some pure ammonia, then test to see how the nitrogen is processed. If the ammonia gets over about 2ppm things on the rock, possibly including bacteria, can start to die off. So don't go crazy with adding ammonia. Nitrates will build up, but that can be fixed by a large water change after the cycle. A cube of frozen food, followed by ammonia testing over the next few days would tell the story. __________________ Pat Current Tank Info: 125 in-wall , 40b sump. 6 bulb T5. ASM G2 skimmer. LPS and leathers

12/05/2016, 12:08 PM	#9
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	cycle normally takes about 4 weeks. I just use regular fish food, about 1 flake per 10 gallons per day. Ammonia, starter bacteria with nutrient, dead shrimp, ---all come down to the same thing. Fish food does it fine. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

12/05/2016, 07:57 AM	#2
JohnnyRedd Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Southaven, MS Posts: 267	What did you use to kick off the cycle? A piece of table shrimp, ammonia or worst case a fish? Sounds like there has not been anything so the cycle never started. We all have opinions but I would say stop the stability, skimmer and biofilter. Go to the link and find out how much raw ammonia (must contain no surficants and is available at most hardware stores) and raise your ammonia to 3.0 or 4.0. http://www.fishforums.net/aquarium-calculator.htm Then you can start the stability or bio-spira. Stability takes longer to act because the bacteria is still in the spore stage. Anyway you will see the ammonia/nitrate/nitrite numbers start to swing. Let it come down and I always dose back up again just to make sure I have a good bacteria colony. Then I do the 30% water change and start with one fish. Wait a few days and add another, etc. Slowly populate the new tank.