View Full Version : My first SW cycle
Aquarius0015
10-02-2004, 3:00 AM
I added live rock to my 10 gallon nano on 9/26. I just did an ammonia test (it's 4am on a Saturday, why the heck not?) and was shocked to see ammonia at 0mg/l. That didn't make sense to me. My tank is only a few days old. So, I tested for nitrites, and I definitely have a spike.
Am I getting my hopes up thinking that my cycle is coming along waaaaay ahead of schedule? I've been doing partial water changes (~15-20% daily) to keep the live rock stuff and hermits from being poisoned by ammonia. I thought if anything that would make my cycle take longer than average.
Gealcath
10-02-2004, 3:08 AM
Once ammonia AND nitrites are 0 then its pretty much done. However changing the water wont help the needed bacteria cultures grow since it deprives them of food, and if it was uncured LR just let it sit. If it was cured LR it shouldnt have been in a new aquarium to begain with.
Aquarius0015
10-02-2004, 3:22 PM
If it was cured LR it shouldnt have been in a new aquarium to begain with.
Why not?
However changing the water wont help the needed bacteria cultures grow since it deprives them of food
I know, but I didn't want my hermit crabs to die!
The main point of my post is just that I think it's weird that my cycle is so far ahead of schedule...
Gealcath
10-02-2004, 11:38 PM
Cured LR already went throught he die off phase, putting cured LR into a newly established aquarium will usually kill off whatever survived the time when it was cured.
I've always found putting cured live rock an excellent way to get a new tank on the way, especially for beginners. No nasty ammonia spikes,and you see what you get.
Assuming your not putting ammonia in the tank to cycle it, you shouldn't get much die off from rapidly transported cured rock.
if you have enough LR, the bacteria on the rock will help you out tons. thats why i suggessted cured LR and LS, which completely bypassed the cycle of my tank. i had pods on the glass in about 2 weeks. was the rock cured when you bought it?
if the LR is cured, and pourous enough, you will probably see a minimal spike.
Aquarius0015
10-04-2004, 11:40 AM
Yes, supposedly it was, but it had just arrived at the LFS so I'm sure there was some die-off.
I thought starting a new tank with cured rock was the way to go, too, so I got confused when Gealcath said that it's not the best thing. Different strokes for different folks I guess.
And no, I didn't add any ammonia to my tank with hermit crabs and $60 worth of LR in it, lol. I might be a newbie to SW and all, but geeze o' pete! :D
i would suggest feeding the tank though. help the bacteria along a bit. your hermits will produce some waste, but i dont know if it will be enough for the bacteria to feed and multiply with.
Aquarius0015
10-04-2004, 2:05 PM
Well, I definitely have some waste, because my nitrites are still elevated.
Here are my parameters, as of 2am this morning:
Ammonia 0mg/l
Nitrites ~0.8 mg/l
Nitrates ~12.5 mg/l
pH 7.7-8.0 (still worried about that being too low)
KH 9
Temp 80*F
I'll some more tests in a bit...
On an unrelated note, my 96 watt Coralife 50/50 lighting fixture arrived today, and boy do I love it...
Aquarius0015
10-06-2004, 9:16 PM
I thought I'd update now that my cycle seems to be nearing completion (way ahead of schedule I might add :D). I'm getting a little bit better with the color scale.
Ammonia: 0 mg/l
Nitrites: <0.3 mg/l (as low as the kit goes)
Nitrates: just a tad >12.5 mg/l (14 mg/l maybe?)
pH: slightly >8.0
KH: about 9.5
Soon I'll get to do a nice water change and then maybe I'll add some more inverts! Oooh, I'm ridiculously excited.
I might even go to a WAMAS (Washington DC Area Marine Aquariust Society) workshop this Saturday, we'll have to see. They're going to have a raffle and a frag workshop and some speakers. I really don't know what a frag workshop is, but it sounds edu-taining (that's my new word: educaticational + entertaining). The site says you can get frags there for a great price, and though it *would* be nice to get some cheap frags, I know my tank isn't stable enough for corals yet. ~Sob~ *teardrop*
Edit: Would now be a good time to order some chaeto off of eBay? By the time it gets here, my tank should be ready for it, right? I don't want to deal with various waves of nuisance algaes-- having the macro from the start would help, correct?