Cycling, how does this look???

D

dcflyers7

AC Members
Dec 3, 2004
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Harrisburg, PA
Just started up a 38g FOWL. Its been up and running for 3 days now and here are some test results....

PH - 8.2
AMMONIA - 0
NITRITE - 0.25PPM
NITRATE - 0.40PPM
SALINITY - 1.023

I expect the nitates to go a little higher as nitrites zero out, but overall does this look good after just 3 days? I have 30 pounds of Figi live rock(cured) and a 3" bed of sand, which includes 20lbs of "arag-alive." I'd love to get my first fish before the holidays, saying everything looks good before Friday, but would it be smart after only a week of cycling? thanks...

Doug
 
What are you using as a food source? Cured rock won't have much die off, so there's not way to gaurantee that you have much in the way of ammonia consumers. I'd throw in some fish food, or pure ammonia til you can test at least 2 ppm, then test the next day at the same time. If the ammonia is still there, don't add more, keep testing and dosing as needed to keep it between 2 -4 ppm. If it's 0, add the same amount to keep feeding those bacteria. The nitrites will spike, as will the nitrates. Sorry to say, but adding fish before next Saturday would like result in dead or sick fish.
 
Raw shrimp seems to be a common way to start cycling a tank, at least from what I've researched, and I just happen to have some left from last weekend! I'll throw one in and try to get it cycling a little better....

EDIT: also, when should I take the shrimp out???
 
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Monitor the ammonia--if it starts going above 5, remove the rest. Beware--it will be very gloppy and 'loose' at this stage--use a plastic bag to grab it, and twist that puppy up ASAP. They will stink to high heaven. Raw works best--cooked will still work, but it will be slower to produce ammonia.
 
AFAIK you don't take it out... it'll completely decompose. Nasty, but it works.
 
Well, after one day with the shrimp in, my ammonia went up to 0.50. Not a major spike, but at least its showing something. The shrimp are already starting to look pretty "gloppy." Should I take them out soon, or just let them fully rot away like Indigo said??? ALso, I talked to my LFS today, and they said not to expect a major spike in ammonia because of the "arag-alive" sand i'm using. THey said it really does speed up cycling "as advertised..."
 
.5 in one day is a pretty quick spike. You might not hit 5 ppm, but I would still expect to see it hit 3. Much of the bottled/bagged stuff isn't really alive--the bacteria we need don't have a dormant stage, so if they sit on a shelf, at room temp, for very long, they burn through any available food & oxygen and die.
 
Update...

After two days with the raw shrimp, here are some new #'s:

Salinity - 1.023
Ammonia - 1.0 ppm
Nitrite - 5.0 ppm(maybe a shade lower)
Nitrate - 80 ppm

A big concern is my PH. After being stable around 8.1-8.2 the first few days, today it tested at 7.8. Will this recover after the cycling is done? I bought some marine buffer, but I don't want to use it if I don't have to... I'm also thinking I'd better take the shrimp out before they start falling apart in the sand!!!
 
Ammonia is an acid, so it reduces the calcium part of alkalinity and reduces pH. During the cycle, it's not a huge deal, but you will want to monitor the alkalinity and calcium to make sure they aren't dropping too low (I suspect this may be), and keeping them up will in turn keep the pH stable.
 
You'll, probably want to add a little more cured rock after your cycle as well. The fluctuations in your water chemistry will probably nuke a lot of the more sensitive critters. Just pick out a few primo pieces or see if you can scrounge a little from a buddy to re-seed your tank. I don't know what your future plans for the tank are but, if you want a reef diversity is the way to go.
hth
Chris
 
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