Cycling with Live rock

Star_Rider

Star_Rider

AC Moderators
Dec 21, 2005
11,731
1
38
69
Spanaway, Wa.
Real Name
Ed
my tank has been cycling with live rock and live sand. 110x with fuge
the ammonia is now 0 nitrites rising(need to check that) I know I still have a few weeks to go.
my question is..do I need to add waste/ammonia to maintain the food supply to the bacteria?(I was thinking prawn)
or does the live rock(uncultured)
continue to supply the food source?
 
no, because the good bacteria that converts ammonia into nitrites will be at a certain level now and will now be able to colonise...This is the main reason why we add fish very slowly when the cycle has been completed....By adding slowly, this then gives that good bacteria change to build itself up to the bio-load on the tank....it all takes time to colonise....As if we just piled loads of fish in there when the cycle was completed, the bacteria could not handle it and then it leads on to ammonia poisoning and there is not enough bacteria to convert it quick enough....

I hope that helps to answer your question mate

Niko
 
thank you.
so the live rock is continuing to add the ammonia?

it's hard to tell since bacteria are converting ammonia to nitrite. I just wanted to make sure the ones that convert the ammonia are not starved.
 
thanks
 
Update

ammonia 0, nitrites <.25 have been dropping,nitrates 10

I found several snails in the tank..must have come with the live rock..I was amazed that they survived..

I also caught a glimps of a black spider like creature moving very fast ..pretty small runs form one crevice to another.
 
I've only cycled one saltwater tank (56 gal), but the process I used seemed to work well and I haven't had any problems. I did alot of reading before hand. I went with the adding ammonia method and had live rock and sand in the tank. No other animals. I added a 2-3 capfulls of ammonia everyday until the ammonia spiked and went back down. I cut this in half and kept adding ammonia through the rest of the cycle. I have an ammonia meter on the side of the tank and you could see the ammonia spike when I added it and go down by the end of the day. Once the nitrites went to 0 I stopped adding ammonia, waited a day and added 3 fish and a week later a cleaner shrimp. No problems yet. I personally think adding ammonia builds a greater colony of bacteria. The unneeded bacteria will die off later, but why not start off bigger to begin with to have the best results. It only took 2-3 weeks to cycle too.
 
Edit- sorry.

You should be almost done! I know sometimes it seems like an eternity. :D

What do you plan on adding in there?
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom