But won't 5ppm ammonia totally kill any life on live rock except for the bacteria that eats ammonia? That would be an expensive peice of rock just to speed it up a little, wouldn't it?
Fishless Cycle
- Thread starter theevoys
- Start date
Live rock is mostly used for the bacteria cultures, also quit a few organisms on LR besides bacteria can survive conditions that would kill most fish.
Maybe when the tank is able to lower the ammonia level a decent amount per day I'll add live rock. Right now I'm pretty sure (from everything I've read) not much would live. Thank you all for the help!
Cycle Progress
I am now 1.5 weeks into my cycle. Do these numbers look ok? Don't forget I added ammonia to get to 5ppm, but I haven't added any for 2 days and it's still 5ppm.
1.024 stable for 3 days
pH 8.3 went down .1, do I want to keep it at 8.4? And how can I keep it up?
Alkalinity - Normal
Ammonia - 5ppm
Nitrites - .25ppm
Nitrates - Pretty much none, maybe 1ppm.
If it helps you can see past tests check my site below and click The Log - The Cycle
I'm just getting nervous and feeling like I should be 'doing something' to help it move along and not just sitting around waiting for it. Thanks!
I am now 1.5 weeks into my cycle. Do these numbers look ok? Don't forget I added ammonia to get to 5ppm, but I haven't added any for 2 days and it's still 5ppm.
1.024 stable for 3 days
pH 8.3 went down .1, do I want to keep it at 8.4? And how can I keep it up?
Alkalinity - Normal
Ammonia - 5ppm
Nitrites - .25ppm
Nitrates - Pretty much none, maybe 1ppm.
If it helps you can see past tests check my site below and click The Log - The Cycle
I'm just getting nervous and feeling like I should be 'doing something' to help it move along and not just sitting around waiting for it. Thanks!
Seems to be on track to me. Like you said before, I would wait till the cycle is complete before adding any LR... just to minimize any LR die off.
I have one cocktail shrimp in my 30 gallon tank right now... ammonia levels are possibly off the chart (can't really tell with these darn color charts), and my nitrates are just starting to show up, its only been less than a week. Good thing I got a tight fitting glass lid over this thing.... the thing absolutely reeks whenever someone lifts the cover.
To me, a SW cycle is not any more different than a FW cycle. All you can do is add your ammonia, sit back and let the bacteria do the work for you. Not much you can do till the cycle is complete.
HTH
-Richer
I have one cocktail shrimp in my 30 gallon tank right now... ammonia levels are possibly off the chart (can't really tell with these darn color charts), and my nitrates are just starting to show up, its only been less than a week. Good thing I got a tight fitting glass lid over this thing.... the thing absolutely reeks whenever someone lifts the cover.
To me, a SW cycle is not any more different than a FW cycle. All you can do is add your ammonia, sit back and let the bacteria do the work for you. Not much you can do till the cycle is complete.
HTH
-Richer
I know what you mean about those color charts. I have the Red Sea Marine Lab. The color of the liquid is always a much lighter hue than the ones on the chart. It's hard to make the comparison sometimes. 
Another Cycle Question
Ok, I am now 16 days into my cycle. More like 13 days since my temp and salinity was correct. Here are my parameters:
1.024, pH 8.3, Alk - Normal (it just shows a gradient with low, normal, and high ratings), Ammonia 4ppm, Nitrite .25ppm.
My question is this: my numbers have been very close to the same for a week or so. Is my tank actually progressing in the cycle? I added pure ammonia to 5ppm and haven't done anything except top-offs since. Is it on track or going really slow. If you want to know anything else or the exact log you can look at the website below in my signature. Thanks for your help. I'm just starting to stress that something's not right and that it's not progressing.
Ok, I am now 16 days into my cycle. More like 13 days since my temp and salinity was correct. Here are my parameters:
1.024, pH 8.3, Alk - Normal (it just shows a gradient with low, normal, and high ratings), Ammonia 4ppm, Nitrite .25ppm.
My question is this: my numbers have been very close to the same for a week or so. Is my tank actually progressing in the cycle? I added pure ammonia to 5ppm and haven't done anything except top-offs since. Is it on track or going really slow. If you want to know anything else or the exact log you can look at the website below in my signature. Thanks for your help. I'm just starting to stress that something's not right and that it's not progressing.
