Question About Tank Cycling Time

Myka · #1 02-28-2008, 02:05 AM

I'd try taking a sample of your water in to your LFS and get them to test it for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. See what that says.

Next time, don't add ANY critters until AFTER the cycle. Your cleanup crew isn't supposed to go in until AFTER the cycle. Most invertebrates are MORE sensitive to the cycle than fish are. Fish are usually the toughest thing in the tank. Of course there ARE some retardedly sensitive fish though...

MMAX · #2 02-28-2008, 04:28 AM

Well I guess it depends on who you talk to. Everyone seems to have a different opinion on what to add and when to add it. I don't really have a clue because this is my first attempt at a SW setup. The guy at the pet store told me the cleanup crew has to go in right away so the algae doesn't get out of control.

Okguy · #3 02-28-2008, 03:59 PM

Well you've learned your first major lesson in keeping a SW tank. Don't take what employees at pet shops tell you as gospel. In this case they are clearly wrong. The cleanup crew should go in after the cycle as most inverts are extremely sensitive to the cycle.

With no disrespect to the great vendors on this site who take the time to research and share their knowledge. I find it's only about 10% of LFS employees have adequate knowledge to help our tanks thrive.

One key thing to remember is that every time you add\do something to your tank a cycle will happen (it may be so small that it's not noticed but it does happen). So when you added water and then 2 days later added rock the cycle started again. Now when you add fish, the cycle will again start over. The reason for this is there will not be enough bacteria colonized to help process the increased bioload. One thing you can do to help the cycle along is to put a piece of raw shrimp in there (as Untamed mentioned) and let it decompose.

I would recommend taking the inverts out of your tank and have someone keep them for you while the cycle is happening or you'll lose a lot of them during the process.

Also remember that once the cycle is over and all reading are 0, the tank takes a good year to mature. You will probably go through several algae outbreaks during this time. Just be patient, keep a good maintenance routine and it will all work itself out.

HTH