Cycleing impatience, what gives!?

[fishoholic]

Originally Posted by FitoPharmer

is any Coraline algae growing? contrary to testing sometimes the sign of Coraline is the best sign of a cycle, or at least an environment where corals are able to calcify their skeletons properly in.

There isn't any purple coraline on the new rock we added, however it is starting to grow green coraline. There is still lots of purple coraline on the four large pieces of live rock we added (on the 21st) from the main tank to help seed it.

Originally Posted by Kabong

How Much rock do you have in the tank?

About a 150-180 pounds.

[Borderjumper]

Im thinking since you started with live rock ( i bet your 'dead rock" was still alive) that your tank did a very soft cycle, especially with the small bioload. I would add slowly and I bet your good to go.

[fishoholic]

I should also add that there is lots (and I mean lots) of pods, mini brittle stars and bristle worms (all of which came in on the LR we added from the main tank) surviving and doing well in this tank. There is also some collonista snails in the sump as well as spirorbid worms. I also have a little patch of gsp doing well in the tank too. For light I have a 48" T5 four bulb light.

[PoonTang]

I would just start slowly adding the fish etc. you want to keep. Say in the order of 1/month or so. You have a very large system that wont get thrown out of wack very easly by the addidition of a single fish. After a month your tank should have more than caught up to the additional bio-load.

[fishoholic]

Originally Posted by Borderjumper

Im thinking since you started with live rock ( i bet your 'dead rock" was still alive) that your tank did a very soft cycle, especially with the small bioload. I would add slowly and I bet your good to go.

I was kind of wondering this, but wouldn't there be some colour change in water in the test tube when I tested for No2 and No3? Even if it was only a soft cycle?

Originally Posted by PoonTang

I would just start slowly adding the fish etc. you want to keep. Say in the order of 1/month or so. You have a very large system that wont get thrown out of wack very easly by the addidition of a single fish. After a month your tank should have more than caught up to the additional bio-load.

My problem with adding the fish I want to keep is that I already have the fish that are going into this tank. Right now they are in my main tank (which is overcrowded at the moment) the fish I'm adding are my four large angelfish (Queen, Emperor, Blue Ring and Blueface) which cost about $150-200 each. I don't want to take any chances with them, plus they all get along (for the most part) so adding them all at the same time would be better in order to keep the peace. My two perc.'s are also going into this tank, right now they are hosting in my large frogspawn. I would like to move them over but I don't want to risk killing off my/their frogspawn. I was thinking of getting a wrasse on boxing day... hummmm maybe I could add one of those?

[naesco]

I would get another test kit to see if the test kit is the problem.
I would not add your angels until you are certain.
BTW you have been around enuf to know that the dated practise of using fish to cycle a tank is simply not acceptable.

[fishoholic]

Originally Posted by naesco

I would get another test kit to see if the test kit is the problem.
I would not add your angels until you are certain.
BTW you have been around enuf to know that the dated practice of using fish to cycle a tank is simply not acceptable.

I used the test kit on my main tank and it worked fine, there simply isn't any readings of No2 or No3 in my new tank.

No worries my angels wont be going in until I'm 100% certain it's cycled. Even if it means waiting a few more months.

I know fish (even chromis who can haddle it) shouldn't be used to cycle a tank, but since I had the LR curing in a rubbermaid for 3 months before adding it to the new tank and since I used live sand and since I added some large pieces of LR from the main tank, I didn't think there would be too much of a cycle.

BTW if the No2 and No3 spike will it kill off the pods etc. that are already in the tank?

PS I do plan on plumbing the new tank together with my main tank once the new tank is ready.

[naesco]

It won't kill the pods.

[PoonTang]

Originally Posted by fishoholic

PS I do plan on plumbing the new tank together with my main tank once the new tank is ready.

Well if you were to plumb them together before you moved the fish you wouldnt have to worry about cycling the new tank. The old tank would look after the bio-load.