Cycling a tank

[NIVLEM09]

you can dose prodibio start up,if you like?also,PATIENCE is also good

Originally Posted by Summit09

I've just started my first reef tank four days ago. I went and did a water test today and found 0 ammonia, nitrates at 5 or less, nitrites at .1 or less. The live rock in the tank has been cured, as for the live sand it did have a smell and I thought it would be enough to start a cycle. Should I have seen a rise in my water parameters already or may I have to add something to kick it off ?

[Summit09]

I'm in no rush, I was just told that I should have seen some kind of higher readings when checking within a couple days of starting the tank.

[MitchM]

It could be fine right now, it depends on how cured the live rock was.
If the live rock was taken from a mature tank and immediately put into your new tank you could have very little die off to give you much of an ammonia spike.
It's good you're not in a rush, and whatever the state of the cycle, make sure to add new additions spread over a period of time, not all at once.
Keep testing the water every few days to be sure.
You could try a fishless cycle to make sure that the ammonia gets consumed and that the bacteria colonies are established.

[naesco]

Your tank probably has not started to cycle. Throw in a dead shrimp and wait.