3 weeks and my tank seems to not be cycling

[crownpoolskenny]

I filled my tank 3 weeks ago. Added 90 lbs of live sand and 125 lbs of cured live rock. My p.h is 8.0 Ammonia .25 maybe a little less Nitrate 0 Nitrite 0. Not sure why its not doing anything. I added 2 yellow tailed damsels last week and everything just stays the same. Any suggestions would be great.

[madsalt]

What more are you wanting it to do. Your parameters are looking good for being three weeks in. Be patient that .25 of ammonia will go away. What are you using to test your water with?

[crownpoolskenny]

I just thought I would see some sort of a ammonia spike by now. I'm using a api test kit and a refractor for the salt level.

[madsalt]

Were you using live rock and sand? If so, it is possible that you carried a lot bacteria into the tank. If there was nothing to create a large ammonia spike, it is possible that you wont see it. When I set my tank back up I used all my old rock and some of my sand and never saw a spike.

[sifuentes31]

I think your good as well..

[crownpoolskenny]

Were you using live rock and sand? If so, it is possible that you carried a lot bacteria into the tank. If there was nothing to create a large ammonia spike, it is possible that you wont see it. When I set my tank back up I used all my old rock and some of my sand and never saw a spike.

Yeah I have read that I'm just wondering how much longer I should wait before adding any other livestock. I don't wanna jump the gun and add anything too early.

[madsalt]

You have the damsels in there now, I would consider taking them out, they can be agressive depending on what else you decide to put in. You might want to start thinking about some CUC but only a small amount so they do not starve and then slowly adding additional fish. Of course if you take out the damsels you can just replace them with two fish of about the same size. Just take it slow, give the tank time to adjust. You are still going to get your diatome bloom possible, mine was very small but do not freak on that. Again just go slow and learn what your tank does and does not do.

And about the test kit, I had a test kit from API that always showed my ammonia at .25, it never changed. When I finally replaced the reagents, I got what I would call a 0 reading.

[crownpoolskenny]

You have the damsels in there now, I would consider taking them out, they can be agressive depending on what else you decide to put in. You might want to start thinking about some CUC but only a small amount so they do not starve and then slowly adding additional fish. Of course if you take out the damsels you can just replace them with two fish of about the same size. Just take it slow, give the tank time to adjust. You are still going to get your diatome bloom possible, mine was very small but do not freak on that. Again just go slow and learn what your tank does and does not do.

And about the test kit, I had a test kit from API that always showed my ammonia at .25, it never changed. When I finally replaced the reagents, I got what I would call a 0 reading.

The reading is very light. Not really a 0 or a .25. I have a few snails and some crabs in there already as well. I was planning on setting up mu qt tank so I guess that's what I'll be doing today.

[madsalt]

Perfect, that will give your tank another 30 days if you QT that long, you should be pretty comfortable at that point with the tank. Slow and steady.

[Sascha D.]

Cycling can be a confusing term because it can refer to the cycling of live rock or the cycling of the tank. When most people refer to a "cycle" they are refering to the age of the tank and the stages it goes through. If that is what you're talking about then you have a long way to go. I can tell by the glass in your tank pictures that you haven't had a decent algae bloom yet, which is generally refered to as second step to a tank cycles.

The first step in the cycle that you often read about in reef books comes when you add uncured live rock, get a huge amount of decay and make your house smell like a swamp for two weeks. Did you add cured or uncured live rock? The ammonia spike comes from the die off on the rock. Back in the day all of the rock was basically uncured so every tank had huge cycles. Now a lot of the rock we get from each other and from pet stores is well cycled and doesn't produce the same spike.

In my experience, the survival rate of corals is much higher after the third month. Fish and macroalgae can be added now if your nitrates are under control. I wouldn't add too many. It would depend on your stocking plan what you would add first, how many you would add at once and which fish you would want to have established before the rest go in. It would be a mistake to add any snails, crabs or CUC at this time. They will likely starve and you're just wasting your money since you don't have anything to clean-up.

[crownpoolskenny]

Cycling can be a confusing term because it can refer to the cycling of live rock or the cycling of the tank. When most people refer to a "cycle" they are refering to the age of the tank and the stages it goes through. If that is what you're talking about then you have a long way to go. I can tell by the glass in your tank pictures that you haven't had a decent algae bloom yet, which is generally refered to as second step to a tank cycles.

The first step in the cycle that you often read about in reef books comes when you add uncured live rock, get a huge amount of decay and make your house smell like a swamp for two weeks. Did you add cured or uncured live rock? The ammonia spike comes from the die off on the rock. Back in the day all of the rock was basically uncured so every tank had huge cycles. Now a lot of the rock we get from each other and from pet stores is well cycled and doesn't produce the same spike.

In my experience, the survival rate of corals is much higher after the third month. Fish and macroalgae can be added now if your nitrates are under control. I wouldn't add too many. It would depend on your stocking plan what you would add first, how many you would add at once and which fish you would want to have established before the rest go in. It would be a mistake to add any snails, crabs or CUC at this time. They will likely starve and you're just wasting your money since you don't have anything to clean-up.

My live rock was all cured. My nitrates have never shown up neither has my nitrites. I had a large ditom bloom the first week. That's why I got a few snails. I also had a little hair algae that's why I got a couple crabs. My plan is to put a couple fish in my qt tank this week. Im not planning on putting anything in my tank for at least a couple more weeks.

[Planeden]

you can always feed your CUC. i like sinking food because you can see if they go for it, but anything that will break down and land somewhere will keep them going.

[crownpoolskenny]

you can always feed your CUC. i like sinking food because you can see if they go for it, but anything that will break down and land somewhere will keep them going.

I'm actually already feeding sinking pellets . The cuc always cleans up any leftovers.

[Sascha D.]

My live rock was all cured. My nitrates have never shown up neither has my nitrites. I had a large ditom bloom the first week. That's why I got a few snails. I also had a little hair algae that's why I got a couple crabs. My plan is to put a couple fish in my qt tank this week. Im not planning on putting anything in my tank for at least a couple more weeks.

The reason your Nitrates and Nitrites never showed up is because you never had an Ammonia spike. One of the many benefits from using cured rock. Clean up crews vary from person to person and almost nobody agrees on which animals to use. One of the great references I use is an article called The Clean Up Crew by Charles and Linda Raabe. Based on my experience and the current needs of my tank, I don't use any CUC except a Fighting Conch, a Sea Cucumber, an Emerald Crab and a few Dwarf Cerith Snails. The longevity of most CUC members is questionable at best and I don't feed my crew.