Cycling? (1 Viewer)

[Matt D.]

When the cycle starts ammonia rises and around the time it spikes nitrite will appear. Ammonia disappears, nitrite spikes and nitrate appears. Once ammonia and nitrite completely disappear and nitrate levels off your cycle has completed. Typical time is 4-6 weeks.

Read this, there is also an animated graphic to play that shows you how ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels act during the cycle.

http://reefsources.itgo.com/guide/biological.html

 

[MrGemini]

THE IDIOT AT PET EXPO IN MANKATO SAID I WOULD ONLY NEED TO CHK FOR NITRATES. I WAS GONNA BUY A MASTER TEST KIT BUT THEY WERE ALL OUT AT THE TIME. SO NOW I WILL NOT BE ABLE TO CHECK OTHER LEVELS UNTILL I HAVE MONEY TO BUY THE ADD'L TEST KITS.:mad_3:

 

[David Grigor]

Actually it the complete opposite. You don't even need to test for nitrates. Just ammonia and nitrites. Once they are all zero, do as big of water change as you can to remove the nitrates and your done.

 

[MrGemini]

Well I hope my tank will survive another week and a half, then I'll be able to buy correct kit. So many to choose from. I also need to get a better hydrometer as I'm just using this one I picked up that bobs around in the water and has a thermometer attached to it. I think I see something growing on my rock but not sure. I know that when I got my LR from Kyle in Maple Grove it was already cured and growing something on it.

 

[SmnParish]

How far did you travel with the live rock? Was it kept wet, or at least moist? Could be that the all pre-cured live rock is doing the job pretty fast, that is why you already have 15 ppm nitrate. Nitrate is a good sign by the way, at least in terms of your cycling time.

 

[MrGemini]

I had it in 5g buckets inside my truck. Drove 1 1/2 hr and as soon as I got home it put a heater in each bucket till about 3pm when I finally got my tank up and running.

Also today I noticed this morning there was life on on one of my rocks and now this evening it actually LIVES! There are quite a few stems popping up an a lot of the rock. Not sure what to make of this. I will post pic's when I get to a decent computer. This IPad sucks. If it wasn't that it was free I wouldn't be owning one.

 

[Alunai]

I'm assuming you plan on getting more rock. The rock you have now looks like nice base rock. What type of rock will you be adding (assuming you will be adding rock, of course)?

 

[MrGemini]

Not sure if i'll be adding more LR. so far lots of nooks and caves for fish to hide.

last night before i went to bed I also noticed that their are a couple of snails in my tank. At first I wasn't sure and I thought I was loosing it because I'm seeing these things moving about then I remembered that Kyle had said their would probably be some snails in with the rock he sold me.:greenguy:

 

[MrGemini]

Well today I checked nitrates again after 6th day of cycling and they were at about 7 -10ppm. I also noticed a wired looking object in one of the holes in my LR and also what appears to be 2 black patches of something wit what appears to be white spots under a ledge on another LR. I don't have picks as my iPad will not allow me to upload to this site. Any suggestions on what it might be?