LR Cycle

[oniel21]

Hi all! New to the hobbie, been studying for 5 months now - very excited! I have a 55 gal with 5-6 in of live sand in the DT. I received 50 lbs of LR via mail today. I set up a 35 gal rubbermaid container to cycle the LR. I put it in (using RO/DI water) and tested the water 3 hours later. AMONIA IS AT 8.0!!! Ouch! I am a bit concerned here. I did a 50% water change to try and get it down - did not work. My concern is hitchhikers as i would like to keep them. Is this normal, to have an amonia spike immedietly? Here are my other readings:

Nitrite - 2
PH - 8.4
Nitrate - 15

Any input would certainly be appreciated.

[sir_dudeguy]

[welcome]

just a quick question here, but the water you put it in WAS salt water, right? Just wondering cuz you say that you used RO water, which is good...that is if you've got salt mixed in it :) Pretty obvious i'm sure, but just figured i'd check

Anyways. Amonia that high right away means there has been a lot of die off on the rock as far as bacteria...just let it sit for a few days and you should see it start dropping eventually. It can take from 2 weeks to a month to cycle in my experience. I wouldnt be worried about hitchikers unless you know you got like a shrimp or something.

[oniel21]

Thanks for the quick reply! Yes, there is salt in the water, but don't blame you for asking! Upon brushing the LR before placing into the cureing vat, I did not see a lot of die off, but it did take 6 days to get to NY from FL so I imagine there was a good amount. I will sit tight and watch. There are no fish involved here. Thanks for the info.