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SmoothVermin
01/16/2009, 08:09 AM
Hello,

I have been trying to cycle a 14g biocube with 17lbs of LR and a couple pounds of rubble that replaced the bioballs. Its been about a week now and I have been looking for the ammonia spike but all I see now is 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 20 Nitrate. To my understanding the nitrate was supposed to be the end result of my cycle. Is it possible my LR boosted the process? The rock came from the LFS fully cured. (I was told) Should probaly add that there is also a filter cartridge with activated charcoal installed. I am in no rush to stock the tank but any information would be appreciated.

Michael
01/16/2009, 08:21 AM
if the rock was fully cured its possible that its cycled, id still wait for a few more days monitoring for ammonia and nitrite though, just in case

dwd5813
01/16/2009, 08:25 AM
well, you could go to the grocery store and buy clear pure ammonia, the kind that doesn't foam when shaken, and add a few ml until you get a positive ammonia reading, then test it daily or twice a day and see how long it takes to process.

dwd5813
01/16/2009, 08:27 AM
i probably wouldn't bother with that come to think of it though since if you have a nitrate reading you've probably already gone through the cycle that you'll see and as long as you don't have any more spikes in a week or so like michael said you should be all set.

IslandCrow
01/16/2009, 08:33 AM
Agree 100% with Michael's post and dwd5813's second post. Fully cured rock generally won't go through a traditional cycle, but the tank generally still needs some time to really stabilize. I've always used cured rock, and none of my tanks have ever shown ammonia. I still waited a month before adding anything, though. That's probably conservative, but in the big scheme of things, a month is no big deal.

SmoothVermin
01/16/2009, 08:37 AM
Thanks so much for everyone response. I will keep a close eye on it and give an update.