My cycle so far...need advice

[jscarlata]

Basic stats:
46g bowfront
52g total approximate vol
50 lbs of rock, 10live the rest Marco
60 lbs of sand, 20 live (Carib sea)
Bermuda bpc3 skimmer w mag 7
Little giant return
1 250w de mh 15k, 2 96w pc actinic

Cycle started 2 Weeks ago with a raw jumbo shrimp. Ammonia went up to over 1ppm and I removed it. Everything has been moving well, ammonia zeroed out while nitrite and nitrate spiked high. Now nitrite is almost gone. I added all live rock after the cycle started as well as a small bottle of bio spira and microbe lift.
I added a sprinkle of marine food pellets 2 days ago to see what happens with ammonia. Should I keep feeding the tank an ammonia source or leave it?
Some algae is starting to grow now, light green on the sand. Want to get my first fish! Clowns most likely percs

[jscarlata]

Some pics
146156

146157
I had to make do with what i had for my sump/fuge and it worked out well. I converted an old wet dry into a fuge sump. The fuge section is where the bio-balls went and is sealed from the sump except for a small overflow that Gets dropped into the center o the sump via PVC extension. The skimmer is mounted behind and above the sump. It works well for such a tight space. Flow is from the overflow box.
The paper was just my gallon markers from my water testing

[tspors]

If I may say, stop throwing things in the tank. If you had water, live rock, and Sand, your tank would cycle normally without tossing all the stuff in to RUSH your cycle. Now let your tank sit for 2 months total. Then only add your CUC. Then wait another 4-6 weeks and add a fish or two. Then stop. Cycling is only the begining of starting your tank. You need to know let it Stabalize. The only way to do that is patience. Or you can hurry up throw some fish in and we will wait for you to write back here asking us why are my fish dieing?
This is a long term hobby or it is suppose to be. So why do you want to rush it?

[jscarlata]

I dont have a problem with patience, i simply added the bacteria cultires because i only had a minimal amount of live rock in the tank and i wanted to kick start the bacteria population. I'm asking these questions not to rush through, but to know what to expect and to know when to move onto the next step. Yes, i want to put fish in the tank; yes i want to put inverts and corals in the tank...thats why i set it up. am i looking to shortcut, no. am i looking to rush, no.

When i did my last tank 15 years ago, i used all live rock so i had a very short cycle, therefore i am not sure of what to expect in this tank. Also, this tank is in my basement and gets zero sunlight, whereas my first tank was surrounded by windows so again i am not sure what to expect algae-wise...Also, i read here every day and i see so many different suggestions abut cylce times and steps that its hard to know what will work. my system is pretty small so its hard to imagine the timeline you describe. for systems of hundreds of gallons i can see that timeframe, but for 50 galoons? really? does it take that long to get going?
so my reference for what to expect on this adventure is limited, so i posted here to find out...
i appreciate your advice...

[stingythingy45]

You don't need to wait 2 months.A tank can cycle in as little as 2 weeks.
As long as the ammonia spiked and then zeroed your cycled.
Just stock very slowly and still keep an eye on ammonia.
Like mentioned a few fish and cuc then wait a while.

BTW,you really should have just left the shrimp in there.

[bamf25]

My ammonia never passed about 0.75, I got a bried nitrite spike that lasted like 2 days, and now my nitrate is at 10 ppm. This was just live rock, some live sand, and 1 big old dead shrimp. My tank cycled in 15 days. I have nothing it it yet about 10 days later, but all tests are stable.

[hypnoj]

man.. it's time to put fish in there.. Forget waiting the whole time previously posted. Just start out slowly adding fish and you'll be fine. I'm on my 3rd tank now, started with dry rock and microbacter 7. Followed their directions and my tanks were up and running within 30 days of starting. go for it man, you'll be fine.

[duncantse]

A cycle can take anywhere from a few weeks-few months. If you see 0 ammonia and nitrite and <10ppm nitrate, then I suggest to add a few snails to see if they survive or not.

Everyone keeps saying you MUST wait 1-2 months before putting anything in the tank but that is not true, every tank is different. Just test your water and check to see if your cycle is finished or not. And a note on the bacteria stuff, there are a lot of people that put these stuff into their tank to cycle faster. Some say they work and some say they don't. You weren't wrong putting them in.

[sjwitt]

Sounds like you're well on your way. Cycling does take different amounts of time based on the setup. I read in your first post that you started with 10 lbs live rock so that rock should have some micro critters in there. Right now they should be multiplying... do you see them running around in the tank after lights out?

Waiting before adding fish allows this population to grow without predation. These guys are part of the ecosystem that will help you achieve a stable environment. You should be seeing small things grow on the rocks too. Like fan worms and such. Always a fascinating stage for me.

You wrote that you're starting to see algae grow. How long is your light routine? If you see algae I'd add some inverts at this point. Hermit crabs are always a good thing and maybe a sally lightfoot crab or two. Get 2 or 3 peppermint shrimp just in case there's any aiptasia lurking in the live rock. Trust me, NOT an experience you want.

That should get you through a couple of weeks with something a little interesting to observe. If you add the inverts I would feed the tank every day or two.

[jscarlata]

Man oh man thank you...that sounds like sound advice and i really appreciate it, lIke any hobby forum it's really hard to decipher the wrong advice or the least right...
I did my nightly tests, been doing themm roughly the same time every night, and the tank is still going forward. Nitrites zeroed out and nitrates are under 5, a little hard totell but it's so close to yellow that is not 5ppm...
My ph is low, still in the 7.99 to 8.02. I have only used the esv salt mix and top off RO/DI water, this Sunday will be three weeks. I guess i should mix up some kalk and top off with that.
My questions are what should the sg really be, is it 1.025 or 1.026? i see it both ways.
Thanks so much for all the help
To answer yr questions:
haven't seen any critters but I will look closer now when the moonlights are on.
I was running all the lights on a full cycle to see how the temp swings would be with the halide and the hood,(stable temp btw) but in the last few days i turned off the halide. ESP since i saw the alge start. Not sure i recall the exact program bec im running the lights more at night kind of an opposite lighting schedule. So i believe the actinics come on around 4pm and the halide at 5, then the halide off around midnight or 1am, and the actinics off an hour later, then the moonlights come on and the fuge until 3pm.

[ian09]

You can also research Dr. Tims Nitryfying Bacteria.

[MrTuskfish]

There are types of "Miracle Gro" instant bacteria that can actually compete with, and destroy, the normal aerobic and anaerobic bacteria that has been established. I looked into a few of these after I moved and backed off quickly. Some may be OK, but some (like the "Right Now" brand) have been blamed for total tank crashes. Genetically engineered bacteria just doesn't sound right to me......and I'm no" natural is always best" type. It just makes sense to me. A stable culture of bacteria is essential; how are different strains going to do when all of nature is built to compete, survival of the fittest, etc? We are bacteria farmers first, fishkeepers, second. (Maybe I can get a bacteria farm subsidy!)

[duncantse]

Off topic but... I love your background!

[jscarlata]

Really? Idk
Looking forward to coraline..my son picked this one out. Can't wait to tell him...tks!

[jscarlata]

Ok well I move forward one step. I got a few small peppermint shrimp, 2 emerald crabs, a few blue leg hermits and a bottle of tigger pods. Put the pods in the fuge and inked than an hour i saw some in the DT. The peppermints were white as ghosts during acclimation but colored up quick in the DT. The emeralds went under cover of the rocks but i saw they were picking at stuff, and the hermits hit the sand bed and started eating.