Cycling advice

[Infiltrator]

I have a 90g tanks that has about 80lbs dead rock and 10 lbs of live rock. I dropped a dead shrimp in the about three weeks ago. I have been checking ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates every 2-3 days but keep getting zero. Ammonia may have got to .25 but hard to tell comparing colors on chart. Any advice? I would thought I would have seen some ammonia by now.

[nlgill13]

You probably need to check every day during the cycle to really see a spike...This spike could only last a day if you are using true live rock...dead rock may need to be seeded before it will cycle...one way to do this is to get a cup full of sand from an established tank and put it in your tank.

By the sounds of it you may need to add a cup of sand and another shrimp.

Also how long has your tank been running?

[BurntOutReefer]

IMO....just check for Nitrates after two weeks....once you see the nitrates, then cycle is complete.....and dump some "live" sandin to start your cycle...otherwise, just leave it for 2 weeks....it will start

[dzfish17]

I would ghost feed the tank for a couple of weeks and keep checking for ammonia. If you still get 0 on ammonia and nitrite then you are good to go.

[mferrufino]

One last thing, Make sure its a shrimp with shell on, RAW. Not a cocktail shrimp.

[sporto0]

One last thing, Make sure its a shrimp with shell on, RAW. Not a cocktail shrimp.

HUH? Dead shrimp is dead shrimp, shelled or not, it does not matter if it is considered a cocktail shrimp, decay = ammonia = the start of a nitrogen cycle.

[bdr]

i used the same ratio of rock and didnt see a real cycle. the live rock was out of the water for 20 minutws for my tank.i startwd new years and it has now passed the diatoms and the coraline is starting to spread i pulled my hair out trying to get a cycle to start too

[cordell]

3 weeks with a raw shrimp should have been enough time to spike some ammonia. It's entirely possible that the live rock you used is enough to deal with the ammonia being produced by the shrimp. As mentioned earlier, I would take the shrimp out and ghost feed for a week or so while checking levels daily. If you can feed the tank without getting an ammonia spike, it's at or near the end of the cycle! (I feel confident in saying this because I cycled my 75gal with 90lb dead and about 30lb live rock; never saw ammonia with 2 raw shrimp AND feeding the tank at the same time... depends on how good the live rock is/was)

However... if you haven't had fish in QT, then it's not time to put a fish in the tank yet. You need to quarantine your fish first. Set yourself up for success early in the game... If you need more info on this, feel free to ask.

By the way, what brand of test kits are you using? The ammonia tests can be vague, but if the result is cloudy but with no yellow in it, then it's at or VERY close to 0 (or that's how it is with Salifert kits, anyways...)

[Hamsternuts]

HUH? Dead shrimp is dead shrimp, shelled or not, it does not matter if it is considered a cocktail shrimp, decay = ammonia = the start of a nitrogen cycle.


If you use a cooked shrimp, then where would the various strains of bacteria for the nitrogen cycle come from? Wouldn't a raw shrimp be better since it would still have the natural bacteria in and on it?

I've always used raw shrimp, and never had any issues.

[nlgill13]

Raw is definitely the way to go...Now for shell or no shell, it shouldn't really matter, its all just going to decay into mush (which is a real pain to get out if you ever try to pull it), ie into ammonia.

[sporto0]

If you use a cooked shrimp, then where would the various strains of bacteria for the nitrogen cycle come from? Wouldn't a raw shrimp be better since it would still have the natural bacteria in and on it?

I've always used raw shrimp, and never had any issues.


Wow, you are totally missing the point, dead, cooked, raw, shelled, IT DOES NOT MATTER, ammonia comes from decay, the bacteria that are formed do not come from the ammonia source, I suggest you read in depth on the saltwater nitrogen cycle, this simple basic understanding is the backbone of this hobby, if you are confused about it, now is the time to figure it out.

[Infiltrator]

The test kits are API. The fish I am getting are in an existing tank now and are doing fine, so I did not plan to quarantine. They are 2 black/white clowns and are by themselves.

[Infiltrator]

By ghost feed, do you mean with fish food? What type do you recommend? Thanks.

[sporto0]

By ghost feed, do you mean with fish food? What type do you recommend? Thanks.


Any food will work, flakes, pellets, gel, frozen, even pure ammonia will work, the point is to have the food decay into ammonia, ammonia is ammonia, no matter the source, it is not different from food type to food type. Please read up on the nitrogen cycle so that you can fully understand the process that takes place in the very beginning of a new tank, this understanding will help you along the many different stages of a maturing tank.

[Fish noob]

I have a 64 gallon and am getting ready to start my cycle. How much ammonia should be applied? And how often?

[sporto0]

I have a 64 gallon and am getting ready to start my cycle. How much ammonia should be applied? And how often?

Read this article. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-06/dw/index.php

There is no measured amount of ammonia to begin with, the more you add, the more nitrifying bacteria will be produced to convert the ammonia into nitrites & then into nitrates, also denitrifying bacteria will form in extremely low oxygen conditions that help convert some nitrates into nitrogen gas. These bacteria colonize & expand & contract according to the bio load you put upon them i.e., number of livestock & uneaten food that will produce decay & ammonia, so it is not a definable amount you need, you just need to start the process, the rest is done on it's own by nature.

[fpv930]

All tanks cycle a bit differently. ( Time wise that is). Being that the system has been running for three weeks, the cycle is most likely over. I would not worry about the ammonia at this point.
I would continue with checking the water par. on a regular basis and move forward.

I just assembled a 10g nano, with LR from the LFS that was there for about 1 month. I added 10lbs of live sand aragonite. I never saw an ammonia spike. I fed the tank with a few pellets and Mysid shrimps. (frozen) It took about 10-12 days to really see a diatom bloom. All water par. have been great!