tank cycling question

[vmacisback]

I am in the initial phases of the nitrogen cycle and seems like it has been taking forever. Ive been getting reading of ammonia of about 1ppm for about a week. I added about 12lbs of cured live rock to help boost the cycle and a day later the ammonia has not budged. I have added some frozen fish food a few times and it has since disappeared. I have also added a bottle of dr tims, a small bottle of seachem stability,a few ml's of zeobak and zeo start and cant get the ammonia to drop. Should have stated that I have about 70lbs of BRS dry rocked that has been given an acid bath some no life remains. I am not running my skimmer and have the temp up to 84. Any suggestions on if i should add more food or just wait it out? Thanks

[Scuba_Steve]

Just wait it out. Adding more food is just increasing the bioload. Your initial cycle can take over a month. Patience is a must in this hobby!

[wooden_reefer]

I am in the initial phases of the nitrogen cycle and seems like it has been taking forever. Ive been getting reading of ammonia of about 1ppm for about a week. I added about 12lbs of cured live rock to help boost the cycle and a day later the ammonia has not budged. I have added some frozen fish food a few times and it has since disappeared. I have also added a bottle of dr tims, a small bottle of seachem stability,a few ml's of zeobak and zeo start and cant get the ammonia to drop. Should have stated that I have about 70lbs of BRS dry rocked that has been given an acid bath some no life remains. I am not running my skimmer and have the temp up to 84. Any suggestions on if i should add more food or just wait it out? Thanks

It is best to remove the cured (cycled?) lr.

The objective is not to lower ammonia but to grow bacteria that process ammonia.

It is best to have all rock (medium) of about the same history in terms of exposure to ammonia.

[vmacisback]

It is best to remove the cured (cycled?) lr.

The objective is not to lower ammonia but to grow bacteria that process ammonia.

It is best to have all rock (medium) of about the same history in terms of exposure to ammonia.

why would I remove live rock with beneficial bacteria?? im not sure if I understand your posts and what knowledge you have to support this. Adding established live rock to a tank can only help the cycle not necessarily lower ammonia but definitely add good stuff to the tank in terms of the cycle process.

[wooden_reefer]

why would I remove live rock with beneficial bacteria?? im not sure if I understand your posts and what knowledge you have to support this. Adding established live rock to a tank can only help the cycle not necessarily lower ammonia but definitely add good stuff to the tank in terms of the cycle process.

If a portion of rock already has a lot of bacteria, then this portion can process a lot or most of the ammonia, leaving little ammonia for the uncycled rock.

One way to overcome this is to have a lot of ammonia so that the cycled portion will not process the ammonia fast enough.

Imagine if you have five pounds of robusted cycled rock and 95 pounds of new rock, would bacteria grow quickly on the new rock if the bioload is low? If there is only enough ammonia for the five pounds of cycled rock, bacteria would not grow quickly on the new rock.

[JMorris271]

why would i remove live rock with beneficial bacteria?? Im not sure if i understand your posts and what knowledge you have to support this. Adding established live rock to a tank can only help the cycle not necessarily lower ammonia but definitely add good stuff to the tank in terms of the cycle process.

+1

[wooden_reefer]

Adding established live rock to a tank can only help the cycle not necessarily lower ammonia but definitely add good stuff to the tank in terms of the cycle process.

You need bacteria seeds from a small amount of established rock.

Then you want the bacteria to grow on the new rock.

Too much established rock for too long will cause the established rock to process most of the ammonia.

This is not a big concern if you have excess ammonia for a long time, but I sense that you are eager to see ammonia drop, so the tank is "ready".

[lafayettereefer]

You need bacteria seeds from a small amount of established rock.

Then you want the bacteria to grow on the new rock.

Too much established rock for too long will cause the established rock to process most of the ammonia.

This is not a big concern if you have excess ammonia for a long time, but I sense that you are eager to see ammonia drop, so the tank is "ready".

I believe your theory is very inaccurate and misleading to a lot of new hobbyist. The rock itself does not process any ammonia. Its the bacteria that thrive on the rocks that do all the work.

Adding a piece of cured live rock to a tank full of dry rock will help to diversify the amount of beneficial bacteria in the entire tank. Within a couple of weeks the entire system will be filled with the exact same organisms so there's no such thing as one piece of rock processing all of the ammonia.

[vmacisback]

I believe your theory is very inaccurate and misleading to a lot of new hobbyist. The rock itself does not process any ammonia. Its the bacteria that thrive on the rocks that do all the work.

Adding a piece of cured live rock to a tank full of dry rock will help to diversify the amount of beneficial bacteria in the entire tank. Within a couple of weeks the entire system will be filled with the exact same organisms so there's no such thing as one piece of rock processing all of the ammonia.

Thanks Ive been in this hobby about 10 years and am well aware of how things work in this process. I just felt this was odd so I jumped on here to ask a question. My biggest problem on these forums is everyone becomes a scientist or a doctor and wants to give their 2 cents which is usually invaluable and can lead you into trouble. Ill stick to looking at the pictures. Thanks

[vmacisback]

Thank you Lafayettereefer for helping this guy understand he is incorrect, sick of people thinking they know all and try to help someone by giving them bad info.

[JMorris271]

Thanks Ive been in this hobby about 10 years and am well aware of how things work in this process. I just felt this was odd so I jumped on here to ask a question. My biggest problem on these forums is everyone becomes a scientist or a doctor and wants to give their 2 cents which is usually invaluable and can lead you into trouble. Ill stick to looking at the pictures. Thanks

:crazy1:

[wooden_reefer]

I believe your theory is very inaccurate and misleading to a lot of new hobbyist. The rock itself does not process any ammonia. Its the bacteria that thrive on the rocks that do all the work.

Adding a piece of cured live rock to a tank full of dry rock will help to diversify the amount of beneficial bacteria in the entire tank. Within a couple of weeks the entire system will be filled with the exact same organisms so there's no such thing as one piece of rock processing all of the ammonia.

He has not added just a piece of established rock.

Established rock is to provide seeds of bacteria. Once such rock has been in the tank for a day or two, the seeding is done.

Large amount of cycled rock can consume most of the ammonia during a cycle. This is not a problem if there is excess ammonia during the cycle.

This can be a problem if a aquarist is eager to see ammonia drop as evidence of a tank being ready.

[wooden_reefer]

Let's say in a tank there are 80 pounds of new rock on the left side and 20 pounds of cycled rock of the right side.

Now you put in ammonia to 3 ppm and after three days the ammonia is all gone.

Is the new rock cycled?

Some people do not want to think and are very rude.

[vmacisback]

He has not added just a piece of established rock.

Established rock is to provide seeds of bacteria. Once such rock has been in the tank for a day or two, the seeding is done.

Large amount of cycled rock can consume most of the ammonia during a cycle. This is not a problem if there is excess ammonia during the cycle.

This can be a problem if a aquarist is eager to see ammonia drop as evidence of a tank being ready.

I didnt add the rock to only see ammonia drop I added it to add bacteria to the tank and seed the dead rock. Still dont see your point and will not be taking the rock out. The cycled rocks are now apart of the aquascape and look great, therefore will not be removed.