Cycling question

[Sinsaint]

Alright, I'm having a problem figuring out if my tank is cycling the way it should. My rock arrived on 8/31 and I had to put it in a stock tank because the aquarium plumbing wasn't completed. I cleaned the rock and chucked it in with a heater and pump. It sat in that tank until 9/9. In that time I checked the ammonia twice and both readings were 6.something (high).

On 9/9 the basic plumbing was completed (I say basic because my plumbing had two leaks and I eventually said [profanity], drained the sump and started fresh.... don't worry, I think it's fixed now.) Anyway, the tank was good enough on 9/9 to add the sand, water and rock. I just used powerheads to keep the water circulating. When I moved the rock from the stock tank to the aquarium I decided to clean the rock again. I took out about 30% of the water and used that to re-clean the rock with.

After I had the rock in and added more new water the ammonia was down to .3. On 9/11 it was down to .1. On 9/13 I checked and it was at 0 so I checked the nitrate (was at 50) and nitrite (was at .8). I thought the ammonia dropping that quickly wasn't right so I dropped in a shrimp last night. So today I expected the ammonia to be high but it's still at 0 and the nitrate and nitrite both went down.

So far I've only done the one water change and I finally got the sump running today. Should the ammonia, nitrate and nitrite be dropping this fast?

[boxfishpooalot]

yes biological proceses happen very fast. Ammonia once consumed should not raise again. Just add the fish slowly, giving about 2 weeks between each.

I suspect your heater made the water too warm in the bucket, and caused too much die off. That raised the ammonia.

How is the shrimp doing?

[Sinsaint]

Oh, this wasn't a bucket. It's a 110 gallon rubbermaid stock tank. The temp stayed at a consistant 82 degrees. I only recleaned the rock because I didn't think I did such a great cleaning job the first time around.

I don't think he's doing too great. He was a frozen when I put him in. He's not frozen anymore but from what I could tell he was still dead this morning so I took him out. ;)

About adding the fish.... I was under the impression I should add a small cleaner crew first after the tank builds up some food for the critters and then add the fish. Or would I want the fish first to help create some waste?

[bertoni]

I'd start with a cleanup crew after a few weeks of zero ammonia, and likely some water changes. They are cheaper than fish, usually.

[Sinsaint]

I was thinking about waiting another four weeks or so and then add a cleaner crew. About how often should I be doing water changes? I just read on another thread that water changes during cycling could be counter productive.

[bertoni]

I don't think that water changes can be harmful during the cycle. I'd do them when ammonia was over 0.5 ppm or so, and I had the inclination and energy. No need to overwork yourself just yet. :)

[meco65]

When the ammonia, and nitrite are at zero I would do a 50% water change to get the nitrates down so you do not have a big algae bloom. Diatom algae is to be expected but you do not want it to get out of hand. When all has been good for a week you can add the clean up crew. Now would be a good time to start your QT and get the first fish in QT so in six weeks when he gets out of hyposalinty treatment he will be read for his new home here are some good links to read to get you started.

http://home2.pacific.net.ph/~sweetyummy42/cyclemethods.html
http://home2.pacific.net.ph/~sweetyummy42/quarantine.html
http://home2.pacific.net.ph/~sweetyummy42/ich.html