Advice on new cycling tank

HHass · 02/12/2018, 02:28 PM

Hi I have a new 170 US gallon/165 litres (I think my conversion is correct, I’m from UK) tank and am cycling with dry rock in the tank and live rock in the sump. I am using an additive in order to add the live bacteria. Tank has been cycling for two weeks now, I have no issue with the levels I know it’s no where near done cycling. BUT, today I have seen a massive bloom of copopods, where there from? How they are surviving the massive nitrite level at the moment? My concern is that there demise will almost certainly cause an ammonia spike. Thanks for any advice.

Bryan3536 · 02/12/2018, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HHass

Hi I have a new 170 US gallon/165 litres (I think my conversion is correct, I’m from UK) tank and am cycling with dry rock in the tank and live rock in the sump. I am using an additive in order to add the live bacteria. Tank has been cycling for two weeks now, I have no issue with the levels I know it’s no where near done cycling. BUT, today I have seen a massive bloom of copopods, where there from? How they are surviving the massive nitrite level at the moment? My concern is that there demise will almost certainly cause an ammonia spike. Thanks for any advice.

Sounds like I’m two weeks behind you, will follow this with interest. I have a 180g, with dry rock and “live” sand. Just added water, and am getting salinity up today. I was going to add the Bio Spira product and, well, read this forum for what the heck I need to do next!

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DesertReefT4r · 02/12/2018, 04:40 PM

Pods are hardy many will survive the cycle so dont worry.

mcgyvr · 02/12/2018, 05:23 PM

The pods likely came in on the "live rock" you got as it was likely from an already established system that naturally will have pods..

You didn't list any measurements for ammonia or nitrites or nitrates on your post but the later 2 really aren't all that toxic.. It basically gets less toxic as its being converted to the different forms.. ammonia being the most toxic and many tanks can have 100+ppm levels of nitrates without noticeable issues..

As stated they are pretty hardy not to mention that when starting with live rock you already have a bacterial population that came in with the live rock so its likely processing any ammonia it can and helping to also convert that nitrite to nitrates fairly quickly..
Its called "live rock" because its covered with bacteria.. no other reason than that..
That bacterial population will grow and spread to all surfaces of your tank rather quickly..

Pet Detective · 02/12/2018, 05:28 PM

I am not a big fan of "adding bacteria" or "jump starting" a cycle, especially if you are new to the hobby, the Nitrogen cycle is the single most important process that takes place in our tanks, it is essential for every type of tank we keep, it and it alone is responsible for a healthy environment, yet we try and try to skip steps solely for the purpose of saving what comes down to a few days in our tank keeping lives, yeah, I get it, the instant gratification generation....however as I have clearly stated, this process is absolutely critical for success, take this time to study the cycle, record the time it takes for the ammonia to begin...nitrites to appear....then begin to reduce in ppm, then when nitrates begin to register....the fun, the anticipation, the years and years and years of enjoyment can begin in earnest, please take the time to learn the process first, it will make all other things you try in this hobby easier. Trust me, the 4-6 weeks it may take to cycle a tank is NOTHING compared to the years a saltwater fish tank will provide entertainment for you. Even if a spike were to occur, look at that as a good thing, the bacteria colony would just grow to handle the larger amount of ammonia, however it is highly unlikely that the pods will die out en masse, nor would they produce that much ammonia if they did. Good luck to you and enjoy the hobby.

HHass · 02/14/2018, 03:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pet Detective

I am not a big fan of "adding bacteria" or "jump starting" a cycle, especially if you are new to the hobby, the Nitrogen cycle is the single most important process that takes place in our tanks, it is essential for every type of tank we keep, it and it alone is responsible for a healthy environment, yet we try and try to skip steps solely for the purpose of saving what comes down to a few days in our tank keeping lives, yeah, I get it, the instant gratification generation....however as I have clearly stated, this process is absolutely critical for success, take this time to study the cycle, record the time it takes for the ammonia to begin...nitrites to appear....then begin to reduce in ppm, then when nitrates begin to register....the fun, the anticipation, the years and years and years of enjoyment can begin in earnest, please take the time to learn the process first, it will make all other things you try in this hobby easier. Trust me, the 4-6 weeks it may take to cycle a tank is NOTHING compared to the years a saltwater fish tank will provide entertainment for you. Even if a spike were to occur, look at that as a good thing, the bacteria colony would just grow to handle the larger amount of ammonia, however it is highly unlikely that the pods will die out en masse, nor would they produce that much ammonia if they did. Good luck to you and enjoy the hobby.

Thanks, I was not looking for a fast option but did want a very specific look with the rock , the amount of work needed to accomplish this meant that only dry rock was an option. So knowing this I thought an additivve to was the only option for introducing the correct bacteria. I feel like this is the longer option.

oldhead · 02/14/2018, 02:16 PM

Yup, pods more than likely came in with the live rock. You will be surprised what will show up that you didn't add. I have things showing up from my dry rock that I didn't have in my smaller tank (everything from smaller tank is now in the larger tank except for the sand). While I waited for the new tank to cycle with the new rock and a piece or two of live rock from my display, I had snails and a hermit that made it over and survived the cycle.

02/12/2018, 02:28 PM	#1
HHass Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2018 Posts: 2	Advice on new cycling tank Hi I have a new 170 US gallon/165 litres (I think my conversion is correct, I’m from UK) tank and am cycling with dry rock in the tank and live rock in the sump. I am using an additive in order to add the live bacteria. Tank has been cycling for two weeks now, I have no issue with the levels I know it’s no where near done cycling. BUT, today I have seen a massive bloom of copopods, where there from? How they are surviving the massive nitrite level at the moment? My concern is that there demise will almost certainly cause an ammonia spike. Thanks for any advice.

02/12/2018, 04:40 PM	#3
DesertReefT4r Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Mesa Az Posts: 771	Pods are hardy many will survive the cycle so dont worry. __________________ Tank history 29g tropical ,55g cichlid tank, 20H softy reef, 29g mixed reef, 20H brackish goby & puffer tank, 55g mixed reef, 6g Nanocube softy lps reef, 40B sps reef, 75g sps reef, 75g sps reef in bu Current Tank Info: 75g sps reef build in the works.

02/12/2018, 05:23 PM	#4
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	The pods likely came in on the "live rock" you got as it was likely from an already established system that naturally will have pods.. You didn't list any measurements for ammonia or nitrites or nitrates on your post but the later 2 really aren't all that toxic.. It basically gets less toxic as its being converted to the different forms.. ammonia being the most toxic and many tanks can have 100+ppm levels of nitrates without noticeable issues.. As stated they are pretty hardy not to mention that when starting with live rock you already have a bacterial population that came in with the live rock so its likely processing any ammonia it can and helping to also convert that nitrite to nitrates fairly quickly.. Its called "live rock" because its covered with bacteria.. no other reason than that.. That bacterial population will grow and spread to all surfaces of your tank rather quickly.. __________________ Who me?

02/12/2018, 05:28 PM	#5
Pet Detective Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 328	I am not a big fan of "adding bacteria" or "jump starting" a cycle, especially if you are new to the hobby, the Nitrogen cycle is the single most important process that takes place in our tanks, it is essential for every type of tank we keep, it and it alone is responsible for a healthy environment, yet we try and try to skip steps solely for the purpose of saving what comes down to a few days in our tank keeping lives, yeah, I get it, the instant gratification generation....however as I have clearly stated, this process is absolutely critical for success, take this time to study the cycle, record the time it takes for the ammonia to begin...nitrites to appear....then begin to reduce in ppm, then when nitrates begin to register....the fun, the anticipation, the years and years and years of enjoyment can begin in earnest, please take the time to learn the process first, it will make all other things you try in this hobby easier. Trust me, the 4-6 weeks it may take to cycle a tank is NOTHING compared to the years a saltwater fish tank will provide entertainment for you. Even if a spike were to occur, look at that as a good thing, the bacteria colony would just grow to handle the larger amount of ammonia, however it is highly unlikely that the pods will die out en masse, nor would they produce that much ammonia if they did. Good luck to you and enjoy the hobby. Last edited by Pet Detective; 02/12/2018 at 05:52 PM.

02/14/2018, 02:16 PM	#7
oldhead Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: New Jersey Posts: 527	Yup, pods more than likely came in with the live rock. You will be surprised what will show up that you didn't add. I have things showing up from my dry rock that I didn't have in my smaller tank (everything from smaller tank is now in the larger tank except for the sand). While I waited for the new tank to cycle with the new rock and a piece or two of live rock from my display, I had snails and a hermit that made it over and survived the cycle.