how do I know if my tank if fully cycled

ramirezjrj · 03/07/2018, 07:30 PM

I'm new to the hobby and want to make sure I'm cycling my tank correctly. A friend gave me about 100 lbs of rock that he had from his saltwater tank. He closed down his tank because he was moving and the rock had been in a bin for 6 months. I got the rock and had it cycling in a large covered trash can for 7 weeks. I saw the spike in ammonia and nitrate by the second week and by the sixth week the levels were down to zero. I finally got my 90 gallon tank set up and running with fresh saltwater. I transferred the rock from the trash can to the tank and have been checking the chemicals every day for the last 7 days. The ammonia and nitrate levels remain at zero. Is it safe to think my tank is ready for a couple of fish or should I wait for a few more weeks?

Pet Detective · 03/07/2018, 08:13 PM

Put a piece of raw cocktail shrimp or pure household ammonia, I don't know the proper ratio and I personally wouldn't do that, but others here swear by it.

Then test for ammonia and see how fast it goes to zero, if in a few days or 1 day even, it's back to zero, then your tank is cycled...your live rock may already have a bacteria colony growing.

ramseynb · 03/08/2018, 02:22 AM

You can do the shrimp thing or add fish food but I prefer the pure ammonia route. It’s more precise and you’re not adding a detritus source right away. Get some Dr. Tim’s Ammonia. It’s not too expensive and you add 4 drops per gallon of water to get to 2PPM of ammonia. If youse dose that amount and it’s gone and you have nitrates in 24 hours, your tank is cycled. If it’s not gone and you still have an ammonia or nitrite reading, your tank is not fully cycled.

mfinn · 03/08/2018, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ramseynb

You can do the shrimp thing or add fish food but I prefer the pure ammonia route. It’s more precise and you’re not adding a detritus source right away. Get some Dr. Tim’s Ammonia. It’s not too expensive and you add 4 drops per gallon of water to get to 2PPM of ammonia. If youse dose that amount and it’s gone and you have nitrates in 24 hours, your tank is cycled. If it’s not gone and you still have an ammonia or nitrite reading, your tank is not fully cycled.

This^^^^^

homer1475 · 03/08/2018, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ramseynb

You can do the shrimp thing or add fish food but I prefer the pure ammonia route. It’s more precise and you’re not adding a detritus source right away. Get some Dr. Tim’s Ammonia. It’s not too expensive and you add 4 drops per gallon of water to get to 2PPM of ammonia. If youse dose that amount and it’s gone and you have nitrates in 24 hours, your tank is cycled. If it’s not gone and you still have an ammonia or nitrite reading, your tank is not fully cycled.

+1
I prefer pure ammonia. Your local ACE hardware store has it. If your unsure, just shake the bottle. If it foams up, it has cleaning agents in it and is not what you want.

I use this calc for amount to use.

https://www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/...niaCycling.php

ramirezjrj · 03/08/2018, 11:02 PM

thanks for the advice, my local fish store gave me some ammonia to put in the tank, I did that around 7 pm central time. I checked the ammonia level around 10 pm and it spiked to 2.0 so Ill check it again tomorrow and see where it is. thanks again.

mcgyvr · 03/09/2018, 05:31 AM

There is no need to add ammonia or a shrimp or whatever..
Your rock already cycled in the bin.. The cycle is over/gone and happened already..

You can start slowly stocking the tank now..

oceanfan913 · 03/09/2018, 09:54 AM

I used Dr. Tim’s Ammonia to start the cycle and I had dead rock as well so needed to do get the cycle going. It worked great and my tank cycled quickly and did not have a problem for the 4 years I had my tank up until I had to take it down (personal reasons, not because anything was wrong with the tank).

03/07/2018, 07:30 PM	#1
ramirezjrj Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2018 Posts: 19	how do I know if my tank if fully cycled I'm new to the hobby and want to make sure I'm cycling my tank correctly. A friend gave me about 100 lbs of rock that he had from his saltwater tank. He closed down his tank because he was moving and the rock had been in a bin for 6 months. I got the rock and had it cycling in a large covered trash can for 7 weeks. I saw the spike in ammonia and nitrate by the second week and by the sixth week the levels were down to zero. I finally got my 90 gallon tank set up and running with fresh saltwater. I transferred the rock from the trash can to the tank and have been checking the chemicals every day for the last 7 days. The ammonia and nitrate levels remain at zero. Is it safe to think my tank is ready for a couple of fish or should I wait for a few more weeks?

03/08/2018, 02:22 AM	#3
ramseynb Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: New Braunfels, TX Posts: 630	You can do the shrimp thing or add fish food but I prefer the pure ammonia route. It’s more precise and you’re not adding a detritus source right away. Get some Dr. Tim’s Ammonia. It’s not too expensive and you add 4 drops per gallon of water to get to 2PPM of ammonia. If youse dose that amount and it’s gone and you have nitrates in 24 hours, your tank is cycled. If it’s not gone and you still have an ammonia or nitrite reading, your tank is not fully cycled. __________________ How do you make an octopus laugh? Ten tickles!

03/09/2018, 05:31 AM	#7
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	There is no need to add ammonia or a shrimp or whatever.. Your rock already cycled in the bin.. The cycle is over/gone and happened already.. You can start slowly stocking the tank now.. __________________ Who me?

03/07/2018, 08:13 PM	#2
Pet Detective Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 328	Put a piece of raw cocktail shrimp or pure household ammonia, I don't know the proper ratio and I personally wouldn't do that, but others here swear by it. Then test for ammonia and see how fast it goes to zero, if in a few days or 1 day even, it's back to zero, then your tank is cycled...your live rock may already have a bacteria colony growing.

03/08/2018, 11:02 PM	#6
ramirezjrj Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2018 Posts: 19	thanks for the advice, my local fish store gave me some ammonia to put in the tank, I did that around 7 pm central time. I checked the ammonia level around 10 pm and it spiked to 2.0 so Ill check it again tomorrow and see where it is. thanks again.

03/09/2018, 09:54 AM	#8
oceanfan913 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 55	I used Dr. Tim’s Ammonia to start the cycle and I had dead rock as well so needed to do get the cycle going. It worked great and my tank cycled quickly and did not have a problem for the 4 years I had my tank up until I had to take it down (personal reasons, not because anything was wrong with the tank).