How to start a cycle ?

[Adamas]

So after mixing the RO water with salt, then adding sand and then liverocks, now all you need to wait for the cycle to begin and finish, but what's the best choice to do to begin a cycle ?

 

[liquid]

It will begin on its own without any real help from you. Just watch your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels over the next couple weeks and when your nitrate levels bottom out your cycle is complete.

Shane

 

[Adamas]

But I don't have many liverocks, more dead then live..So i think I have to throw some krill inside the tank right ?

 

[wereef]

Hi and Merry Christmas!

If you want to get a jump start, take a uncooked shrimp and just toss it in and let it rot.

If your live rock was fully cured and wasn't left to air for any length of time, you can kick start the cycle this way. but either way, your tank will start the cycle due to what ever die off you have on the rock from simply adding it to the tank. the shrimp may speed up the start.

Good luck with the new tank!

wereef

 

[Anonymous]

it will begin all on its own, no need to add anything to rot, the rock you put in even if all dead rock will have plenty of stuff on it to rot away.

Just watch for your ammonia to go up, when it gets too too high, like up at the top of the scale do a water change to bring it down a bit, and pretty soon the ammonia will drop and the nitrites will rise, if there are no fish in there you can do the same thing as the ammonia. Then nitrites will drop and nitrate will go up. Once you have no ammonia and no nitrites you are finished your cycle and you can add fish.

Beware of adding too much at once though, every thing you add to the tank that produces ammonia ( fish and dead stuff on rocks) will cause a cycle. By adding slowly you can keep the levels from going to crazy.

Always best to stock slowly...

Have fun, can't wait to see some pics from Malta, boy that's a long shot from where I am sitting....

 

[Adamas]

Thanks guys.

Knucklehead but people say that you have to do the first water change when the cycle has finished, am I right ?

About the pictures, sure I will post in near future.

Thanks.

 

[Anonymous]

It sort of works like this...


You don't have to do any water changes at all until after the cycle has finished turning everything to Nitrate.....

But, if during that time the ammonia and nitrite levels get too terribly high, then good stuff on your live rock will die. and then the levels will go even higher....


I like to test every day or two just ammonia and nitrite until I see them start to drop, and then I start testing nitrate.

 

[Adamas]

OH I see. Thanks knucklehead

 

[Garry thomas]

Another tip to speed things along. is take P%% in the tank. This puts useable ammonia to get things fired up quicker. Plus if you can get some used sand out of an established tank this will help seed your existing sand. As stated your ammonia will rise just before it peaks your nitrite will rise then the same for nitrate it will appear when you still have nitrite. The key to a successful tank is to test test test and test some more. Plus it pays dividends to keep a log of all your tests so you can compare at a future date if needed.

 

[Adamas]

Another tip to speed things along. is take P%% in the tank

What you mean, sorry I didn't understand this sentence?

 

[Anonymous]

He said to Urinate in the tank.

I haven't ever tried that....

 

[Adamas]

hehe is this true or a joke ?

Never heard about this.