cycling a tank, help

[Macaframa14]

so i just set up and started a tank. got sand, rock, equipment, everything except lighting. i was told to not introduce the lighting yet and to keep the tank completely dark to cure the rock. and kill any other bad bacteria
i was wondering if this is right?

also i heard that i could drop in a couple of silver sides, while doing this, to jumpstart my tanks cycle. is that right?

 

[fatboyt123]

yes silver sides will help

is the rock and sand dry rock did you cure it before you put it in the tank ?

 

[returnofsid]

Silversides or a piece of store bought shrimp. As it decomposes, it'll start the ammonia cycle, which will then feed the beneficial bacteria that you're wanting.

As for lighting, there's two sides to that debate. If the rock has a lot of algae on it, I'd leave the lights off. Let that algae die off and contribute to the cycle. Otherwise, leaving the lights off during cycle, and then suddenly turning them on after cycle, can kick start an algae problem.

It will also depend on what kind of shape your live rock was in when you purchased it. A lot of Live rock will already be teaming with good life and not really need to be cycled.

 

[Macaframa14]

i used a mixture of old sand from a buddy and new sand that i bought. the old sand was cleaned before i put that in.
the rock wasnt completely dry. my buddy had to tear down his tank a month ago and just took his rock sand and everything in the tank out and put it in a bucket with a closed lid.

how long should i let cycle? and how long without lighting?

 

[returnofsid]

Oh if it was in a bucket with a closed lid, it'll definitely need cycling. You probably won't need to introduce a silverside or shrimp. Should be plenty of die off on the rock already.

As for how long...there's no set answer or time frame. Testing will answer that question.

Get test kits for Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate.

Test often and here's how the cycle should go:

Ammonia will rise, spike and drop.
As Ammonia drops, Nitrites should start rising and spike and drop.
Then you should see Nitrates climbing.

Nitrates won't drop on their own. They are removed through skimming, water changes and macro algae in a refugium.

Once your nitrates are at acceptable levels, depending on what you want to live in the tank, these acceptable levels will be different, then your cycle is compete.

If you're wanting a reef tank, you want undetectable levels of nitrate. For a FO (fish only) tank, a certain level of nitrates is alright...<15ppm would be alright.

As for lighting...that's a tough one to answer and there's also no straight answer. I'd give the existing die off long enough to start boosting the cycle and colonizing beneficial bacterias. When you do decide to introduce lighting, I'd start out with short times and work your way up to the amount you'll eventually have all the time.

If you don't have a protein skimmer going, get one going ASAP

 

[Macaframa14]

yea i dont have a skimmer yet, i thought i could do without for a while just doing water changes. its a 28gallon tank, i figured 3 gallon water change a week would do the trick, just untill i get a skimmer.

 

[returnofsid]

You can do water changes while waiting to get a skimmer, but I'd recommend much larger than 3 gallons per week. I'd be doing 10 gallons per week. Once you get a skimmer, I'd still recommend a 25% WC/week.

 

[Saltyfish]

10 gallon water change per week in a 28 gallon tank? Not saying you are wrong but IMO that is overkill.

I am not an expert but what I have read 3% to 5% a week after you cycle your tank with skimmer. With no skimmer I would lean towards the 10% a week so 3 gallons a week should be fine. Remember you don't need perfectly clean water, you are not drinking it, you are trying to mimic the ocean. Some corals don't like new water, my frogspawns and GSP just really started coming out today.

I set up a new 90 gallon tank last week but used all my old stuff from my 55 gallon tank. So far nothing has died and everything just started blooming very nicely.

As far a cycling your tank only test and time will tell. When I first set up my 55 in Sept I waited a month to add anything to it. I think with the rock that I got I should have waited two months. The longer the wait in the beginning the less of the hassles in the first few months. I agree no lights, let everything die off completely and start fresh.

Again I am no expert just what I gathered from reading and just setting up another tank

 

[returnofsid]

I stick to the 20-25% rule. I've never read any suggestions of 3-4%/week. We could do 50% DAILY and never mimic the ocean. It's been said that certain corals, mainly LPS, shrooms or soft corals, need "dirty" water. This is a BAD myth in our hobby. They may like more nutrient rich water, though I'm not even convinced of that, but not dirty water. Here's some reading regarding this. There's lots more about this topic available online or in Anthony Calfo's Coral Prop. book.
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-03/cj/index.php

 

[Tex5620]

The way I see it what might be right for somebodies tank might not be good for somebody elses tank and vice versa. I have bc29 and do 5gallon wc everyweek. I also skim with sapphire aquatics bc29r skimmer. never had problems.

 

[brandyrb]

Don't do any water changes until your tank is done cycling otherwise it can interrupt and prolong the cycling process. Wait until the nitrates spike and nitrites are undetectable before doing water changes.

 

[FRESH]

Does anyone have time to answer a few questions about cycling? new tank 5 weeks old need to know what I'm looking for.

 

[returnofsid]

Fresh, plenty of us have time!! It'd probably be best to start a new thread about it, so your questions and the ones here don't confuse one another. There's also LOTS of great information in the New to Reefkeeping forum!!