Question on a cycle of a new tank.......

[Brady]

Hello guys... I'm new to SW and my fist tank have been up and running for five weeks now and I have not seen the cycle yet... Can someone please let me know what is the time frame will the cycle starts... basically, I have not done any water changes since....all I did was adding fresh water to replenish the water from evaporations, and maybe 20 minutes cleaning per week.... I don't know what to expect next... my fish are happy, corals are growing...I was thinking if nothing wrong then I don't have to worry about it......However, after reading some of the articles on here that makes me start to worry of what will happen next...I'm not sure if I need to do the water changes or not..... I have brought one week old water to the store to tested out (a month ago) and was told just to add some reef builder and that's all I did.... Any advices will be appreciated

 

[chickenofthesea]

are you showing any Nitrates? If so it could be that your tank already cycled. Rothany just got his tank up and running again and he had SPS in his tank in like 23 days. Sometimes a cycle is quick and sometimes they take what feels like forever (although 23 days can feel like forever in this hobby). I think most people here would say "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

 

[Brady]

Thanks Josh! I think there should be nitrates in the tank because I have four fish in there.... I haven't tested the water for a month now so it's hard to tell but both my fish and corals are doing good...

 

[jezzeaepi]

I'm new to SW and my fist tank have been up and running for five weeks now and I have not seen the cycle yet.

I haven't tested the water for a month now so it's hard to tell but both my fish and corals are doing good...

How could you know if the cycle happened, or is happening if you never tested your water? How do you know things are "doing great" if you have never tested your water? There is a lot more going on in your water then what you can visibly see.

 

[Brady]

Good point Jezzeaepi, like I said... it's my first SW tank ever I thought the cycle happens when there are algae blooms in the tank... the reason I said my fish and corals are doing good because all my fish are very active and eating well, my corals are getting bigger just a bit too... I really don't know much... Honestly, I bought the system that came with what I thought is a calcium reactor, it's sitting in the sump and I still don't know how to set it up or should I clean it, so I haven't plug it in yet ...it seems like I need to bring my water to the store and ask if they could help to test it out.

 

[jezzeaepi]

You can have algae and a cycle at the same time, though usually the algae comes after the cycle. Some fish and coral are also more tolerant of a cycling system then others, so while it sounds like you have made it through, I would still test just to be sure.

You sure it is a calcium reactor? They usually consist of a reactor 6-12inch in diameter reactor, a circulating pump for the reactor, CO2 canister, and a gas pressure regulator(electronic). If it is a calcium reactor, you won't need that for a good while.

Did you buy an already up and running system? or a used one? Or a new one and you just didn't know what all you bought(i.e. the mystery calcium reactor)?

I don't know a lot of stores in the Renton area, but I do know that Barrier Reef is close by and they use high quality elos test kits for testing customer water. So many water testing companies produce crap, which is why I only trust elos these days. Have had bad experiences with all the rest of them. Nothing is worse then having a test kit tell you you have 0 nitrates when it is actually 20-30, or if the alkalinity test is telling you your alk is at 9 when it is actually 6. Or your refractomoter telling you your salinity is 1.027 when it is actually 1.021. These things have all happened to me with bad test kits, so I only trust elos for test kits and pinpoint for my calibration fluids.

Peace,
Jesse

 

[kpiotrowski]

so this tank was in operation when you bought it? where did the rock and sand come from? can you post a bunch of pics and provide names and model numbers of equiptment.

and I would get some test kits. ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph,alkalinty at least for now, then calcium and magnesium too if you can. then posphates.

 

[Brady]

Thanks Jesse! I'll take the water to Barrier Reef and ask if they could help to test it out this weekend. Ok...now, I don't think what I have is a calcium reactor because I dont' see the CO2 canister nor the control valve, there's only a small pump connected to it by a flex hose....
Kpiotrowski - I bought a used system that been sitting for over a year or so... I got the live rocks from an established tank...then corals and fish...When I bought my rocks and coral, I got some water and was using it to seed my tank....that's very much it... I don't even know what are the names and models of the equipments...(will take a closer look when I get home)... the skimmer was kind of big and I could not take it out to clean, all I did was taking the top two sections out to clean and put it back...never had a chance to take a closer look at the base...basically, it's running by a mag 12 pump...

 

[chickenofthesea]

Brady... you really leaped in my friend, LOL. Kinda sounds like me when I got into the hobby, I was like "refraco-what? I got this plastic thing that tells me the water has enough salt in it?!?!?" . Just bought a bunch of crap cause was told or read or thought I needed it. You will be alright though, the folks on this site will get you back on track. A lot of this hobby is trial and error... oh, and money! Even the veterans are trying new stuff all the time.

 

[Brady]

hahaha...thanks buddy! I have to say I didn't realize what I got myself into.. I spent too much money on this tank and still have no clue of what should I do next, I bought the system came with a chiller and didn't even turn it on... the gentleman whom i bought the tank from told me it's working so I just let it connected and leave it there, not even plug it in once to test if it's working hahaha...I'm glad the corals that I got from you really make it through... some of them suffered a bit but they start to grow back....

 

[HUNTER01975]

good luck... let us know how it goes I am kind of new as well so please share as you go..

 

[NC2WA]

brady,

welcome to RF !!

bottom line is get the water tested and see if you have nitrates...if so, tank is cycled.

I would suggest getting the following book:

Amazon.com: The Conscientious Marine Aquarist: A Commonsense Handbook for Successful Saltwater Hobbyists (Microcosm/T.F.H. Professional) (9781890087999): Robert M. Fenner, Matthew L. Wittenrich, Scott W. Michael, Alf Jacob Nilsen, Christopher Turk: B

it will answer a majority of your question including water parameters, tank setup, tank selection, etc..

 

[jezzeaepi]

Sounds like you got a lot going on for a new saltwater person. Maybe you can take some pictures and we can give you some pointers on what to do to get the tank in top running shape.

 

[janky]

That's the chemistry/biology behind it in as basic of terms as possible.

The only real "tell" that your tank is cycled is the presence of nitrates. If you had an already existing tank and left it up and running for 5 weeks you SHOULD be good to go. I mean, you said the fish and corals are doing fine - so as long as they aren't acting bizarre or corals shriveling up and closing, then I wouldn't panic.
Pick up a testing kit, that way you don't have to drive to the LFS every week

 

[chickenofthesea]

Hey Brady, didn't you get a test kit from me? I think I gave you the one I had and you can test for nitrates with it.

 

[Brady]

Thanks everyone for the info and suggestions! wow..the book costs almost $50 LOL..I'm pretty sure it has to be a good one, will check it out.....
Janky-thanks for the diagram...it really simple but shows a thousand words my friend...I think my system has everything in there except the water change part .
Thanks Josh...I did use your test kit to test on my temporary tank (when I have all the live rocks and corals packed in a 55 gal) for a couple times and the nitrates level was between 10 and 20..I have to admit it was kind of confusing b/c I did not know if I got the correct reading....After I moved the fish and corals into my DT, they seem happy that's why I did not use it at all. Let see if I can be able to upload any pictures and hope you guys can help me figure out the equipments and adjustments... lets recap..the systemn has three 250 watts metal halide...I'm using two because I think it'll be enough whith two... I think there is a 30 gal sump and 30 gal refugium...1000 watts heater...1/2 hp chiller that I didn't even plug it in to test out...the skimmer that I don't know the name and model...it's running by a mag 12 pump... I have it running and wasn't sure if I tune it correctly...it seems like depend on the water level which i think hits and miss....sometimes I feel like it working perfectly and sometimes not..and one last thing that I thought was the calcium reactor but hahaha here is the pictures.....

 

[Brady]

 

[NC2WA]

the book costs almost $50 LOL

But think of it as an investment to your hobby...theh knowledge that you will learn from this book will repay you more than the $50 you spend on it...trust me...IMHO, most reefers should have this book in the Reef Library.

 

[Brady]

Absolutely not much at all for the book, especially in this hobby, $50 is just nothing (lesson learned )...emagine all the criters that we put in our system to clean all the wastes would cost three times that much, which IMO, I could not find them interesting in my naked eyes to enjoy hahaha....

 

[janky]

I found an older edition of the book for $9 shipped.
Some of the equipment is outdated (undergravel filters, etc) but all the basics are the same and it has a really comprehensive listing of all the fish/inverts/etc.