[SeniorT2005]

This is the first salt water tank I have had, and I have a question about cycling. How Fast does this happen? I set the tank up last sunday so it has been about 8 days, I did not take any tests for the first 5 days after the tanks setup. I know i should have been taking measurements during this period, but I was a little lazy in getting the testing equip. So now that it has been running for about 8 days or so, the past 3 days the tests have all been the same, ph 8.4, ammonia 0ppm, nitrite 0 ppm, and nitrate 20, I dont know if it has cycled yet since I have not seen a change in any tests, What are my chances? Thanks

[MISTERFIXIT]

1st what do you have in the tank???

Size of tank and type of filters, lighting etc.I let my 90 gal cycle for about 8 weeks w/a piece of shrimp from the local seafood section at Kroger,to establish a bacteria base! Patience is a must in this hobby, aggrevation is pretty much a given.Take your time!

Marc

[BubbaWPB]

Agree with MISTERFIXIT, no way to answer unless we know what is in your tank. Rock? Live rock? Cured or uncured? How many pounds? How many gallons is your tank? We're not trying to be smart alecs, but we really can't answer without knowing.

Time varies for cycling, but if you start with fully cured live rock and live sand, it goes much faster than the usual 8-12 weeks recommended for plain rocks and sand.

Do you have any animals at all in the tank yet?

[SeniorT2005]

no animals yet just 26lbs of live rock cured, and two bags of live sand in a 55 gal tank, two 30-60gal aqua-tech filters, temp at 80F. Lighting is two 18 in. corallife 10,000K bulbs. Oh yeah I do think I have a very small feather duster attached to one of the live rocks.

[Reefland]

Where did you get your liverock at and do you know how long those folks had it? If the rock was cured, that is in a tank for several weeks with light, heavy water movement and filtration, you tank could be cycled (the current bacteria populations can handle any increase in ammonia). However if the rock was fairly fresh or not well taken care of, it could still be cycling slowly and will need several weeks.

[BubbaWPB]

Since the live rock is cured and you used live sand too, you may have gone through your *first* cycle (since ammonia and nitrite are 0). Be aware that when you add more livestock to a relatively new tank, it will cycle again - hopefully with lower "spikes" as the tank matures. Be very careful and go very slow - 26 pounds of live rock is a bit light for a 55 gallon tank.

[SeniorT2005]

Well thanks for yall's help. I think I will get a couple of fish sometime this weekend and see what happens. As for the live rock I know it was well taken care of and cured for at least 3 weeks, How much live rock is too much for a 55. I am kinda going slow with it because im not very rich so it is coming just not very fast. I would like 100 lbs is that ok or is it too much? Again thanks for the help.

[BubbaWPB]

Usually 1 to 1½ pounds of live rock per gallon of aquarium... so 55 - 85 pounds would be in the usual range. More doesn't hurt... it's just less room in the tank for critters!

[Reefland]

The only thing as too much liverock is when it won't fit. From a filtration standpoint, the more the better. The key is to get enough to do the filtration and not overload the tank from an appearance standpoint. Most people today are going for a more open rock structure which is why I mention this.