Cycling a new tank

[Freddy Twotimes]

How long does it take to cycle a new reef tank with the appropriate amount of cured live rock? I set up a new tank after a crash I had due to a faulty heater and my 4 fish are at the fish store as well as a mushroom rock that had survived.

I was hoping [as I assume the fish store does] that I could get my animals back soon. I am going to have the store test the water 100% after the first week to see where I am at...I hope it wont take too long, I miss my fish already!

[leebca]

I think it's more a matter of how much the new tank is 'new.'

If it is starting from scratch, then it could have its biological cycle ready for bio-load in a couple of weeks or less.

But that isn't the only thing or cycle the new tank must go through. Even if the biological filter is up and running as it should, the tank isn't ready for fish. A new tank should mature before fish are put in. That is, the tank should not only have an active biofilter, but all the other bacteria and micro-organisms have to be in place and doing their thing before the fish arrive. That could take months.

After the biological filter is working (no ammonia and no nitrates) then you put in your clean up crew (snails, shrimps, etc.). Add food to the aquarium for those critters and keep monitoring ammonia and nitrites.

The aquarium may go through a bloom of cyanobacteria, diatoms, or other microbes. Once the bloom(s) settles down, it is usually a sign that fish can be put in, one at a time.

If your LFS is holding your fish for you, then I would suggest putting the fish through a quarantine process. Since the quarantine process should take no less than 6 weeks, you can get this going while your display tank matures.

Good luck!

[Freddy Twotimes]

I was afraid you would say that

My tank was up and running for almost two years. An old heater never turned off and brought the temperature up to a point that was leathal to my corals. I came home from work and...

One mushroom rock survived, my Hawk, Goby, Chromis and a Percula clown survived the temperature as well as the horrible water quality conditions for the three months it took me to come up with the money to do a 100% water change and add 60 pounds of new live rock. They were tough little buggers.

I have never seen anything like it, there were worms on the sand and the leather looked like melted ice cream. I assume the sand was not supporting any more biological life after all of that, however I did use a packet of Bio Spira and replaced 16 pounds of live rock with in days of the crash to try and reseed the rock I had.

I dont have a quarantine tank and it sounds like the fish store wants to give me my stuff back once the water tests ok. Hopefully, because my fish are small and there are only 4 of them with light feedings I can keep it under control until it matures so I can put some corals back in there.

[BubbaWPB]

There is a way to try to avoid having "fish soup" if your heater gets stuck. If you need a 50 Watt heater, get 2 25 watt heaters (heaters aren't that expensive). If one of them gets stuck in the ON position, you can usually detect a problem before you come home from work to bouillabaisse.

[Freddy Twotimes]

I live in Arizona so I really don't need a heater. I have been documenting the temperature since the crash, without any heater in the tank since January. In the cooler months is seems to be running about 78 degrees and now its been 78-81. In the past two years, it has never been higher than 84 and never lower than 78. The average is 78 over the past week ususally running 78-80]

It's like 108 degrees outside! My freind oktober7609 has a chiller but he does not have a softy beginner tank like me! I have had good luck with the easy care corals in the 78-80 degree range.

Its sucks that I even had a heater in the first place but looking at it positively, I have a better setup now than I did before and I have that learning curve.

[Freddy Twotimes]

By the way, I tested my water for the first time after the second day of the new setup. I have not cycled a tank ever where I owned all my own test kits. Now that I can test my own water I am not sure whats normal a day or two after a new setup.

The PH was 8.2, the Alkalinity was 3.6, the Phosphate was 0.1 which confused me because I used RODI water from the fish store, the Calcium was 620 just from the Kent salt and the Nitrate was 50+. I have to get an Amonia test kit on Wednesday.

[rededteck]

You also need to check your nitrites which is the most important parameter to measure for cycling. You probably already know this as you have had a tank for years....

[Freddy Twotimes]

This is the first time I have had a new cycle going with a couple of pieces of live rock that was uncured. I have to purchase the Nitrite and Ammonia test kits tomorrow on my way home from work. Now that I have seen the Nitrate level up to 50 or so, I need to stop off and get some water to prepare for a large water change.

I am afraid to change the water before I get the Amonia and Nitrite test kits but am equally afraid to not change the water with such high nitrates. I am not sure if the Fish store by my house is as upfront about everything as I would like them to be...it seems you get a different answer depending on who you talk to.

If I dont do this right, I will not have a healthy Bio filter. Should I wait 1 more day [day 4 after set up] to do the water change until I can see what the amonia and nitrite tests at? Or do I assume they have already broken down into Nitrates because of the high level my test showed last night?

[leebca]

If you don't have any livestock in the tank, the high (ammonia and nitrite) levels are good to kick off the bio-filter. If you have livestock on the rocks you want to keep (corals, sponges, higher lifeforms) then doing the water change now would be advisable.

[Freddy Twotimes]

There is nothing in my tank right now but the rock. I was not advised by the fish store when I took it home to purchase a nitrite and amonia test kit. They were going to test my water in 1 week to advise me what to do next. I wanted to test the water with the kits I had to document a starting point.

It was a slow day at the store today so I did some reading about cycling a tank with live rock and became concerned that my high nitrate level left unchecked for a week would kick off an unwanted algae bloom...which is what I had last week before the new setup.

I wont know where my amonia and nitrite tests at until tommrow night so the only thing I know right now is that my nitrate is around 50ppm. Should I wait until tomorrow and see about the other two tests? I will have the water ready then if I need it.

[leebca]

Your live rock should be helping out with the control of nitrates, assuming you have enough live rock and it is 'live.'

I would do the water change as soon as you have the water ready.

[Freddy Twotimes]

I would do the water change as soon as you have the water ready. [/quote]

I hope its live, I paid enough for it! What do you mean ready? I assume I am looking for no amonia and no nitrite...but should the thank rid itself of nitrate in this cycling process? Or will that be taken away by the water change? I am unclear if this DSB is going to have things that will rid the tank of nitrate or ifthe water change will do that?

[prow]

forget the testing. just a waste of time and money. IMO, of course. just let it run for a month. your rock from your old tank will do. if you want you can always just put a piece of squid in the tank to kick things in. after a month add a couple sanils and other cleaners. look for the brown stuff to grow all over. "the algae bloom" after the bloom goes away then start adding fish. should take between 6-8weeks. dont use to much light during this period. dont want to big of a bloom. this kinda marks the beginning of the matureing stage, which lasts a couple years.

[prow]

no testing needed as far as the bacterial stages go. during the algea stages you should be checking nitrates, phosphates, silicates and of course Ca+,Alk and ph. then doing water changes as needed untill your system is stable and you can esstablish a regular routine. if your running high temps i would also suggest testing O2 levels.

[leebca]

I will have the water ready then if I need it.

The "ready" was from your post.

[Freddy Twotimes]

Thanks for all the help. Its all so scientific!