How much longer(Cycle)

[Ill Will]

I don't know if y'all can make out my test ....but if you can. I want to know if anyone thanks my tank is almost ready?

 

[reefstarter]

when you read 0 ammonia , and can put in some shrimp or other sourse of ammonia and its reads zero overnight

 

[Ill Will]

I got some pure ammonia from Dr. Tims should i add that?

 

[jdeb101]

Did you ever see any nitrites or nitrates? Looks to me like your only at the beginning stage with a little ammonia and no ites or ates.

 

[phg1960]

You already have ammonia.

What you will see is ammonia rise then drop off fairly quickly while nitrites increase. Once nitrites start to drop, nitrates star to rise. When you have nitrate building up and no ammonia or nitrites, you can start adding livestock. Go slowly and watch for ammonia spikes. I wouldn't bother testing the other parameters until you are finished cycling. From your readings, I would guess you still have about 3-4 weeks to go.

 

[Ill Will]

So don't add the Shrimp? or Starter Fish?

 

[phg1960]

There's no need to. The cycle has started, just sit back and wait. It;s a good time to figure out just what you want to do with this tank. There are always trade-offs.

 

[Ill Will]

Okay cool..... I really want to do a reef aquarium. I have a 120, so I know when I fill it with coral its going to be hot.....hey Thx for all the input...I rea appreciate it.

 

[maximo]

You already have ammonia.

What you will see is ammonia rise then drop off fairly quickly while nitrites increase. Once nitrites start to drop, nitrates star to rise. When you have nitrate building up and no ammonia or nitrites, you can start adding livestock. Go slowly and watch for ammonia spikes. I wouldn't bother testing the other parameters until you are finished cycling. From your readings, I would guess you still have about 3-4 weeks to go.

Agreed 100% now is a great time to play with flow, aqua scape skimmer etc etc! I like how you actually show your test kits! That is great info! The more patient you are with the cycle the better! When I start adding livestock I wait 2 weeks in between introducing anything for the first 4- 5 months. May be a little over cautious but IMO it never hurts to be extra careful! Do you have light on the tank yet?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ill Will]

 

[Ill Will]

My tank 120 Gallon

 

[reefstarter]

What kind of light is that?

 

[Ill Will]

Six unit T5

 

[PSU4ME]

Looks really nice!

 

[maximo]

I would get a digital thermometer in place of the mercury one! They are only about 10 bucks and have no mercury inside the tank. A friend of mine had his tank crash for no reason he thought! Then when looking closely the thermometer was cracked! We think one of the fish may have slammed it to hard into the glass! They would sometimes freak when someone walked in the room. I also had two turtles who broke one also lol! They weren't in my reef tank btw!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[JasonandSarah]

I'm wondering if your rock structure is held together in anyway? Did you read up on aquascaping?
I like how you have lots of little caves it just seems like you didn't leave much room down low for lower light corals?
I really only bring this up because my tanks been up for 2 years and I've never been fully happy with the rock work. Mostly because I didn't research it at all and I've taken away and added so much it's ridiculous.
I personally love the look of pillars with a bridge or arch connecting them, But that's me.
I hope I'm allowed to post this link?? This is the rock structure in Sanjay's 500g tank.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=730564&page=28

 

[Ill Will]

Thinks everyone for the love.....Im just ready to get my fish and corals.

 

[JasonandSarah]

Thinks everyone for the love.....Im just ready to get my fish and corals.

Have you added any bacterial boosters? They can help, just use them in moderation so you don't get some huge bacterial bloom.

 

[Ill Will]

I thought about getting some bacterial just don't know how it would help.... Some say it's not worth it.

 

[JasonandSarah]

I thought about getting some bacterial just don't know how it would help.... Some say it's not worth it.

Do you have any live rock from someone's tank in there?
I'm not positive if bacterial boosters work or not? I know I used them on my tank when I set it up and it was cycled in less then 2 weeks.
Also I'd get a better test kit if I was you. Api is considered the single most inaccurate test kit. At the very least I'd get a good nitrate and phosphate kit for now. Salifert for nitrates and Hanna checker for Ulr phosphorus.
Then later on you can get the reef foundation kit from Red sea!lol Cal, Dkh and mag are very important. I know it's overwhelming at first and it's hard not to think "why do I need all this crap? " but you do and it's important.
Good luck with the cycle...