Cycling Question / Newby

[HHN]

I finally got my tank plumbed and set up. Rather than go all fresh, I ended up taking some live sand (now dead and cleaned) and some live rock. I have had the live rock in the dark for about 4 weeks. There are still hermit crabs, snails, asterinas, bristle stars alive. Does that mean that the bacteria are still in the rock? Does this change whether or not I need to cycle or how I cycle the tank? What are some suggestions. I just put the rock, sand and scripps water in the tank yesterday. Thanks

[Accio]

There may be some bacteria left but if the rock was not in circulating water then most of it would be dead. The only way to know when your tank is cycled for sure is when ammonia and nitrite are 0.

[HHN]

Water was circulating and heated. Ill test in a few days. But was wondering if there was something smart/different I could do since I wasnt starting from scratch. Thanks

[Kris]

Currently it sound like your live rock is still a suitable home for some bacteria and invertebrates but it's kind of hard to guess how much good it is for the purpose you intend without additional information.
How big is the system,?
how much rock & sand did you put in so far, ?
what other equipment (circulation pumps, skimmers, lights, etc) will you be running ?
what kinds of critters do you plan to put into this tank?

[HHN]

It's a 90 gallon with about 15 gallons of water in sump/refugium.
2 inches of sand
about 90 lbs of rock
Bubble Curve 5 protein skimmer, Eheim 1260 pump, 4 locline output, 1 power head (1 more needed), Maxspect 27in 160 W 16K lights (need more or different lights)
I want it to be a mixed reef tank eventually, but starting out slow. Honestly, was going to think about stocking it as it cycled. Will put some snails and shrimp in soon.
Not sure about hermit crabs.

[Kris]

If you add corals slowly & feed sparingly, watching for ammonia & nitrates, you should be fine.
On the other hand,
If you add a bunch of fish and feed them 3X everyday, you will quickly have a disaster.

[ricenoodle]

Let's talk chemistry. What are your parameters at? Salinity, Ammonia, nitrite, nitrates? Mag, Alk, Cal? invest in a refractometer & those basic test kits first and get familiar with the parameters before adding a bunch of livestock and they end up dying and the tank crashing because it is rushed. Research and ask lots of questions. Eyeballing only goes so far and numbers don't lie, test and retest before you proceed. It'll save you alot of headaches and $ in this hobby.

[HHN]

Thanks for feedback. Ricenoodle, definitely will monitor parameters. I just brought in house today after dry run and it's running fine (no leaks). Ill take first parameters tomorrow and keep checking. But I was just wondering, since I didn't start from dry rock and had some life/critters on the rock even after 4 weeks of curing in the dark, if there would be a better way to cycle. Skimmer is freaking out, but that is probably another issue for down the road.

[HHN]

A few more questions. 12 days in and....Ammonia is 1.5 (been at 2), Nitrite (0, has never changed), Nitrate (5, slowly gone up last 2 days), Alk (8.5, rising), Ph (8.0, stable), Phosphate (0.68...still high and unchanged...even with initial vodka dosing and now some chaeto), Calcium (400, stable) and magnesium (1260, tested once).
I have decomposed a full fresh deli shrimp over last 5 days (completely gone).
I have added a bit of macrobacter7 over last 2 days.
The coraline algae that came with the live rock i dark cured seems brighter (although, that could be my eyes playing tricks).
Cloudy water from a few days ago is gone (right after adding the MB7).
1) is it strange that I get Nitrates slowly going up with no change in Nitrites?
2) I am still wondering whether or not the bacteria survived the dark curing of my live rock. Maybe my tank already has enough bacteria?
Any thougths? Or just patience?

[dizzyjay]

It is a good indicator that you have nitrates- ‘trates come from trites’ Nitrates are the byproduct of the bacteria that consume nitrites so don’t worry about low levels of nitrites- your on the way & it’s part of the process- it very well could be that dosing microbacter7 is why the nitrites are consumed so quickly. Nitrate levels point to having the bacteria necessary- now it’s a waiting game for the bacteria to populate to a point where it can balance the ammonia/trites & trates- patience. don’t be overly concerned about any other levels- you’ll have plenty of time to worry about calcium & alkalinity (and phosphates) later. Expect spikes in levels of all 3 (ammonia/nitrites/nitrates) as the differing bacteria dominate the tank. Some people will cycle and add inverts & damsels during the cycle (sort of oldskool thinking) but there is a valid counter-argument that it is inhumane to do so as you’re exposing hearty fish to a less than ideal environment.

[HHN]

I have this growing in sump....but not dt...diatoms?

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[Kris]

I mostly see Chaeto(lol)
But yeah, the bottom looks like diatoms, maybe some blue-green algae or slime algae on the edges? My eyes can't tell from the pic.
Is there a lid on top, that is splashed up a bit?
How long are you running your sump light(s) for the Chaeto?
With the ammonia you have I would recommend keeping the tank lights off until the previously mentioned peaks in the nitrifying bacteria have passed and levels of phosphate, and nitrate, are closer to zero to avoid establishing an algae culture in the DT.

[HHN]

Display lights are off, but I do run lights in the sump for about 12 hours. Was trying to see if the chaeto would pick off some of the phosphates.
Yes, there is a middle, acrylic bar on refurbished cheap tank. It's actually been useful to place things on.
Whith my phophate levels, I don't see how I avoid algae initially. Should I try and suck out those diatoms in the sump? Phosphate export?

[aquanicssd]

Display lights are off, but I do run lights in the sump for about 12 hours. Was trying to see if the chaeto would pick off some of the phosphates.
Yes, there is a middle, acrylic bar on refurbished cheap tank. It's actually been useful to place things on.
Whith my phophate levels, I don't see how I avoid algae initially. Should I try and suck out those diatoms in the sump? Phosphate export?

I'd definitely deal with any blue-green, darker algaes. The DTs should go away, might need a few members of the CUC down there. The chaeto (should) remove or keep phosphates stable (mine does), just keep an eye on it to make sure it's growing.

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[HHN]

I think picture is bad...the more I read, the more I am sure it's just diatoms. Should encourage that to move to the main tank? or will it just do it on it's own. And, not too soon for CUC? I have some hermit crabs and brittle stars that survived the dark rock cycle.