Advice on tank cycling

[ngjaso]

Hi reefer, need some guidance as very new to marine. My tank is 24" X 20 X 24 and I'm using NSW with some live rock and sand bought from one of the reefer. Filtration is canister containing marine pure and rowas and sand bed is 2".

Cycling for 1 week but can't detach any ammonia and nitrites so I put 1 market prawn in it. 2nd day now n ammonia seem to be <0.25 n nitrite 0.

My question - has the cycling started. will the cycling complete within 3 weeks since I'm using NSW and cure live rock n sand.

Thanks.

[ngjaso]

Apology mod for the multiple post as thought it was not posted cos earlier post has failure to connect. Pl help to delete the other two. Thanks.

[Guest]

personal experience of mine - 3 week for cycle to end is possible due to using bio-home plus from old tank. If you trust those bacteria on market. Use them to speed it up.

[Shadow Walker]

Hello bro, think you just make a start to an exciting journey ahead for choosing this hobby. Your cycling should be a shorter than 3 weeks since you are using NSW, live rock and live sand and considering yr tank size is small. Do just the parameters every 2-3 days, once the ammonia and nitrite is zerolised your tank is done with the cycling. Basically yr cycling starts the day you added the prawn since it will provide an ammonia source to kickstart. Happy Reefing

[ngjaso]

Thanks all bros for the quick response. Really appreciate as hoping to set it up before Xmas n enjoy to see the fishes swimming around.

Will be keeping fowlr + few softies. How many fishes can I keep? Thinking of having a pair of clown n a small dory at the moment. what other suitable fishes can I keep?

[Edmund Koh]

It's always nice to see new reefers starting up their tanks.

Congrats on your new tank! Hmm.. Christmas should be in time for your first few fishes.

To speed up your ammonia spike, do chop up the prawn into smaller pieces and deshell it so there's more surface area for decomposition. Keep your wavemaker on to keep water moving. Lights, chiller should be off as bacteria grow best in dim environments and warm water speeds up metabolism. But then make sure water does not exceed 31 degrees (should not in our current weather). Skimmer should be off too so that the ammonia in the water does not get skimmer off.

You should get an ammonia spike in 1-2 days. Faster if the prawn is in high flow area. U will know when it spikes. Your tank will smell horrible but that's the process u need to go through. It will last for at least 1 week as all the ammonia get converted to Nitrite.

Nitrite will spike and take around another week or 2 weeks to go away. Once Nitrite is consistently at zero, leave it running for a week and then change 50% water to reduce Nitrate levels (usually above 50 just after cycling. Try and get it to below 10). Once done, fish can start going in slowly.

Dose bacteria and the process will be faster. But overdosing doesn't help.

[asg]

Bro, keep testing for you NO3 and PO4. But water para is just one indication of the cycle. Watch for diff alage boom, from my exp diff stages of cycling will have diff alage booms. So better hold your fish till you are certain.

[IshDeOne]

Just an advice bro, dn rush into stocking. U cn end up losing all the fishhes b4 Christmas . Make sure u haf sufficient biological media to be able to support the bioload you expect to keep. With a tank of tat size, probably u can keep. 6 - 8 jevuniles fishes.. If u are plan on keeping slighlty bigger fishes (2inch-3inch), stick to below 6. Enjoy ur journey bro. There's lot to learn, dn b discouraged Its a addictive hobby

[ngjaso]

Thank you all bros for the great advices. Will continue to monitor the para n too bad don't have a chiller due to budget.

Will go n cut off the prawn to speed up the process. Thanks again n appreciate all the help. Will upload the pics when the tank is ready to show u guys.

Yes, this is additive n lots of stuff to learn.

[Drahc]

i started my tank with evrything is dead, like bleach rock, and washed sand from local fps. took me 2 weeks before i add livestock and up until now they are still alive. i did the fishless and shrimpless cycle as i use ammonia powder+seachem stability, and a couple of vials of prodibio coz i srewed up my measurement of ammonia. hope it helps.

[ngjaso]

Thanks bro.

Read up some bro using nutrafin cycle n cycling completed within a week. Is it safe, any comment?

[Guest]

you can use two power fan or 2nd hand chiller. Fan will cause water to evaporate fast however.

Best is at least a few week from my experience. Don't rush

Best to test to make sure is somewhere close to 0 for nitrate and nitrite before putting fish using test kit.

[domvonn]

Wah ur canister filter media quite power , considering to go into sump filter ?

[ngjaso]

I wish but no space n no budget. I got my cabinet tank with canister from a bro keeping aro so have to go with canister for now

[IshDeOne]

Beware of canister filter bro. ITs known for being nitrate factories n maintenance is a chore i suppose.. Try invest in a small sump for now. Reduces chances of screws up.

[wchris12]

The longer u cycle,the better the stability in the future of ur life stocks . Don't cut the cycling period short

[acewong]

If didn't cycle well, it will be dangerous for ur live stocks...

[Edmund Koh]

Bro ngjaso, I used to run a similar canister filter set up to you but have since decommed it last weekend.

It was decommed because I can't seem to get rid of my algae bloom no matter what I did and my canister seems to be the main culprit.

Although the results were expected, it was way better then expected. Been 5 days and I have not seen any algae growing on my glass since I cleaned it off when I decom the canister. In the past algae would start growing 1-2 days after a clean up.

When I first hooked up the canister, algae was not blooming so quickly. But as time went by it really bloomed non stop. My guess is due to the dirt trapped inside the canister. Now I'm happy to be back to a non-algae blooming tank.

[Dez Ching]

Bro ngjaso, I used to run a similar canister filter set up to you but have since decommed it last weekend.

It was decommed because I can't seem to get rid of my algae bloom no matter what I did and my canister seems to be the main culprit.

Although the results were expected, it was way better then expected. Been 5 days and I have not seen any algae growing on my glass since I cleaned it off when I decom the canister. In the past algae would start growing 1-2 days after a clean up.

When I first hooked up the canister, algae was not blooming so quickly. But as time went by it really bloomed non stop. My guess is due to the dirt trapped inside the canister. Now I'm happy to be back to a non-algae blooming tank.

Bro Turtle 1989, canister will create algae blooming? Or could it be the contents in the canister?

Can share what you placed inside? Coz' I want to have a external canister to supplement onto my sump.

it will be good if I can learn more on this too. Thanks.