How long for my cycling process to start?

Question

I have just set up my new saltwater aquarium, i have mixed up my salt to my water added to the tank then let the filter run for 24 hours and then added 3kg's of live rock to the tank, that was last week and my cycling process hasn't started. should it have started by now??

Sorry, my tank is only small 34L as i only want to have two clown fish in to start with then move onto a bigger tank in time.

Answer 1

With live rock in your tank, the process probably has started - it just may be taking some time before your ammonia levels become evident. You tell us how much rock you added to your tank, but don't mention how large the tank is. If it's a large tank with just a bit of rock, you may have to wait a while for any chemicals to build to where they're noticeable.

Also, the process doesn't continue unless you have something in the tank to produce ammonia - this can be dying organisms on the live rock, a piece of raw shrimp, or a hardy saltwater or salt-acclimated fish. If the bacteria don't have something to feed upon, they won't reproduce and convert the ammonia to nitrite, then nitrate.

As I said, some people like to use raw shrimp as their "starter". You don't need a whole piece. If you want to add a fish, I'd recommend against using damselfish. They are cheap and hardy, but are very territorial and will harrass any fish you try to put in later. A freshwater molly or guppy is cheap and can be acclimated to salt by using a small (I use a 2.5 gallon) tank and periodically adding sea salt mix to the water at about 1 tsp. - 1Tbsp. every few hours till you get the salinity up to seawater-strength. These can even stay in your tank as a conversation piece.

Hopefully, you've got a good saltwater test kit and are monitoring the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels. The entire process can take a few weeks to more than a month. See this website for more info: http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm

Good luck and welcome to the hobby!

Answer 2

You need to dose ammonia to get the process started. This can be done with straight ammonia, putting dead shrimp or fish in the tank and letting it rot, or with a live fish(not reccommended). I would get some ammonia in there ASAP because if the live rock goes without food(ammonia) too long, the bacteria will die off. You will be lucky if you have any bacteria left since it has been a week. Below is from a cycling article I wrote for my website:

Fishless Cycling:
For this method, you will be providing the tank with a source of ammonia. Bottles of ammonia can be purchased at your local department store or hardware store. Make sure to get pure ammonia, some of it has chemicals added which are harmful and will kill anything living in the tank. Read the ingredients label to make sure there are no additives.

Add the ammonia to the tank slowly, and check the levels every little bit of ammonia you add, repeat until the ammonia level is at 5ppm. Do not let it go above 8 ppm, if it does get that high, change out some water to bring the level back to around 5ppm. Test ammonia levels once every 1-2 days, and add ammonia as needed to keep the levels at 5ppm. Within 1-3 weeks, ammonia levels will start to drop, and nitrites will start to appear. Once nitrites appear, keep adding ammonia, but this time only go up to 2-3 ppm ammonia. Ammonia will slowly fall as nitrite levels climb. Test for both ammonia and nitrites every day. Nitrites will probably climb off the charts. Just let them go, and in 1-2 weeks nitrites will dissapear and you will start to see nitrates. When nitrites hit zero, dose 5ppm ammonia and wait for 1 day. By the next day there should be 0 ammonia, and 0 nitrites. Test for nitrates, and change water as needed to bring nitrates down to 10-20 ppm. It is now time to add your fish!

Cycling with Fish:
This method is not reccommended, because it can cause damage or death to the fish, but many people go out and buy fish before finding our about the cycle, and fishy cycling has to be done. For this method, again, have the tank, filters, everything set up. Add a small load of fish, make sure the fish are a very hardy type, because the ammonia and nitrite levels are going to have an effect. Monitor ammonia and nitrite levels very closely, and change water often to keep those levels as close to 0 as possible. If they rise above 0.25 ppm, do a water change. Once ammonia and nitrite levels hit 0, and nitrates start to show, it is time to add your fish. Gradually add fish, 1-2 small fish per week, and continue to monitor levels very closely. The bacteria will increase gradually with each fish you add, as it will need to adjust to the higher bio-load. So make sure to add fish gradually, and be patient.

Cycling with Established Bacteria:
This is the easiest and fastest way to cycle an aquarium. There are different ways to get bacteria for your tank. The cheapest way is to get some from another tank. Get some filter media from a friend, or maybe even your local fish store, and put it into your filter. Add a small load of fish, and monitor levels. Change water if needed to keep ammonia, nitrite as close to 0 as possible. In about a week, levels should hit 0, nitrates will begin to climb, and you can add 1-2 more small fish. Repeat until desired stocking is achieved.

You can also buy bacteria from the store. Don't trust anything that is off the shelf. These products are all live bacteria, and sitting on a shelf will cause the bacteria to die, and you will waste your money. Instead, go for products that are refridgerated. This causes the bacteria to go dormant, and they will live much longer. I reccommend Marineland's Bio Spira, it is the only product that has had widespread success. Follow the instructions on the package for use.

Answer 3

You need to have something in there that starts the cycling process, as Copperhead said, such as a piece of shrimp or other protein-based item. Yes, you can use inexpensive fish that are called "suicide" fish because they more often than not die, but as an advocate of fishless cycling, I personally ask that you choose to use the shrimp instead. You can also "seed" it with a bag of gravel taken from a cycled tank (one you trust so that it has no diseases) and put it in your filter, or put in some ammonia (no detergents) or add a commercial bacteria culture such as Bio-Spira.

Please make sure that, for such a small tank, your clownfish are very, very small.

Answer 4

I do believe that you have to have fish in the tank for it to cycle. You may be able to cycle it with chemicals though. (not sure about that for saltwater) The fish produce ammonia which is what starts the cycle process. Try this link, it has some good info in it.

Answer 5

get some damsels to do a cycle with. ive done two tanks cycling with damsels and none of them died, so they aren't "suicide fish" like some people might want to call them, they are just hardy. then if you dont want them after you are sure the cycling is complete, just take them back to the lfs that is willing to take them and maybe you can get some store credit, but if no store credit, at least you arent keeping fish you dont really want and they get to go to a different tank that someone wants them.

Answer 6

sure!!