saltwater tank problem more questions i ask more lost i get...?

Question

do i need to see a spike in amonia nitrate or nitrite to know my tank has started to cycle? will i see nitrite or nitrate first ? i have three damsels and some cured live rock. the tanks been going for like 2 weeks and i have yet to get any spike in any of my levels. is there i such thing as to much filtration? im really new to this can someone answer me like i am 2 years old so i can understand? hahah thanks

well as far as filtering goes i have a 36 gallon tank and a 2 filters one canister filter and one with the bio bag. I know every seems to be against the biobag filters and says they are no good but i was having trouble at first getting my water to clear from the sand and as soon as i put it on the next day it was clear. So all in all im filtering like 300+ gallons an hour according to the specs on the filters and i also have a protien skimmer that claims to be good for up to 100 gallon tank. Is that to much filtration or is there a such thing as to much?

Answer 1

Hi Craig, very simply put a new tank initially produces ammonia either from the fish waste or in the case of fishless cycling the ammonia is added, this in turn produces Nitrites (NO2) which then turns to far less toxic Nitrate (NO3). The first 2 will spike before dropping allowing the next in line to spike. The final product of the cycled tank, Nitrate is kept in check by regular partial water changes.

A couple of links below, one which explains the cycle in detail & one which explains about fishless cycling-a much quicker & kinder alternative than using fish. Hope this makes it a bit clearer!

Answer 2

Your filtration is in the suggested turnover range of 5-10 times your tank volume per hour. Some do even more, so I wouldn't say you have too much. Since your using cured live rock, and the damsels are probably small at this point, your rock may be able to handle the waste they're producing already. Are you measuring nitrates yet? If that's all you're seeing, the tank is cycled, but will still take a while to mature.

Here's a website written for freshwater, but it's the same process. See the graph in the link below for how "cycling" occurs from start to finish in a new tank. What's different in yours is that by using live rock, you've imported a colony of established bacteria along with the rock (what the "live" refers to, not the other organisms you see which are alive), so the reproduction got a head start. You may not necessarily see all the stages as shown in the graph.

http://www.firsttankguide.net/cycle.php

I like the explanation here a little better: http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm

Answer 3

You should of let the tank filter before you put in the fish. The amonia will spike first..... everything else will spike afterwards to lower the amonia. After the cycle or during (if you have any questions) you can take a sample of your water into any pet store and they will let you know how it is and if anything is wrong how to fix it. Also for a 36gal tank.. you need about 35-40 lbs of live rock.



P.S. watch out ... damsels are very aggressive once they get alittle bigger.

Answer 4

You may or may not see a spike. It depends on how much of a bioload you have at once VS the amount of live bacteria that will consume the bioload. All tanks will go though a cycle but unless you test 6 times a day you might miss it if you filtering ability is higher than the bioload. Ammonia then nitriate then nitrate is the order of changes that will take place during a cycle.
If you have alot of live rock and sand and a large filter you may miss your cycle spike if your bio load is small.

Answer 5

You will see a rise in amonia then a rise in nitrite and then a rise in nitrate. Ammonia and nitrite are deadly to fish but once the nitrate shows up your tank should be biochemically balanced, the whole proccess usually takes up to 2 months