New 2g Pico-Reef: Strange Cycle

[AtomicReef]

Hello all, new member here. I am not new to the reef tank world but I did take a couple years off. Anyways, I am setting up this new 2 gallon pico setup I bought from the LFS.The specs are listed below. I have experiencd some really strange cycle behavior however, notably, the fact that there was no cycle... All of my previous tanks took at least 2 weeks to cycle, but this one shows no sign of it. Check out my day by day tank log below and let me know what you guys think.

 

Specs:

 

- 2 gallon rimless cube

- Chem, Bio, and Mechanical filtration

- REALLY bright LED setup, Im not sure the exact specs, but it was previously powering a reef before this tank.

- 3 pounds live sand

- 3 pounds cured live rock from a well established tank

 

Day 1: Added 3 lbs live sand and water.

 

Day 2: Added 3 pounds cured live rock, and 4 nerve snails.

 

Day 3: To start the cycle, I added some biomass: 1 Damsel, 1 hermit, and a few cheap zoanthids and a kenya tree.

 

Day 4: Everything doing great: Water Quality: Ammonia = 0ppm, Nitrate = 4ppm, Nitrite = 0ppm, PH = 8, Salt = 1.023

 

Day 5: Water Quality: Ammonia = 0ppm, Nitrate = 1ppm, Nitrite = 0ppm, Salt = 1.024

 

Day 6: Water Quality: Ammonia = 0ppm, Nitrate = 0ppm, Nitrite = 0ppm, Salt = 1.024

 

Day 7: Water Quality: Ammonia = 0ppm, Nitrate = 0ppm, Nitrite = 0ppm, Salt = 1.024

 

I have been feeding pretty heavily, to try and see if I would get a small ammonia spike, but alas, nothing. The nitrate somehow went down, I haven't done any water changes. There is a piece of chaeto in there though. No algae blooms.

 

I suppose it is possible that the tank is already cycled due to the fact that the rock was well cured and there was probably very little biological die off.

 

I will post some picture shortly

 

 

 

 

[tibbsy07]

You have a lot of live rock in that tank from an established tank. Assuming you added it rapidly from the one tank into your new tank, I wouldn't expect much die off. I think you're cycled. If your inhabitants look good, keep on keeping on!

[SchnauzerFace]

With LR and LS, it's not terribly surprising that there was little to no cycle in a 2gallon tank. You should be all set!

 

But ... with 3 lbs of rock and 3 lbs of sand, is there any room for that damsel in there? Sounds like he might need a bigger home, imo

[AtomicReef]

You have a lot of live rock in that tank from an established tank. Assuming you added it rapidly from the one tank into your new tank, I wouldn't expect much die off. I think you're cycled. If your inhabitants look good, keep on keeping on!

 

It was wrapped in newspaper that was dunked in saltwater and driven about 15 minutes down the road into its new tank, so I suppose that isn't rapid transfer, but pretty quick. All of the inhabitants are doing really well.

 

 

With LR and LS, it's not terribly surprising that there was little to no cycle in a 2gallon tank. You should be all set!

 

But ... with 3 lbs of rock and 3 lbs of sand, is there any room for that damsel in there? Sounds like he might need a bigger home, imo

 

The rocks I added are not very tall, they are just flat/round and heavy, so there is plenty of water space for him to enjoy. He is very tiny, probably half an inch long. If when he gets bigger, it seems that he is cramped, I will definitely move him into a larger tank, but for right now, he is doing well.