Cycling question

[aaron186]

Recently upgraded from my 10 gal to a 40 breeder with 20 gal sump. I am using Carib sea Arag alive sand and dry reef cleaners rock. I started my cycle 2 months ago by just adding pellet fish food. I am a medicine resident and have been working in the ICU and got lazy and did not test my cycle for about a month. When I tested last month using API my nutrients were all zero. I figured I didn't have enough ammonia to start cycle so I threw a raw jumbo shrimp in the tank. I went on vacation and did not check the tank for 2 weeks. The shrimp was completely rotted. I checked my nutrients again last night and zero ammonia and zero nitrates. Am I safe to assume it is cycled? Not running skimmer yet to artificially lower nitrates

[tsouth]

Sounds good to me! Any algae?

[aaron186]

My lights have been off but last time I cycled I still got algae and diatoms. Nothing this time

[brandon429]

cycling threads are the funnest to work with under certain params, yours is a two part equation

 

your goal to be done cycling, at least enough to input a few easy starter animals, is when 2 ppm of ammonia goes to zero within 24 hours, so that requires two part equation. first is when you get the ammonia to 2ppm, shrimp often wont youll have to use cleaning ammonia. second reading is the 24 hours later, if not zero, then you simply add bottle bac and maintain at 2ppm until you get this 24 hr digestion. see this big ugly read here:

 

http://reef2reef.com/threads/new-tank-cycling-tank-bacteria-and-cocktail-shrimp-live-rock-no-shrimp.214618/

 

 

your live sand is going to mask your rocks ability to filter, it can take on a large portion of waste and reduce it to zero within 24 hours. try to get the system to do 2-3 ppm reliably, then you can start w some corals and light fish or two.

 

it takes one ammonia test to set things to 2ppm approx.

 

then one more a day later hopefully showing zero, and when it'll do it twice over you can certainly begin reasonably without any guessing time.