MB3 Posted November 12, 2003 Share Posted November 12, 2003 I started my tank 6 days ago, today was the third time I tested it. I tested it the 2nd time about 3 days ago and noted the start of the cycle, ammonia was elevated, nitrites were at 0, interestingly enough, nitrates were present at about 5.0ppm. Although it was strange to me to have 0 nitrites and some nitrate, I figured it was just the cycle setting in. I went out of town for 3 days. Today I come back and test. Ammonia is at 0, nitrite is at 0, nitrate is at 10ppm. Is it possible to cycle a tank in 6 days???? Its a 12 gallon tank, 12 lbs uncured fiji LR, 12lbs live sand. Below is a pic of the test I just ran. Either way I'm going to wait a bit to make sure its stable, but if this cycled in 6 days I'm amazed. I also very happy as I have noticed a multitude of feather worms, and lots of other cool looking hitchhikers in there. I was worried I would lose them during the cycle. Link to comment
caja Posted November 12, 2003 Share Posted November 12, 2003 Look! A rainbow! What type of live rock did you use? Cured or uncured? Link to comment
MB3 Posted November 12, 2003 Author Share Posted November 12, 2003 Uncured fiji rock. Link to comment
Reefer_Buddha Posted November 12, 2003 Share Posted November 12, 2003 take your water to an lfs and have them test it. If youre ever unsure always get a 2nd test with a different test kit. Link to comment
MB3 Posted November 12, 2003 Author Share Posted November 12, 2003 heheh I'm way unsure on this. The results were clear, but it honestly doesn't make sense. There appears to be plenty of stuff still on the LR that needs to decay. Good plan on the LFS, I'll take some water over tonight. Originally posted by Reefer_Buddha take your water to an lfs and have them test it. If youre ever unsure always get a 2nd test with a different test kit. Link to comment
mattie Posted November 13, 2003 Share Posted November 13, 2003 there is no such thing as a turbo cycle unless you fill your tank with sand from another tank and fill with LR that has been in another tank for a long time and you use some water from that tank too lol Link to comment
Infiniti Posted November 13, 2003 Share Posted November 13, 2003 my tank was done in a wk. but i still waited for an extra wk. Link to comment
waveman216 Posted November 13, 2003 Share Posted November 13, 2003 My tank cycled in about four days. Definately wait a week or two though, especially if you're seeing stuff on your rock that is still rotting. Even better, wait about a month, just for overkill. Link to comment
adinsxq Posted November 13, 2003 Share Posted November 13, 2003 you know... one day i'm going to have to buy one of those test kits and see what all those colors and numbers everyone talks about REALLY mean. looks fun though. i suppose you could test your kit to see if it's still working by running samples from a feeder tank. not for accuracy of course - viability sorry << no help. good luck and post pictures, byee Link to comment
MB3 Posted November 13, 2003 Author Share Posted November 13, 2003 Alright, I took some water to the LFS. My test kit uses drops they use dry tab. They only tested ammonia and nitrites and their test showed 0 ammonia and only a slight detection of nitrite. The person who tested told me that they thought the tank was cycled and that I could start adding corals. Call me cautious, but after a 6 day cycle that is showing low level nitrites, I would argue the cycle has just started, not ended. I also asked why my test would show 0 nitrite and theirs would detect some levels, they told me dry tab was more sensitive to nitrite. I'm just going to ride this out and see where it goes over the next 30 days. Pretty freaky though Link to comment
mattie Posted November 13, 2003 Share Posted November 13, 2003 very wise good call to give it the 30 days:) Link to comment
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