4 day cycle??

[rchall]

Could a Nano reef cycle in 4 days? On Saturday I set up a 12g nano with 20lbs. (2-3 inch bed) of live sand and 11 lbs. of live rock. I'm accustom to waiting for fish only tanks to cycle, and didn't even test the Nano reef tank until Wed. with the following results:

Amonia - 0

Nitrites - 0

Nitrates - 2.5

Ca - 450

Ph 8.2

Temp 76

Did the tank cycle that quickly, or has it just yet to begin?

[Blinkgyrl2987]

It may just be that your live rock was already cured ( really good) When you got it... You should still however wait and allow all the beneficial bacteria to multiply and reproduce before adding in anylive stock. You want to be sure that your tank is Mature enough to handle everything. so even though it may be cycled I'd still wait a bit... are you seeing any creepy crawlers on your rock and in your sand yet? This would be a good sign also.

 

All your parameters look really good though so just wait to see if your nitrate increases....and then begin your water changes. In the mean time you could start thinking about your stocking limits and what you eventually want in there....that always is fun when your waiting for time to fly. HTH Megan~

[trmiv]

it's possible. I'm using that bio-active sand that comes in the wet bag, and some (mostly) cured live rock, and my tank looks to be cycling rather quickly. I put my rock in Sunday, and my levels spiked, now the ammonia and nitrite are going down quick, and nitrate is going up. I'm still going to give it at least 2-3 more weeks before anything goes in though.

[rchall]

I haven't noticed any tiny crawlers, but the lr has what appear to be 2 small feather dusters and a mushroom. The feather dusters are open and colorful.