Every test is coming out optimal after 4 days?

[Ferrari_Jones]

I set my tank up four days ago with Live sand packaged last month (Arag-Alive) and used RO/DI water with instant ocean. I let that run over night in my tank, and then added live rock the following morning, within 15 minutes of purchasing it from the LFS. The rock had a hermit and later a starfish on it, both of whom I figured would have to be dead this morning. To my surprise they are both doing quite well. I had a diatom bloom yesterday, very small though, and the hermit has been chugging away at it all by his lonesome. Is this just the calm before the storm, or did I just luck out by using a few month old cured rock right from the tank?

[joshnanoreef]

I set my tank up four days ago with Live sand packaged last month (Arag-Alive) and used RO/DI water with instant ocean. I let that run over night in my tank, and then added live rock the following morning, within 15 minutes of purchasing it from the LFS. The rock had a hermit and later a starfish on it, both of whom I figured would have to be dead this morning. To my surprise they are both doing quite well. I had a diatom bloom yesterday, very small though, and the hermit has been chugging away at it all by his lonesome. Is this just the calm before the storm, or did I just luck out by using a few month old cured rock right from the tank?

 

You need to be patient. sometimes it takes a while to begin the cycle... wait a few weeks. :-)

[keydiver]

throw some kind of small dead animal in there. If the cycle hasnt started yet, thatll kick start it

[lakshwadeep]

This isn't really luck. Curing is the same thing as cycling except in a different location. The cycle itself is an example of such significant stress (i.e. being transported out of water for many hours/days) that the bacteria on the rock/sand can't handle the ammonia being produced, leading to the noticeable ammonia (and later nitrite/nitrate) levels. 0 ppm on a test doesn't mean there is no ammonia is in the tank; it means the ammonia is being removed as fast as it is being produced.

 

Also, it's a really bad idea to add anything dead to your tank. You do not need a cycle to have a successful tank. The ammonia spike from a "cycle" is not normal, which is why you can't have fish/corals during that time. Besides, that amount of ammonia will not be constantly produced in the long-term, leading to a boom and then bust in bacteria populations. This is why you paid money for cured rock from a LFS. "recycling" cured rock is a waste of time, money (you could have bought cheaper uncured rock), and potentially lives of your animals (like the hermit).

[Ferrari_Jones]

This isn't really luck. Curing is the same thing as cycling except in a different location. The cycle itself is an example of such significant stress (i.e. being transported out of water for many hours/days) that the bacteria on the rock/sand can't handle the ammonia being produced, leading to the noticeable ammonia (and later nitrite/nitrate) levels. 0 ppm on a test doesn't mean there is no ammonia is in the tank; it means the ammonia is being removed as fast as it is being produced.

 

Also, it's a really bad idea to add anything dead to your tank. You do not need a cycle to have a successful tank. The ammonia spike from a "cycle" is not normal, which is why you can't have fish/corals during that time. Besides, that amount of ammonia will not be constantly produced in the long-term, leading to a boom and then bust in bacteria populations. This is why you paid money for cured rock from a LFS. "recycling" cured rock is a waste of time, money (you could have bought cheaper uncured rock), and potentially lives of your animals (like the hermit).

 

I've been doing research for weeks and based on that, I would never use a carcass to kick start cycling if I needed to, I would just drop in ammonia. I guess my real question is, did I basically buy a cycled tank? I am in no real hurry to add livestock other than a CUC to the tank, as my poor little Hermit can only do so much on his own, and I'm starting to get a slight algae problem.

[mginster]

If you test RODI water you will also have perfect parameters, and since your tank is 4 days old it hasn't even had time to start any kind of cycle, meaning it may still test like plain water. The reason its called a cycle is because values go up and go down. Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate should have gone up at some time for it to be considered a Cycle. If you were testing frequently and did not notice this, it hasnt occured yet.