Cycling Period, How Long????

[tdkarl]

I have been cycling my tank for a week now. 9 lbs live rock, 20 lbs live sand and still no readings. I am noticing some brown growth on the sand and glass. I guess this is the brown algee I read about. Couple questions???

 

1. Does the brown algree go away on its own?

 

2. When should I add my cleanup crew? First inhabitants? (most people say put the cleanup crew in first instead of using a damsel or other hardy fish to begin cycling since you will keep the cleanup crew and most likely get rid of the damsel)

 

3. If the answer is wait till it finishes cycling, how long will that take? I am not getting any readings on my tests. I was thinking adding the inhabitants might help speed the cycling process up.

 

4. Should I add them now to help start the cycling process? I dying to see something swim in there!!!

[EtOH_is_good]

1) brown algae (diatoms) will typically go away on its own, but can also cycle depending on if you can keep your tank stable. the first time is when you'll really notice it since you have nothing else to look for. the second time, your clean up crew should easily handle it.

 

2) i added mine (a few astrea snails) when i started to see green algae growing, but you should really wait until nitrites go zero. snails and crabs can be sensitve to nitrites, but also are known to survive if you put them in early. borneman has completely different idea that you should consider (see myth 15).

 

3) if you don't see either ammonia or nitrite spike by this time, your rock may be already fully cured. any idea what type of lr did you get? do you have coralline algae? pods?

 

4) the longer you wait the more stable your tank will be. patience leads to good nano.

[tdkarl]

My rock was allready cured, it has some awesome growth on it!!! Alot of growth.