Tank not cycling

[fishman805]

I've had my 150gal. reef tank running for about 1 1/2 weeks now ... Only one week with the filter running and so far I have not gotten any indication that the tank is cycling..... I've got 220lbs. of LR 20lbs. of which is figi and the other 200lbs. was mixed cheap rock that was 1.50/lb. from the wholesaler... I also put in 160lbs. of live sand... I had 3 damsels in the tank to help the cycle along but lost two of them to ich. The remaining blue terror is still going strong and eats very well... I put in frozen brine 1 to 2 times a day... I'm running my 4 96watt PC's 11 hours per day ( I did have the halides running but I was getting alot of diatoms so I cut them off to slow the spread a bit )

So far the two times I've done tests, these are my results:

Ph = 8.2
Ammonia = 0
Nitrites = 0
Nitrates = 0
spec grav. = 1.026
Temp = 78F

What's my problem? Or do I even have one?

:confused:

[masson]

Was the rock pre-cured?

[HaKs310]

Diatoms usually mean that your tank has finished the cycle. But 1 week and a 1/2 does seem too fast if the rock was uncured.

[fishman805]

Rock came from the wholesalers vat to my tank... I did not even rinse it off.....

[HaKs310]

Sounds like cured rock.
I would wait a week and see what happens. If params. stay the same, I say you're safe to add your clean-up crew.

[fishman805]

One other thing ,though, My wife and I are going to go down to TBS ( in Tampa ) in two weeks to pick up about 100lbs. of their LR to replace some of the bland nothing growing on it rock that I now have .... So what risk do I run of having another cycle period starting after I introduce the new rock? And will I be able to also buy the "clean up crew" at that time without running the risk of killing most of them during another cycling period if it occurs??:(

[HaKs310]

I think you run a small risk. If anything it might just start a small cycle, nothing that small water changes can't keep in-check.

[fishman805]

Thank you.....

[puffer21]

seens fine to me but i really dont know

[bertoni]

I've set up tanks that never showed ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate. That just means your live rock was clean and ready to go. I'd wait a few weeks for safety (something in the rock might decide to die) and then start stocking up slowly, maybe a fish per month.

Adding rock can cause ammonia spikes for sure, but if you want more rock, now's a good time to add it, IMO.

[ihavtats29]

biospira will cycle your tank over night

[fishman805]

I've worked FW for years and don't think I've ever not gone through some sort of cycle.... It's almost scarry....lol. But I've got so much tied up in this setup I'm always going to err on the side of caution... I'm going to add the LR from TBS and then check the chemistry again... TBS does have an excelant rep when it comes to LR and so does the wholesaler that I bought this rock from... So i'm lucking out ....

ihavtats29

I've heard of biospira but I'm not a big fan of "instant bacteria" guess I'm always afraid of getting the batch that was all dead and that would be a major bummer... Thanks for the suggestion though ....

[bobt2]

the tbs rock that i got last week came with a small bag of bacteria to add to the tank. bobt

[ihavtats29]

probily birospira thats all it is, its bacteria thats what cycling is waiting for tha bacteria to grow in your tank

[travellin_kl]

Where can you get Bio Spira? I can't find a LFS in my area that sells it.