Cycle not starting

[BrandonS]

I have a 75g. I've had my tank filled with 55lbs LR, 30lbs of dead rock, and 40lbs LS and saltwater for 3 days now. I'm not seeing any ammonia in the water. How long does it generally take for a cycle to start.

Oh btw, the LR came with some snails on it. Will these survive a cycle or will I need to take them out?

[DgenR8]

Snails probably won't survive a new tank cycle.

You should be seeing Ammonia by now. Where did you get your live rock from, and how are you testing Ammonia?

[nmprisons]

it it was rock that had been in another system or a curing bin for a while and then transferred to your tank quickly, then you might not see a cycle.

what type of rock is it? where did you get it?

there is a chance you will see no cycle. wait at least 14 days and then proceed very very slowly.

[Shagsbeard]

Your rock is "cured" and might never even show ammonia. If it came from an established tank and spent little or no time out of water, it's not going to have much die off and has plenty of bacteria to process it's own ammonia. Waiting two weeks is a good idea in anycase.

I'd proceed slowly with a partial cleaning crew after that.

[BrandonS]

that's what I was thinking the case was. Everyone just kept telling me it would cycle.

The live rock came from my LFS and they said it was cured. It only took like 20 minutes to drive home from there.

Thanks for the insight. I'll keep taking daily readings and wait the two weeks. I've been waiting 2 years for a saltwater tank anyway.

[nmprisons]

yeah ... after 14 days without ammonia or nitrate you can begin adding stuff ... just add fish very slowly.

[DgenR8]

You didn't mention what test kits you're using. Take a water sample to a LFS or other hobbyist to confirm your reading is correct. It's hard for me to accept that a new tank is running with no cycle. It's not that it's impossible, it's just not the way it usually goes.

[blakeoe]

I had the same thing happen to me. Im very new to salt water. I was scared to put fish in b/c everyone told me it was not cycled yet. so i put a coctail shrimp in to "help". I regret it so much!! It's been 3 weeks since then and im just starting to get back to normal. I should have just added one hardy fish.

[bertoni]

The cocktail shrimp method is generally worth avoiding, in my opinion. Sorry that you had problems with it. It still gets recommended a lot. A few small pieces of fish food are also a good way to test the filtration capacity, instead of a large chunk of shrimp.

[BrandonS]

Tanks been up since the 19th. I'm still not seeing any ammonia, nitrites, or nitrates. It's kind of scaring me. I'm planning on purchasing a cleanup crew and a clownfish this saturday. I'll definately make sure I take some water down with me to get tested before I purchase anything.

[bertoni]

Just add a few tiny pieces of fish food now and then, and see how the ammonia does. If there's no spike, the rock is cured.