newbie tank cycling -- w00.

[giantotter]

Hi all,
I bought 20 lbs of Carribean live rock four days ago, as well as 50 lbs of dead rock (I'm a college student, so I didn't have the money for all live rock) Anyhow, the live rock was cured at the local LFS, which is great... 'cept when I brought it home, all of the sponges attached to it managed to die.

I'm curious how long this detritus will take to be absorbed by the bacteria.

My ammonia readings are still low (0.1, if that) nitrites are nil, as well as nitrates, at least according to my test kit. I don't want to add anything else to my tank + kill it, so I'm just curious if anyone has any advice.

Sorry for the long post. 8O

 

[giantotter]

I suppose it would be helpful to mention I have a 55g tank, 1 powerhead, seaclone protein skimmer, as well as a hang-on canister filter.... the protein skimmer hasn't produced any foam yet, which concerns me a bit, but who knows. tnx in advance.

 

[danmhippo]

The skimmer, assuming properly setup, may not foam right away. Many skimmers requires a week or less to "break-in". Besides, unless you already have quite some organics in the water, otherwise there is nothing for the skimmer to foam anyway.

It will take a couple of weeks for the bacteria to multiply and to coat every inch of your rock's surface area. Just leave them alone for a couple weeks.

What you can do is test for ammonia and nitrite daily. When you see nitrite level starts to take off, you should know the nitrifying bacteria is multiplying. And, when you start seeing nitrate level surge, and nitrite dying off, your tank is near the end of cycle. Just wait till you do not see nitrite registering anymore, make a large water change.