Question cycling with KP live rock

[newreefer88]

Hi all,

I have been in the hobby just shy of a year. I started with a Waterbox 15, it is still up and running but I have been dealing with dinos for about 5 months. I read numerous blogs about how it is easier to balance your parameters in a larger tank so I upgraded to the new IM 40L. I decided to go a completely different route this time and use live rock and live sand. I added new saltwater and sand on 9/3 not thinking that the bacteria in my sand would start my cycle (sometimes I don't think). I first started to test my water the day my KP live rock came and my ammonia level was over 10ppm so I did about a 50% water change to bring my ammonia levels down to about 1-2ppm so I did not kill anything on my live rock. The live rock went in on 9/13 and I have been monitoring all of my levels and I am a bit worried. I lost some of the corraline algae which is to be expected but all other life is doing great (crabs, macro algae, brittle stars, etc.)
The reason I had so many issues with my Waterbox 15 is that I was too sterile with everything because I thought that was the end goal, keep everything nice and clean, have an amazing reef tank. My OCD caused my nitrates and my phosphates to bottom out which welcomed my dino problem but in the beginning I was treating them like diatoms so I was throwing gasoline on a fire. I have been able to get my dinos under control using a variety of methods but that isn't why I am here, my NO3/NO4 levels on my new tank are low. Since I have added my KP live rock, my ammonia levels went to about 5ppm, on the second day, I performed another large water change on 9/14. I was told by many that the reason I had so many issues is because my NO3/NO4 bottomed out. I just tested my parameters again and my parameters are as follows:

ammonia: 0ppm
ph: 8.0 (I struggle this due to lack of fresh air)
nitrite: 0ppm
nitrate: 2-5ppm (using API, planning on purchasing hanna because it is too difficult to see)
phosphate: 0 (also using API, showing zero) but I don't think it is 0

I know that it takes a good amount of time for a tank to cycle if you are using dry rock/sand but since I used caribsea live sand and about 25 lbs of live rock, is there a possibility that my tank already cycled with the live sand? Also, any tips on my nitrates/phosphates? Should I panic because they seem to be bottoming out again? Thanks so much for any information!

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

phosphate should be above .03, my corals prefer .06 to .09
However, you can never know this with your API test kit, the first step is to get a test kit that can measure the decimal

 

[Spare time]

Are there fish in the tank? If you have nitrate, and no nitrite/ammonia, you already have something converting the ammonia and nitrite (or consuming them). Live rock tends to have lots of creatures that can scavenge these 3, so its not a suprise to have a tank setup ready to go with fish when you start with live rock. As long as the die off is over from the live rock, it should be fine for a fish

 

[newreefer88]

Are there fish in the tank? If you have nitrate, and no nitrite/ammonia, you already have something converting the ammonia and nitrite (or consuming them). Live rock tends to have lots of creatures that can scavenge these 3, so its not a suprise to have a tank setup ready to go with fish when you start with live rock. As long as the die off is over from the live rock, it should be fine for a fish

There are no fish in the tank yet. I’ve been reading everywhere to go slow and patience is definitely one of my shortcomings. I wanted to allow my bacteria to spread enough to fight off what I was experiencing in the 15g but it sounds like I’m already off to the races. So when I add fish that should fix my NO3/NO4 with feeding and detritus? I’m just so worried about my numbers hitting 0 again and dealing with what I have been. I do know there are loads of creatures and sponges that survived so maybe I’m good! Thank you!

 

[Jekyl]

Hi all,

I have been in the hobby just shy of a year. I started with a Waterbox 15, it is still up and running but I have been dealing with dinos for about 5 months. I read numerous blogs about how it is easier to balance your parameters in a larger tank so I upgraded to the new IM 40L. I decided to go a completely different route this time and use live rock and live sand. I added new saltwater and sand on 9/3 not thinking that the bacteria in my sand would start my cycle (sometimes I don't think). I first started to test my water the day my KP live rock came and my ammonia level was over 10ppm so I did about a 50% water change to bring my ammonia levels down to about 1-2ppm so I did not kill anything on my live rock. The live rock went in on 9/13 and I have been monitoring all of my levels and I am a bit worried. I lost some of the corraline algae which is to be expected but all other life is doing great (crabs, macro algae, brittle stars, etc.)
The reason I had so many issues with my Waterbox 15 is that I was too sterile with everything because I thought that was the end goal, keep everything nice and clean, have an amazing reef tank. My OCD caused my nitrates and my phosphates to bottom out which welcomed my dino problem but in the beginning I was treating them like diatoms so I was throwing gasoline on a fire. I have been able to get my dinos under control using a variety of methods but that isn't why I am here, my NO3/NO4 levels on my new tank are low. Since I have added my KP live rock, my ammonia levels went to about 5ppm, on the second day, I performed another large water change on 9/14. I was told by many that the reason I had so many issues is because my NO3/NO4 bottomed out. I just tested my parameters again and my parameters are as follows:

ammonia: 0ppm
ph: 8.0 (I struggle this due to lack of fresh air)
nitrite: 0ppm
nitrate: 2-5ppm (using API, planning on purchasing hanna because it is too difficult to see)
phosphate: 0 (also using API, showing zero) but I don't think it is 0

I know that it takes a good amount of time for a tank to cycle if you are using dry rock/sand but since I used caribsea live sand and about 25 lbs of live rock, is there a possibility that my tank already cycled with the live sand? Also, any tips on my nitrates/phosphates? Should I panic because they seem to be bottoming out again? Thanks so much for any information!

If you used wet, live rock. There is no cycle. The established rock you introduced is already doing the job. Sand in most cases plays almost no role at all in a cycle.

 

[Spare time]

There are no fish in the tank yet. I’ve been reading everywhere to go slow and patience is definitely one of my shortcomings. I wanted to allow my bacteria to spread enough to fight off what I was experiencing in the 15g but it sounds like I’m already off to the races. So when I add fish that should fix my NO3/NO4 with feeding and detritus? I’m just so worried about my numbers hitting 0 again and dealing with what I have been. I do know there are loads of creatures and sponges that survived so maybe I’m good! Thank you!

Adding fish and regular feeding will help. It would be expected for live rock without fish to drain the tank of nitrate/nitrite/ammonia since there are lots of algaes and other critters that may be using it.

 

[newreefer88]

If you used wet, live rock. There is no cycle. The established rock you introduced is already doing the job. Sand in most cases plays almost no role at all in a cycle.

It was not the rock that came submerged, it was wrapped in wet paper, however, it did only take about 17 hours to reach my house from the shipper so there was probably minimal die off. Thanks for the information!

 

[newreefer88]

Adding fish and regular feeding will help. It would be expected for live rock without fish to drain the tank of nitrate/nitrite/ammonia since there are lots of algaes and other critters that may be using it.

Okay great, now the fun starts! Thank you for explaining that all of the rock algae/creatures are what is draining it. I try to read and research so much but sometimes you can’t find the answer you’re looking for. I will just start to slowly stock it and check my parameters!

 

[Jekyl]

It was not the rock that came submerged, it was wrapped in wet paper, however, it did only take about 17 hours to reach my house from the shipper so there was probably minimal die off. Thanks for the information!

There would have been some die off, still doesn't require a cycle.

 

[newreefer88]

There would have been some die off, still doesn't require a cycle.

Okay, awesome! Guess it’s time to start stocking my tank with GSP and clowns hahah