# tank wont cycle



## matt87 (Apr 20, 2013)

ive added my live rock about a week ago and ive been testing the water every morning and nothing is happeneing, the ammonia is staying steady at .05
any suggestions?


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## darthvictor (Aug 16, 2011)

How big is your tank? It takes month(s) for cycling a bigger tank.


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## fesso clown (Nov 15, 2011)

Where did you get the live rock? If it was indeed "live" meaning it is conolized with benificial bacteria and came out of an established system and you are showing ammonia your tank is cycling. 
Nothing to worry about, it takes time... I suggest patience.


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## matt87 (Apr 20, 2013)

tank is 48 gallon, i bought about 20 lbs from big als 10 from whitby and 10 from scarborough and i have about 25 pounds of base rock. I see things like feather dusters and a few small snails in the tank so i know there are organisms in there. I will just keep testing and see what happends in a few more weeks.


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## CRJ (Sep 7, 2012)

my fav trick, drop some fish food in. leave your lights 100% off. get good flow. i put my LR in my sump for cycle, had my 75g system going in just over a week.


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## sooley19 (Jan 7, 2009)

does it matter what kind of fish food? i have a 75 that i have been running since monday so the faster i could hurry up the proccess the better.. any help would be great


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## Chromey (Sep 25, 2010)

I added 2 Dead, Uncooked tiger shrimps when I first cycled my tank.

It too 4 weeks for my spikes and another 3 to settle down.

Every since, I haven't had 1 out break of any kind.

Keep the lights OFF with your cycling.


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## sooley19 (Jan 7, 2009)

But the only thing that is new in my tank is basically new is the premixed saltwater and the rock I'm going to be adding.. If already added some of my existing sand from my tank and a few pieces of live rock which has been in my tank for about 2 years now


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## matt87 (Apr 20, 2013)

i dropped a big tiger shrimp in my tank yesterday night to try to speed up the cycling process and I looked at it tonight and the shrimp if starting to turn purple. Is this the start of the shrimp decomposing?


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## andy (Jun 26, 2012)

How come should keep the lights off in cycling period?


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## J_T (Mar 25, 2011)

matt87 said:


> i dropped a big tiger shrimp in my tank yesterday night to try to speed up the cycling process and I looked at it tonight and the shrimp if starting to turn purple. Is this the start of the shrimp decomposing?


Stop trying to speed it up. You can't. You are waiting for bacteria to consume the ammonia. From there, you need more bacteria to colonize, and consume the nitrites made from the ammonia. Next you need more bacteria to consume the new nitrites, turning them into nitrates. Then more again to deal with the nitrates.



andy said:


> How come should keep the lights off in cycling period?


The process of cycling leaves a ton of nutrients available. Until the bacteria levels grow sufficient enough to consume them, and move it to the next step, it is just algae food!

Algae will grow faster than bacteria. So, you can block the cycle from fully finishing, leaving you a false result. Then fish die, and you have to figure out why


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## fesso clown (Nov 15, 2011)

andy said:


> How come should keep the lights off in cycling period?


Having the lights on during the cycle will only contribute to an algea outbreak and you don't want that at all!


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## matt87 (Apr 20, 2013)

ive been testing my water now since april 25 and have no change in the ammonia levels. sitting consistantly at .50-.75ppm ive dropped a dead shrimp in the tank thursday night and it still have not changed the ammonia levels. maybe im just being inpatient but i would think after almost two weeks i should start to see a rise in the levels?


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## jamie1985 (Oct 11, 2012)

My 29gallon never cycled and its been running for over a year with no issues....the tank has never seen any amounts of ammonia or nitrites...i started with 30 lbs of cured live rock and never looked back....a tank wont always cycle depending on what you start with

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## andy (Jun 26, 2012)

how can u started the tank without cycling? u dont have any fish die? when did u start adding fish?


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## jamie1985 (Oct 11, 2012)

I got really good cured live rock and the crushed coral substrate i got was from my uncles tank...i let it sit for 2 months then i added 4 snails then waited a week and added a cleaner shrimp, then waited another week and added a clownfish....then added the rest....i tested the water params daily for almost 6 months and never saw any ammonia or nitrites and i have never lost any fish or anything...my only thoughts on this are that there must have been enough healthy bacteria on the live rock and substrate to sustain the bioload and because i increased it gradually it gave the biofilter time to build up

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