10 day cycle :)

oh. ok. i'll pick up a damsel, and wait for a little build up, then get a CUC when it's needed. i'll just have to monitor params closely.

 

now that i think about it, idk why i was thinking of doing it any other way. that is exactly the way i always did my freshwater tanks, fish first, let it build up a little, then add snails etc.

 

I just creeply looked through your threads. I'm not convinced your tank has cycled. What test kits are you using (sorry if I missed this)?

This thread points to your cycle still in its earlier stages.
http://www.3reef.com/forums/general-reef-topics/algae-growth-end-cycle-152816-2.html

 

well there are just so many opinions out there sometimes that is what makes things confusing. I am not saying others are wrong by adding the CUC first just giving you my experience and opinion.

As always things continue to change and evolve on constant bases and what we once thought or were taught can rapidly change.

Shoot when I first began the hobby it was you buy damsels to cycle the tank and you have to have the undergravel filters etc etc..

You are doing the right things buy reading and viewing videos and getting people opinions and then try to make educated decision.

I still feel like a novice after all these years.

 

billy, I would follow corailline's advice and spike your ammonia and see what happens. It should cycle through and show up as nitrates if you're truly cycled. I don't want to be Debbie downer here but even with the bacteria, 10 days is awfully short! If you rush this portion of your set up, you may be paying a steep price down the road

 

how do i get this?
is this a product i can pick up at the LFS?

 

You can get ammonia at any grocery store. Just make sure it sure unscented and pure ammonia. Use the calculator link I give you for dosing amount. Even if your tank does not clear the ammonia in 24-48 hours the addition of pure ammonia will help establish the tank.

Follow the directions carefully.

A tank cycled with a good amount of fully cured rock can cycle very quickly but that does not mean that the biological filter is large enough yet to handle live stock. You need to keep providing a source of decay or ammonia to promote the growth of the denitrifying bacteria.

Check out the video of DR.Tim above. Your not using the product One and Only but the concept is basically the same.

I appreciate that you're not using a damsel to test the water, this makes me happy.

 

so my h20 conditions are still perfect, everything is still at 0.

but, all of a sudden i've got diatoms (again) like crazy. they showed up, they disappeared, levels went to 0, now they've showed up again... and levels are still at 0.

what does this mean?

 

i mean, i think it's diatoms, not algae.

it looks the same as before, and there's none on the glass, just my rock...

 

Diatoms consume silicates.Once they are depleted the diatoms will disappear.A pic will help id it.