Cycle Status?

I've been cycling a 40 gal tank for 3 weeks now. Sand only, no live rock, and I threw a shrimp in the tank to help it start the cycle. The amonia spiked and then dropped back to 0. Now my Nitrates are up to 20 ppm.

Am I understanding correctly that my Nitrates should eventually drop to 0, and that will signal the completion of the cycle, at which time I can put fish in the tank?

Current parameters:
Salinity: 1.025
PH: 8.2
Amonia: 0
Nitrates: 20
Nitrite: 1

Thanks!

 

The rock is your filtration for the nitrogen cycle. Are you going to keep corals? What types of other filtration do you have?

 

So without something to reduce the nitrogen, it won't ever drop? I'm using a HOB skimmer at the moment.

Long term I planned on adding a sump and live rock and having it be a species tank for BTAs and a clown pair. But I was hoping to get it going quickly so I could put a pair of clowns in it I tracked down since I'm still several weeks away from getting my larger DT up and going, and a couple of weeks away from taking delivery of my live rock.

So I was hoping to just run a 40 breeder, with a HOB and sand and get it cycled so I could put the clown pair in it until I have everything else up and running...is that physically impossible with out LR?

 

No but the clowns would need places to hide and you would need some sort of a filter to process the clowns waste.

You would need to do lots of water changes to control the levels.

Do you have a RODI filter?

 

Was going to use PVC pipe for the clowns to hide. The HOB filter wouldn't work to process their waste?

I have a RO/DI system, so water changes aren't a problem. Is that what I need to do to keep my nitrates in check without having LR?

 

You need to do water changes to help with nitrates any way. A skimmer is different from filter. The skimmer helps but the filter will provide a substrate for the bacteria that break down nitrogenous waste. The live rock also provides a place to reduce nitrate to nitrogen.

When you get your live rock order you will most likely go through another cycle which will stress if not kill your clowns. I would wait until that cycle is finished before adding livestock.

 

Hmm...ok thanks for the info, appreciate it.

The Live Rock will be going in a 200 gallon DT. I was going to get that fully cycled then move the clowns out of the 40 into the main DT.

The 40 was just going to be the holding tank for the clowns until the main tank was ready.