Do I even need to cycle?

I have 10g tank that I am thinking about setting up. I plan on using dead, new sand. Also using an old,cured 10lb rock from my 55g, and doing a 10g water change on my established 55g and using the water for the new tank. Do you think I could start adding corals right away, or do I need to let it cycle fully first? Will it just go through a mini-cycle? Opinions?

 

What is Cycling?

Cycling your tank is probably something that you have never heard of unless you have been paying attention to the *.aquaria news groups, you have several friends with tanks, or you are working with a fairly good pet shop. The effects of the cycling process are sometimes referred to as "New Tank Syndrome."
"Cycling the tank" means that you are establishing a bacteria bed in your biological filter to remove the toxins that the fish's metabolism creates. There are right and wrong ways to do this, and several things you can do to slow this process (which you don't want to do). There are two steps to cycling, but you don't have to do anything special for either of them. First, your filter will grow a culture of bacteria that digest ammonia and turn it into Nitrite (which is more toxic than the ammonia in hard water or water with a higher pH), then your filter produces bacteria that digest Nitrite and turn it into relatively harmless Nitrate. However, Nitrate will contribute to loss of appetite and stress in your fish, as well as contributing to algae growth, so it is important to do regular small water changes to keep your tank in best condition. Read more on water changes while the tank is cycling.


This article came from here....Tips for Cycling Your New Aquarium - The First Tank Guide - Getting Your Fish Tank Up and Running with Minimal Headaches

IMO, I think that you need to research alot more.


Luna

 

Nitrite isn't dangerous in saltwater aquariums. It's highly toxic in freshwater fish because it prevents the Hemoglobin from transporting Oxygen through the blood. (It's called brown blood disease). When Nitrite toxicity is presumed in freshwater, you add salt to the water to increase the Chloride ions (which prevents the adsorption of Nitrites). Since saltwater already has chlorides out the whazoo, Nitrites don't have the same effect in reef tanks that it does in freshwater tanks.

 

All right...I now have a mind explosion, lol. I suppose a better way to re-phrase would be that would I have any ammonia spikes, ect. if I started stocking immediatly? I figured using the cured rock and old water from the same tank and using live sand would almost instantly start me with an established biological filter to a certain extent.

 

You still have the possiblity of going through a mini cycle. I would not be rushing into buying livestock until your tank has stabilized. You will only end up wasting your money and killing precious animals. Patience is a key factor is this hobby.


Luna

 

You will probably experience a full cycle, not a mini cycle. You are using dead sand and one live rock thus you have very few colonizing bacteria to support nitrification and denitrifiaction. Most bacteria are not free swimming so using used salt water is of no benefit, you need either a cup or two of real live sand from an established system or more cured live rock or both to get the cycle over faster. Without more seeding it its going to be a long process.

Do not add corals for several weeks at an absolute minimum. Start out with simple corals like zoanthids and mushrooms and watch their progress.

 

IME

setting up a new tank using rock,water and sand from an existing set up, does speed up the cycle, but does not eliminate it
anything new, like the tank itself, the filter system, the skimmer, the powerheads etc, will become the target for diatoms which we all know to be part of the cycle process

IME when setting up tanks this way, the diatom stage is less severe and completes itself quicker than when using all new components in a tank set up

for me the end of the diatom stage is the signal to begin the slow stocking process

Steve

 

Steve hit it on the head. You will go through a cycle. Might be shorter, migh not. But there will be a cycle.
Now, in all honesty, that does not necessarily mean you cant add corals right away. Some corals will go through a cycle just fine. I had moved some in to my 200 once the PH and salinity stabilized and they did fine. Things like zoa's, GSP's, etc will go through a full cycle without any ill affects.