How do you cycle a tank?

ITO tests to buy. Salifert is a great brand. It is one of the best. They are also pricey. For now, get NH4, NO2, NO3 and pH. If you can afford it, you can also get (this can be put off till the end of the cycle) ALK, Ca, Mg, PO4. If you are running a Ca reactor, I hear O2 is necessary. No personal experience there. Could be BS. Also, you may want to get an iodine test kit. Dosing Iodine in a tank can be very risky and if done wrong, can kill a tank dead. I don't dose, but I am really anal retentive about knowing what is (or isn't) in my tank. Cu (copper) test kits are good to have for troubleshooting of your inverts and/or corals start looking bad. It may have other uses, but the only one this rookie can think of is to rule out a situation. For reference, PO4 is a byproduct of waste and can inhibit coral growth. Fish don't care as much. So if you have a reef tank, it is necessary to test for and have the means to eradicate said ion from the system (macroalgae and/or phosphate reactor).

ALK, Ca, Mg are necessary for maintaining coral health and growth. You can get these in the beginning and keep up on the Ca and Mg levels of your tank, but it is not necessary. It cannot hurt either.

If you are going to run a reef tank, you may want to consider using something like Reef Crystals (or the like) which has stuff like Ca already in it to fortify the water. Kind of like us taking a multivitamin.

OK, as usual, my post has drawn on and on. So............off to another thread.

 

good advice but im gonna be anal and say that all the salt mixes have stuff like Ca already in it he just means there is more.

 

Thanks dude. Yeah......that wasn't clear.

 

Is that really true? Everytime I see someone doing a salt mix analysis, reef crystals seems to have less calcium than just plain ole' IO.

Here is one such report: http://reefsaltanalysis.googlepages.com/AWT_Salt_Analysis_0208.pdf

-Clayton

 

Here's my favorite cycle link.
A Typical Break-In Cycle

You could ad pure ammonia- not recommended (pee or household ammonia)

Rotting flesh such as a shrimp is popular.
Damsel such as yellowtail is popular.

I kinda did both. Shrimp for a few days then took it out. One yellowtail Damsel in a big aquarium would take much longer. You would want several if you're going that route.
It took several days for anything to start showing up in the test so be patient. I started same day as session three , but I'm still only maybe half way done. I'm waiting on my nitrites to crash. They've been level for about a week.
The Damsel gives you something to look at while it cycles.

By the way .. I'm not sure what equipment you have in your tank... rocks? Sand? The cycle is to grow bacteria on the rocks and sand.

 

OK, OK!!!!!! Apologies to everyone. Thanks Mission. Got a little carried away there......

 

different charts give you different results
About.com: http://web.archive.org/web/20010303215133/www.animalnetwork.com/fish2/aqfm/1999/mar/features/1/default.asp

from what people have told me reef crystals is suppose to be one of the best

 

ammonia is produced by breakdown of urea, a major component of urine.

If you have a UTI, you will kill ur tank.... Throwing in some shelf-bought shrimp, is the 2nd best way to jump start your cycle. I have also been told to take some water from an existing tank and add it in as well. This will help start it....

Urin is funny, but it's true!

 

I should of finished reading before I posted..

lol, interesting reading.