Tank cycled in 2 weeks and 4 days? Is this possible?

Discussion in 'General Reef Topics' started by bthomson, Jun 27, 2009.

to remove this notice and enjoy 3reef content with less ads. 3reef membership is free.

  1. bthomson

    bthomson Fire Worm

    Joined:
    Apr 9, 2009
    Messages:
    162
    Location:
    Norton, KS
    My water was looking a little cloudy this morning when I woke up so I decided to test my water. Here are the results

    Nitrites - 0 undetectable
    Ammonia - 0 undetectable
    Nitrates - 0 undetectable

    I couldnt believe it so i tested twice with the same results. Did my tank really cycle this fast or am i headed towards a major cycle?
     
  2. Click Here!

  3. Da_Gopherboy

    Da_Gopherboy Fire Shrimp

    Joined:
    Apr 12, 2009
    Messages:
    311
    Location:
    Morgan Hill, CA
    Is the information in your signature correct? Or whats the story? Used LR to cycle? Need a little more info. I used LR and LS to cycle mine and it took about three weeks, so it is possible (I waited though another two before adding anything though).
     
  4. the fisherman

    the fisherman Vlamingii Tang

    Joined:
    May 1, 2009
    Messages:
    1,888
    Location:
    new jersey
    have you added anything to start the cycle? two weeks is kind of fast for a tank to cycle
     
  5. bthomson

    bthomson Fire Worm

    Joined:
    Apr 9, 2009
    Messages:
    162
    Location:
    Norton, KS
    when i started the cycle i threw in a bunch of freeze dried krill. but yes everything is the sig. is correct as of today
     
  6. Da_Gopherboy

    Da_Gopherboy Fire Shrimp

    Joined:
    Apr 12, 2009
    Messages:
    311
    Location:
    Morgan Hill, CA
    Thats alot of livestock in a two week old tank. Monitor your levels closely, and be ready with water changes just in case. It will tank some time for the bacteria in your tank to multiply, sounds like you may be ok just take it easy for a month or two and allow your tank to establish itself. Again be ready for an emergancy water change by having some already made up, just in case :)
     
  7. horkn

    horkn Giant Squid

    Joined:
    Apr 4, 2009
    Messages:
    3,200
    Location:
    Cedarburg, Wi
    If you use enough LR ina tank, yes, it is more than feasable that it has cycled in that amount of time, even with that much bioload so quickly in a new tank.
     
  8. Click Here!

  9. Robman

    Robman Great White Shark

    Joined:
    Jan 22, 2009
    Messages:
    2,688
    Location:
    Katy, Tx.
    I have to dis-agree with this...I believe you probably have not started yet. Did you ever see ammonia come and go--or nitrites??? If not, you may be about to have a major issue. I hope not:eek:
     
  10. vegasfish

    vegasfish Feather Star

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2008
    Messages:
    787
    Location:
    Henderson, NV
    I used large pawns to kick start my cycle and it took 2 weeks just to see the ammonia rise. I hope you were right so you do not lose your live stock.
     
  11. =Jwin=

    =Jwin= Tassled File Fish

    Joined:
    Nov 26, 2008
    Messages:
    1,968
    Location:
    Chattanooga, Tennessee
    We cycled our tank that quickly, or so. We used precured LFS live rock, straight from their display tank system. They cure and cycle their rock, then put it out to sell to people. It makes life so much easier. So the only die off came from the live sand, the rock was already done. Just had to adjust to our tank params. The sand die off erased the need to create our own waste. After one week (testing water every day) we added our clowns and a big bottle of nitrifying bacteria just to be safe. We were fully cycled, as in zero across the board, in two to three weeks after that.
     
  12. bthomson

    bthomson Fire Worm

    Joined:
    Apr 9, 2009
    Messages:
    162
    Location:
    Norton, KS
    yea i saw a nitrite and ammonia spike right away and a few days ago there was a huge nitrate spike