Tank cycling

[uriah]

What is the optimal amount of time for my tank to cycle before I start adding livestock?


55g w 15g fuge
45-50p liverock/ livesand in tank amd fuge
no fish/ coral
3-4 quatrer size anemone, 3 turbo snails and 4 small red crabs have been fine so far
the tank was set up at the end of dec 08'
havent tested water levels yet

[blindside]

You already have an anemone in your tank? You don't have a test kit? If I were you I would take the anemone back and check all your water parameters first before gaving added anything. Did you use tap water for your tank?

[uriah]

The anemone came attached to the liverock from an established tank. They have been wide open and seem to be doing well. I have not yet purchased a test kit, simply because i dont plan on adding anything to the tank just yet. Plus, i heard that test can go bad after about a year or so and if you get a test that has been sitting on the shelf, then you may be throwing your money away on false readings. Thoughts? Aside from the test kits, is there a general "rule of thumb" on how long you should cycle a tank for?

[uriah]

Oh, i used ro/di water and mixed sea salt to the proper levels.

[LoneStar]

You can always get a hold of a LFS and see if they will test your water if you bring in a sample. Most of 'em do it for free. In reality, you will know when your 'cycle' is complete when you test your water parameters.....

[blindside]

Yes, get your parameters tested, and then you will know for sure. Most lfs can test your water for you.

[uriah]

As long as the water tests fine and i take the appropriate measeures in filtering, changing water, feeding on schedule, slowly intorducing new livestock and monitorining water levels; is there anything else that I should be looking for?

[Troutmasters02]

I suggest getting some "cycling" fish such as chromis or even clownfish. The tank will cycle within about a month depending but, if you leave the tank empty after it finishes the cycle and then add nice fish/coral later on, it could go through another mini cycle which may result in deaths. Atleast buy the basic test kits for the begining stages of your tank until it becomes an established system.

[DrMark]

The tank will cycle fine without fish. Give it time, serial test the parameters to see levels rise and fall. I am not a big fan of using any fish as guinea pigs. Big or small, cheap or expensive, all fish were created equal.......with all due respect, IMO, I dont think there is such a thing as a cycling fish
Having said that, I would take it slow on the fish and wouldnt start with a $300 fish. But IMO, I wouldnt put a $5 damsel in there and if it died say "oh well" try again in a few days".

[Ping]

Optimum time? I would say 6 months for biodiversity within and on the rocks. Most of us dont have that much patience.

What kind of lights do you have?

[Joshua]

Aside from the test kits, is there a general "rule of thumb" on how long you should cycle a tank for?

3-4 weeks and your ammonia and nitrites should be in check unless you've got a lot of die off in the tank, still a few nitrates hanging around but that won't hurt fish. I wouldn't bother getting any of the nitrogen cycle test kits if you're fish only but if you have corals a nitrate test kit might be useful just to monitor it but that'll come a little further down the line when you start adding corals.