New Tank Nitrogen Cycle Duration

mbagheri · 09/22/2017, 11:54 PM

Hi there,
It's my first post in this site.

I'm new in reef keeping and I have a question about nitrogen cycle.
My tank is on 31 days of starting but ammonia is still tolerating.
Currently I'm using Chaeto which is reducing the nitrate very well.

Normally how long nitrogen cycling needs to be completed?

SAT · 09/23/2017, 05:20 AM

mbagheri,

To Reef Central

I don't recall anymore how long my tank took. However, the cycle time can vary considerably depending on your setup and particularly what sort of rock you are using. The longest time would be for uncured rock which has quite a bit of dead organic material in it.

31 days seems long to still have ammonia, but unless there is something very fundamentally wrong it will settle down eventually. You will just need to be patient.

smoothmove · 09/23/2017, 05:45 AM

I had 60 days until my nitrates went down. Years ago, I used to let the tank sit 3 months before any fish to finish the cycle.

Live sand will and water changes help to shorten the time. If you rush it, it will create other issues down the line.

mcgyvr · 09/23/2017, 06:43 AM

All depends on many variables..
Why don't you give us information about whats in the tank.. did you start with live rock or dry rock? how about sand?
How did you start the cycle?
Are you dosing ammonia?
etc...etc...
Also what are your current readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate?
and what test kit are you using for them?

In general 4-6 weeks is about the normal time it can take to have a good cycle when starting with all dry rock and not using any bacteria in a bottle products,etc...

mbagheri · 09/25/2017, 04:07 AM

Thank you all for your kind reply.

I used dry pukani for start and I didn't use any sand for bed, not yet.
Currently I'm using tetra test and my ammonia is tolerating between 0.5 to 1.5 mg/L.
I just used very very small amount of fish food for adding ammonia to tank. I used some bottle bacteria products(I can't remember the name).
I'm agree with SAT which is said uncured dry rocks could be the reason of high ammonia but I think it shows that my tank is not cycled yet properly.
I'm going to test parameters again to night and I will update here.

09/22/2017, 11:54 PM	#1
mbagheri Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2017 Posts: 2	New Tank Nitrogen Cycle Duration Hi there, It's my first post in this site. I'm new in reef keeping and I have a question about nitrogen cycle. My tank is on 31 days of starting but ammonia is still tolerating. Currently I'm using Chaeto which is reducing the nitrate very well. Normally how long nitrogen cycling needs to be completed?

09/23/2017, 05:20 AM	#2
SAT Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Berwyn, PA Posts: 4,073 Blog Entries: 1	mbagheri, *To Reef Central* I don't recall anymore how long my tank took. However, the cycle time can vary considerably depending on your setup and particularly what sort of rock you are using. The longest time would be for uncured rock which has quite a bit of dead organic material in it. 31 days seems long to still have ammonia, but unless there is something very fundamentally wrong it will settle down eventually. You will just need to be patient. __________________ Stuart Current Tank Info: 300G Caribbean biotype reef set up in 2003.

09/23/2017, 05:45 AM	#3
smoothmove Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: RockWall, Texas Posts: 464	I had 60 days until my nitrates went down. Years ago, I used to let the tank sit 3 months before any fish to finish the cycle. Live sand will and water changes help to shorten the time. If you rush it, it will create other issues down the line. __________________ 80 gallon Deep Blue Rimless, 5 Kessil A160's Tuna Blues, Converted AquaC EV 400 w/ Sedra 15000, Jebao 36 watt UV, Jebao DCT12000, 75 gallon sump

09/23/2017, 06:43 AM	#4
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	All depends on many variables.. Why don't you give us information about whats in the tank.. did you start with live rock or dry rock? how about sand? How did you start the cycle? Are you dosing ammonia? etc...etc... Also what are your current readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate? and what test kit are you using for them? In general 4-6 weeks is about the normal time it can take to have a good cycle when starting with all dry rock and not using any bacteria in a bottle products,etc... __________________ Who me?

09/25/2017, 04:07 AM	#5
mbagheri Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2017 Posts: 2	Thank you all for your kind reply. I used dry pukani for start and I didn't use any sand for bed, not yet. Currently I'm using tetra test and my ammonia is tolerating between 0.5 to 1.5 mg/L. I just used very very small amount of fish food for adding ammonia to tank. I used some bottle bacteria products(I can't remember the name). I'm agree with SAT which is said uncured dry rocks could be the reason of high ammonia but I think it shows that my tank is not cycled yet properly. I'm going to test parameters again to night and I will update here.