qustion about my cycle

[Kirktimm]

mynitrite and nitrate and amonnia is all at 0mg/l. its a 25 gal with aleast 30 -35 pound of live rock and its only w week into its cycle. now i dont want to add any fish or anything yet. question is now why do i have to wait four weeks for this cycle.and i did a water change two days ago... i got my water tested before i did my water change, and the amonnia was higher then the card goes and i got it tested by redcoral, and nitrate and nitrite was higher than 3.3, after that my friend gave me a rock that was crued and i put into my tank, but now after that water change my levels are all at 0?

[Kirktimm]

exampale if u take out 50% of that water u should be let with half of the anomnnia and half of the nitrite left in there right?

[Flash]

don't do any water changes on a cycling set up... it's cycling, all you're doing is pro-longing it. add a little bit of prime and wait two weeks.. then test your water...I can almost promise you'll have another spike on your system.

[Aquattro]

exapale if u take out 50% of that water u should be let with half of the anomnnia and half of the nitrite left in there right?

Yes, although bacterial activity will affect the concentrations, and if suddenly you have 50% of what you had, the bacteria may have taken care of the rest.

[Flash]

what brad said! lol!

[Kirktimm]

well redcoral to me to a water change cause i was trying to cure some rock

[Kirktimm]

but i only did a 10% water change

[Flash]

when i cure rock I just let it sit.... maybe once a month do a water change but i don't cure my rock in a display... i do it in a rubbermaid!

[Aquattro]

well redcoral to me to a water change cause i was trying to cure some rock


I always do water changes when curing rock. If the NH3 gets too high it can kill the life I wanted the rock for in the first place.

[Flash]

i guess it depends on how much dead rock you're starting with... as I've never had an issue, but i only cure about 60-70lbs at a time with only about 30% being dead pre - soaked

[Madmak]

The cycle is all about populating the different forms of bacteria. When you add live rock, live sand, or old water to the equation it can change everything.

What's important is the balance. Life or death creates ammonia, nitrifying bacteria consume ammonia but create nitrites, denitrifying bacteria consume nitrites but create nitrates and phosphorous. We export these with our filters, algae, water changes, etc.

A spike in any of these chemicals means the balance is off and time is needed for bacteria to stabilize their population. A spike can happen at any time, not just at start up. An obvious cycle is almost always guaranteed at start up but will happen any time the balance is upset. Try adding 10 fish all at once, or leaving a dead animal or 2 in the tank.

A mature and seasoned tank has enormous amounts of bacteria and micro fauna that helps keep it stable through almost any situation. That's what we are all shooting for I think??

That's my take on things in layman terms anyhow. It's a much more complex formula than that if you want it to be.