Cycling question

[Juggernot55]

I'm currently cycling a 10g tank. I've started a week ago with live sand and some live rubble rock. I have a marineland 80g filter with a 75g skimmer and some t5 ho lighting. Now my question is, my ammonia level spiked after adding the live rock and has dropped down to zero again, nitrites 0ppm and nitrates 0 ppm can the tank be done cycling so fast? And can I add some live rock now? How long should I wait to get a cleaning crew in there? Finally what corals do you recommend for such a small tank? Thank you all I appreciate any answers.

 

[BILBO913]

How much more rock are you planning to add ? How many bulb t5 are you running ?

 

[Juggernot55]

10lbs tukani live rock and 2 t5 ho bulbs

 

[Juggernot55]

I currently have 2 1/2lbs of rubble rock

 

[ZANYMASTER]

Slow down,it's only been a week.Those levels will rise and fall quickly.Don't put any corals in just yet.

 

[jscarlata]

Any reason such a small tank? 10g tanks can/will go toxic real fast if something dies like a snail or something. Consider something a little bigger, petco has aqueon tanks for $1/gallon...especially if you have 10lbs of rock in a 10g tank, there can't be much water left in the system or swimming room.

 

[basiab]

Any reason such a small tank? 10g tanks can/will go toxic real fast if something dies like a snail or something. Consider something a little bigger, petco has aqueon tanks for $1/gallon...especially if you have 10lbs of rock in a 10g tank, there can't be much water left in the system or swimming room.

Probably for the same reason I started a 10 gallon, no room for bigger tank.
I wouldn't add coral yet. How many watts of light? Do you plan to have any fish? Was the rock cured? If it was then your cycle is over but you don't have much to support any real bio load so go slow.
I would let the tank settle down and if ammonia and nitrites stay at zero you can start adding a few snails and hermits. If they stay alive then add fish. Just move slowly so that tank increases its ability to handle a larger bio load. Same goes for coral, add one at a time and see how it works out then add another after a couple weeks.
As far as corals go I would suggest keeping to one type since the tank is small and corals do fight both physically and chemically. LPS are colorfull easy to care for and there is a wide variety. Zoas are very nice as well. SPS are in generaly more difficult. Softies and mushrooms are easy but then most likely will hurt any other corals you try to keep.

 

[jscarlata]

Fwiw, i wasn't being critical of the tanksize, just wanted to warn about toxicity...sometimes people think that smaller tanks are easier..
With a small tank make sure you always have salt water ready to go in case something happens...
Go slow with livestock.

 

[KathyC]

I'm currently cycling a 10g tank. I've started a week ago with live sand and some live rubble rock. I have a marineland 80g filter with a 75g skimmer and some t5 ho lighting. Now my question is, my ammonia level spiked after adding the live rock and has dropped down to zero again, nitrites 0ppm and nitrates 0 ppm can the tank be done cycling so fast? And can I add some live rock now? How long should I wait to get a cleaning crew in there? Finally what corals do you recommend for such a small tank? Thank you all I appreciate any answers.

The tank is not actually cycled at this point. The readings are based on the rubble you put in there.
The tank will cycle again once you add the live rock you plan to add - so yes, do that now and begin watching for a cycle.
Where are you getting the live rock from?

Keep in mind that you DO need to 'feed' the tank something to create ammonia so that you develop the appropriate bacteria the tank needs. You can add small amounts of flake/pellet food every few days or put a small cocktail shrimp (raw, from the supermarket) in there to get the cycle started.
You should not add the cleaning crew until after the cycle finishes and is stable for at least a week.

Can you post any of the pics of the equipment & lighting that you have?

 

[Juggernot55]

Basiab got it exactly right. No Rome for a bigger tank. I had brackish fish for a year and never had a problem I'm pretty good with staying on top of the levels. In about three months I'm going to buy a house and get a 55 gal just don't have the space right now and am fascinated with marine life. I have two t5 ho 8w bulbs 10kk each. Basiab when everything pans out depending on how it's going I plan two keep 1 clown, 1 cleaner shrimp, 1 hermit crab, 3 small snails and one coral would this bio load do fine? The live tukani rock I'm getting from southseasaquatics.com and it comes cured. I thought the rule of thumb was 1lb of rock for every 1-1.50 gals of water? Any advice would be appreciated

 

[Juggernot55]

Room*

 

[Donewiththisplace]

If your planning on moving in a few months you might just want to hold off on the tank.

It will just be getting settled and you will be breaking it down to move it.

 

[Juggernot55]

I put a couple pieces of dried plankton in is that good to start the cycle?

 

[KathyC]

If your planning on moving in a few months you might just want to hold off on the tank.

It will just be getting settled and you will be breaking it down to move it.

+1 I have to agree with this reefer. It might be better (since you don't have the bulk of the L/R yet) to hold off on setting up the tank until after you move.
The switch from a 10g to a 55g would cause a hefty cycle, so no point in having any live-stock that may well end up dead from the move.
Best to spend the time learning as much as you can (good books, reading the forum, asking questions...) and gathering the proper equipment needed to make your tank a success.

One other thing, a 55g is about the most difficult choice of size for a reef tank due to the narrow (12") width of the tank. Almost any aquascaping ends up looking like a wall of rock. Many folks will tell you to go with a 75g minimum as the 18" width (and same length of 48") makes a world of difference and also allows you to place a good sized sump in the stand to accommodate all of your equipment.

Please do take a look through our Tank Thread Forum and look and see how many 55g tanks threads you see, and then look at the tank threads of the 75g & 90G tanks (90 g is 4 inches tall than a 75 with the identical other dimensions) and see how nice they can look.