Cycling issues

[Waterlover91]

Both of my tanks just started cycling two days ago (18g quarantine and 38g display). I tested this morning for ammonia levels and my quarantine had a level of .1 while my display tank doesn't read for ammonia. In order for the cycling to start don't you need ammonia, how do I get it started in the display tank? I feed both tanks fish food, but it doesn't help the display tank. It also tested negative for nitrites yesterday, should I test for that?


Just in case this has anything to do with this my display tanks has 20 pounds of live aragonite sand (in which the container says it instantly cycles the tank but I have been told not to believe this), about 17 pounds of cured live rock, wet dry filter, powerhead, and heater. While my QT tank has a small cured live rock, sponge filter and a heater.

Thanks in advanced guys and sorry that am bombarding you with questions.

 

[RyanG]

You arent bombarding us with question dont worry about it. It may take a few days for the ammonia to show up give it time. Patience is a virtue!

 

[Bifferwine]

It usually takes more than 2 days for ammonia to show, keep ghost feeding a little bit and give the tanks several weeks. That's how long it usually takes.

 

[Doc]

starting with cured rock and live sand will help speed up the process. Wait it out and test every few days. Your best bet with this hobby is patience.

-Doc

 

[IraqVeteran]

I would also bump up your poundage of live rock to 38 lbs. Usually 1 lb of live rock per gallon is the goal unless you have something else in mind for your display tank. But no, you won't usually see nitrates on the second day of cycling. My new 75 gal has been up for 6 days now and I'm only registering nitrites at the moment.

 

[Mtrueblood]

Cycling could take from 30 days to 45 days. Sometimes longer. You seem to have a pretty good setup for it to get through the cycling process just fine. With the live rock and sand that you have in your tank right now I dont think that you need to be feeding the tanks fish food. The stuff that is on the LR and the LS will all dye off and that will get things going. I would though as others have suggested go a pound of LR per gallon and about a pound of LS per gallon as well. It will help you in the long run. The more time that you put into your tank the more you will get out of it. Patience is key.

 

[fatman]

Best directions you can find for a good healthy initial development of a tanks biological system.

http://www.tampabaysaltwater.com/thepackage/setup.html