tank re-cycling?

[Anthony357]

so i think i just finished my first "Cycle" since all the diatoms and everything is clearing up and my test results are dropping back to normal, however, my question to you guys is is that i just added 20 more pounds of already cured live rock, to go along with the previous 20. by adding this do you think the tank is going to go through the cycling stage again? the first 20 i added was already cured before i put in also. But i think it was just the initial "cycling" that tanks do and almost has nothing to do with the rock, just the tank doing the beginner tank thing...cycling

any thoughts?

 

[reeffreak]

You may or may not have a mini-cycle.The only way to be sure is to test the ammonia and nitrites the next few days.I believe it will be short lived if it does cycle again,hence mini-cycle.

 

[Piggy]

As long as it's cured rock it shouldn't. What's your paremeters?

 

[Bifferwine]

Maybe, maybe not. No way to tell until you test your water.

 

[HAWKS12thMAN]

i wouldnt worry about it

 

[yote]

If your rock was shipped from an online dealer,then theres a pretty good chance it will kick off a mini cycle.
If you bought it local and it was cured there in the store,then 50/50 for a cycle.

 

[UnderwaterWorld]

just be sure to test to make sure

 

[MikMcgyver]

I added a few pounds to my nano a bit at a time and nothin happened. I bought the rock at the LFS in one shot and took a lil bit home every couple days... They stored the balance of my rock till I was ready for it..

 

[Doc]

ok, I hear all this talk about "mini-cycle". I have never experienced such a thing in my tank. What is it and how does it happen?

-Doc

 

[Bifferwine]

Well duh, sound it out, Doc... Mini... Cycle. It's a small cycle. It happens for the same reasons that you would get a big cycle, it's just a smaller version. Meaning, ammonia and nitrites don't spike very high, but they get higher than zero. It happens in established tanks that have enough bacteria to prevent a full blown cycle.

 

[Doc]

uh, huh...hence mini...gosh, I never would have figured that one out without you. But that does not really answer my question. how does it happen? are we talking when a bunch of crap dies in the tank? too many nutrients over a long period of time? I have heard people telling others on this forum that they can be caused by stirring up the sand bed. So, I guess I am looking for a more cleaver answer....smart-a$$

-Doc

 

[Bifferwine]

If you stir up the sand bed or rearrange rocks, you can release trapped detritus, which is now in the water column, rotting. If something dies in the tank, that can trigger one too.

 

[Doc]

doesn't the cleaning crew and little critters take care of that stuff?

-Doc

 

[Bifferwine]

Not all of it all the time.

 

[Doc]

huh, maybe I just have been lucky and never had one

-Doc