First time cycling

Our new tank has been set up and half-full of water with a few chunks of live rock and some live sand since Sunday. We have the water heated to 80 F and a pump running to keep the water moving. Just wondering what we should expect as we let our tank cycle for the first time. Should we/will we see any visible signs of organic growth? How will we know when we're "ready" to move on to the next step—and what IS the next step?

Thanks!

You are the second person I've noticed in about a week who is only partially filling their tank to start the first cycle.  I'm wondering about the reason for this?  Also, 80 degrees is too warm.  Why are you only adding some of your rock now?  Depending upon how much rock you plan to add in the future, you will likely start another cycle.  I think its far better to add your sand, your rock, your water, turn on the pumps and lights and get it started!  You will likely first notice some brownish algae on your sand bed, at which time you can probably add some crabs/snails depending upon the size of your tank.

A tank is cycled once nitrifying bacteria have populated the tank. You want bacteria that will convert ammonia to nitrite and bacteria to convert nitrite to nitrate. You can tell that your tank is fully cycled once ammonia and nitrite levels drop and nitrate levels start rising. This will happen naturally once nitrogenous wastes start to accumulate in the tank. I've had great experiences speeding this process up by using either Dr Tim's one and only nitrifying bacteria or BioSpira from instant ocean. Those are some basics about the nitrogen cycle. There are a lot of additional ways that your new tank will break-in as time passes. I'd suggest taking a look at Mark Peterson's thread on reef keeping tips. I think that it will answer a lot of the questions you may have. You can find the thread by following this link:

One of the most important things you need to establish is how full your overflow tank below (we in the hobby call that tank a sump) can be to avoid floods.  Once your display tank is full, if you turn your pump off (assuming you had a power outage) water will continue to drain down to your sump until it is below the drain in your display tank.  You can play with this to create a line in your sump that you NEVER want to fill above.  Once you establish this line, mark the sump on the outside with tape, a sharpie marker, etc.

Also, does your water enter your display tank thru the plumbing via a flexible (usually black in color but sometimes white) piping that protrudes near the top inside your tank?  If so, keep the open end of that flexible tubing near the very top of your water.  The reason for this is because if you have a power outage, a siphon could start and water could actually start draining down that flexible tubing to your sump below.  That is another way to a possible flood.

I'm sure you will get a lot more advice here, but thought I'd give you some simple advice before you start adding water to your sump tomorrow.

Oh, trust me, we're putting the most stock in the things we read and hear here. We're just taking in all the info we can from as many sources as possible so we can learn as much as we can and get to the point where we're able to think through these kinds of things based on real knowledge and information, not just what someone trying to sell us some equipment told us. And this is the only forum we're paying any attention to, so I'm not sure who the loud-mouth newbies on other forums are that you're referring to. I really wouldn't say that we've gotten much advice/info from the LFS (a new acronym I just learned! :)) that conflicts significantly with anything we've heard here. A lot of it is probably just that we haven't been asking the right questions at the right points in the process. But now that we've gotten started, you'll all probably get sick of reading my questions here.

So. Next step is the refugium. Any recommendations of what should go in there or best practices for setting it up that we may not know about/have thought about?

Refugium? See the Reefkeeping Tips below for a tip about Refugiums.

dougandtito,

I am glad that you are not single sourcing your information. I am sure you have found out by now, everyone has their own opinions and there are a lot of different ways to accomplish things.

The best advice I can give you on cycling a tank and everything else you do in this hobby is take your time! Nothing good ever comes fast and you will save your self a lot of time and money in the long run by just sitting back, researching your next move and enjoying the process.

I just recently moved to Utah and started a new reef and well let you know how I am approaching cycling my new tank.  I am not claiming it to be the best way, it is just how I am doing in. Hopefully there is something useful in this dialogue that can help you succeed in this wonderful hobby.

The first three months I did nothing but put some fish food in the tank a few times a week.  My main focus is creating a stable environment.  I set up my ato and controller to maintain temperature and salinity.
Next I set up my 2 part dosing to maintain a solid alkalinity and calcium level. There are also many ways to accomplish that. I hooked up my protein skimmer about 2 months in just to start breaking it in.

I am now about 4.5 months in and have only added a few fish and coral after quarantining them.  In my experience, your tank continues to cycle, with each successive cycle being slightly less drastic, for at least a year. 
You will notice algae blooms from time to time and other "undesirable" things will happen to your tank, but if you just wait it out and focus on maintaining a stable environment you will have success.

Setting up a refugium is one of many ways to tackle nutrient export and also yet another, highly debated topic.  I have a mangrove refugium in the works on my current system but I do not completely rely on it for nutrient export as it is more of an aesthetic tank for me.  I would encourage you to test for nitrate and phosphate in a few months and strive to keep them at a low stable value via filter socks, skimming, water changes, phosphate removal, macro algae, whatever works for you.

There are a lot of "cure all" additives out there designed to capture the attention and wallet of a new and impatient hobbyist. I would suggest just sticking to the basics and maintaining stability. Consistent water changes goes along way in my experience, especially when you are just starting out.

Everyone in the hobby has their own little environment they are caring for.  There are a ton of different variables and it can be overwhelming to absorb all of the information out there.  In time, you while learn what works for your reef!

Good luck and happy reefing!

Alex

Doesn't live rock and existing bacteria/fauna prevent a full cycle? Last spring I bought a new tank and moved everything over in one day only experiencing a 2-3 day mini cycle. I locked the ammonia and nitrites up chemically for 2 days with no issues. Im sure many other hobbyists have performed moves like this.

Aloha Marco,

Edited by Mark Peterson - December 22 2014 at 11:36am

Testing is the best way to know if a tank has "cycled" which means your tank has completed the nitrogen cycle aka take ammonia (from animal waste) turn that into nitrite, and then into nitrate, can you "see" that? No, but you can see visual cues that can let you know generally where you are at but why on earth would you just not test? Just because your tank has completed the cycle does not mean its ready, normally your going to have ski high nitrates after the cycle which you want to bring down with water changes, the establishment of denitrifying bacteria, plants that take up as an export routine (cheato, calurpa, etc). There is not one way to "cycle" a tank and no set time to do it, their are so many variables such as heat, flow, water volume, photo period, how much rock sand, type of rock and sand etc. Track and test your water.

Edited by Bryce - December 22 2014 at 12:05pm