Tank Cycling

Question
I recently set up my 20 gallon FOWLR tank and am currently doing a fishless cycle. My tank has only been running for 6 days. I used 22lbs of live rock and 9lbs of base rock. I also used 10lbs of Agronite with another 10lbs of Bio-activ "live" agronite. My water was a combination of 10 gallons pre-mixed water and around 7 gallons of self mixed (Instant Ocean) water. I tested the water and my specs are : Amonia 0.25, Nitrites 0, Nitrates 20ppm, PH 7.8 and Salinity 1.026. My question is that these perameters suggest that my tank has cycled. I feel this is far to quick. Should I just let the tank run or should I add a "cleaning crew" now?

Answer
Hi Christopher,

Great job thus far... sounds like you've been doing a great job so far...

Regarding your Ammonia level, this should be at zero, you should have no detectable Ammonia levels. Ammonia is a deadly compound for marine life.

See this water parameter chart from one of my favorite online saltwater reef aquarium web stores, Orange County Reef Aquatics.

http://www.ocreef.com/water_parameters

I would let the aquarium run for a few more days, then check the Ammonia levels again. Once they are reading completely zero, then you should be fine to add a clean up crew.

I would also recommend to change the carbon once a week in your aquarium filter, until all parameters have fully leveled out.

I wish you success in all your future saltwater aquarium endeavors!

Sincerely,
David