Advice on maintaining cycle w/o fish

navada718

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Whats up people, So I added Algaebarn fritz turbostart & nitrocycle to my DT & QT(aio 50 gal & Lagoon & 20 gal Qt) on 11/11/20 & both tanks were full cycled by 11/17/20, with all parameters reading 0ppm.
I didn't add any fish to either tanks as of yet. On the 11/23/20 I noticed the QT Nitrite increase to 0.25 ppm.
Being a newbie, I didn't think to add a Amonia source to the tanks to keep the cycle going. I added a very small dosage of AlgaeBarn NitroCycle to both the DT & The Qt tank. Without knowing for sure it's a Amonia source. As of today the DT has Ammonia at 0.25ppm
Nitrite 0.50ppm
Nitrate at 0.
As for the QT,
ammonia is at 0.25,
Nitrite: 0.50ppm
Nitrate is 0.
Recommendation on what I should do to get the parameters back to 0, specifically the QT so I can get fish.
Should I get some BIO-Spira by instant ocean? Get Dr. Tims ammonia, because I don't know if AlgaeBarn NitroCycle can be used as a Amonia source, if it is, I still have some left & can use.
Do a water change?
Wait for nature to take its course?
Or any other products or recommendations I haven't listed.

FB_IMG_1606065981766.jpg 16063258907222481555693568275578.jpg
 

Reef.

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Saying you were fully cycled in a week because all parameters were 0 is wrong, if cycled you should have nitrate in the tank.

If my tank I would check ammonia, if low get it to at least 2ppm with Dr Tim’s ammonia, add friz again and start taking regular readings, you want to see your ammonia come down, your nitrite will go up, after the peak and it will start to drop, wait till it is at 0, when your nitrite is 0 check your nitrate level, it should be quite high, with ammonia at 0 and nitrite also at 0, then you should be cycled, to check, add ammonia to 2ppm again and see if it is 0 after 24 hours, if yes you can then do a big water change to get rid of the nitrate.
 

brandon429

why did you put a reef in that
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I recommend this order: add ammonia now the bac are not killed after being dosed into the tank.

also handy

one reason peoples cycles are way off base when adding ammonia is today’s test kits allow gross overdoses before registering a change. Use this calculator, know your levels without a tester,

then take and post what your ammonia kit shows on this known dosage.
 
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navada718

navada718

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Saying you were fully cycled in a week because all parameters were 0 is wrong, if cycled you should have nitrate in the tank.

If my tank I would check ammonia, if low get it to at least 2ppm with Dr Tim’s ammonia, add friz again and start taking regular readings, you want to see your ammonia come down, your nitrite will go up, when your nitrite is 0 check your nitrate level, it should be quite high, with ammonia at 0 and nitrite also at 0, then you should be cycled, to check, add ammonia to 2ppm again and see if it is 0 after 24 hours, if yes you can then do a big water change to get rid of the nitrate.
My Nitrate peaked at 5ppm on 11/15/20 before decreasing to 0 by 11/17/20 on my DT& DT.
I no longer have any TurboStart left. Can I use bio spira by instant ocean, in place of the Turbo? I still have AlgaeBarn NitroCycle left, is that a ammonia source?
 

brandon429

why did you put a reef in that
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Yes

but you can re verify the test for completion by adding ammonium chloride to see if it moves up then back down on an ammonia test kit if the cycle is in doubt.


or just proceed with reefing you paid for top dollar bottle bac. Fritz is good and reliable. U already bought enough
 
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navada718

navada718

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I recommend this order: add ammonia now the bac are not killed after being dosed into the tank.

also handy

one reason peoples cycles are way off base when adding ammonia is today’s test kits allow gross overdoses before registering a change. Use this calculator, know your levels without a tester,

then take and post what your ammonia kit shows on this known dosage.
Is AlgaeBarn NitroCycle a ammonia source?
 

brandon429

why did you put a reef in that
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Yep it is I just clicked to check. Neat product


you can calibrate any ammonia test for accuracy with that calc. By adding a known amount of ammonium chloride, testing the tank with a kit to see if it agrees helps you see the accuracy in the kit in question. this will help to define any cycle start date if you build future systems

any cycled reef should be able to move down 1 ppm ammonia overnite, and any decent tester should show 1 ppm as a low range read not totally pegged on the kit and not zero. If you can move any degree of ammonia it means the tank is cycled, inputting to 2 ppm true won’t even move some meters at all. A recent post using red sea ammonia didn’t move out of zero until about 7ppm worth had been added to the reef.
 

Reef.

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My Nitrate peaked at 5ppm on 11/15/20 before decreasing to 0 by 11/17/20 on my DT& DT.
I no longer have any TurboStart left. Can I use bio spira by instant ocean, in place of the Turbo? I still have AlgaeBarn NitroCycle left, is that a ammonia source?

5 is nothing, if cycled you are going to be in the range of 50-100.

Yes, use what you have p, you don’t really need to add any more but I suggested it as a safe measure as I can not be use what you have done, so I said that to be safe, but once bacteria is in the tank, it just needs ammonia to wake back up, so yes add what you have or if already in there it should be enough, sound to me you have not got enough ammonia in there or need to wait longer.

I would get ammonia to 2ppm to see where you are at, look to see your nitrite go up, when it peaks and starts to drop, wait till it hits 0, then measure nitrate, it should be much higher than 5, as said maybe around 50, then you can remove it with a water change.
 
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navada718

navada718

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Yes

but you can re verify the test for completion by adding ammonium chloride to see if it moves up then back down on an ammonia test kit if the cycle is in doubt.


or just proceed with reefing you paid for top dollar bottle bac. Fritz is good and reliable. U already bought enough
When I added a little NitroCycle to my Dt on 11/23/20 the ammonia was zero
5 is nothing, if cycled you are going to be in the range of 50-100.

Yes, use what you have p, you don’t really need to add any more but I suggested it as a safe measure as I can not be use what you have done, so I said that to be safe, but once bacteria is in the tank, it just needs ammonia to wake back up, so yes add what you have or if already in there it should be enough, sound to me you have not got enough ammonia in there or need to wait longer.

I would get ammonia to 2ppm to see where you are at, look to see your nitrite go up, when it peaks and starts to drop, wait till it hits 0, then measure nitrate, it should be much higher than 5, as said maybe around 50, then you can remove it with a water change.
Good looking.
 
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navada718

navada718

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5 is nothing, if cycled you are going to be in the range of 50-100.

Yes, use what you have p, you don’t really need to add any more but I suggested it as a safe measure as I can not be use what you have done, so I said that to be safe, but once bacteria is in the tank, it just needs ammonia to wake back up, so yes add what you have or if already in there it should be enough, sound to me you have not got enough ammonia in there or need to wait longer.

I would get ammonia to 2ppm to see where you are at, look to see your nitrite go up, when it peaks and starts to drop, wait till it hits 0, then measure nitrate, it should be much higher than 5, as said maybe around 50, then you can remove it with a water change.
One last question, I have algae barn pod kit, on the way, should I wait until the tank is fully cycled before adding them?
 

Reef.

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When I added a little NitroCycle to my Dt on 11/23/20 the ammonia was zero

Good looking.

what is worrying me is the very low nitrate, nitrate should be higher as it is related to the amount of ammonia you used.

Dr Tim’s ammonia is good as you know exactly the amount you have used to get to 2ppm, the one you have used may be good but I don’t know and tests for ammonia are not that good so you could have added the correct amount but the test you used it will be hard to tell, with Dr Tim’s you add the required number of drops and then you know you are good.
 

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Personally, I just simulate a fish being in there. Add the approximate amount of flake that you would put in if it had an occupant, daily, then test water as normal. Yeah, it hasn’t got instant results but hey ho, what’s the rush. You’ll have to syphon off some crud occasionally but I reckon that’s good practice.
 
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navada718

navada718

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Personally, I just simulate a fish being in there. Add the approximate amount of flake that you would put in if it had an occupant, daily, then test water as normal. Yeah, it hasn’t got instant results but hey ho, what’s the rush. You’ll have to syphon off some crud occasionally but I reckon that’s good practice.
Haven't picked up in saltwater fish food yet, but I have fresh water fish food. Would that work or should I get some saltwater fish, food?
 

Reef.

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Haven't picked up in saltwater fish food yet, but I have fresh water fish food. Would that work or should I get some saltwater fish, food?

whilst at the shop see if they have Dr Tim’s, it’s cheap like $5, you can add fish food or even a raw shrimp but again you are left wondering how much ammonia you have added and whether a low or zero test for ammonia means it’s really zero or you haven’t added enough or need to wait longer for it to break down and turn to ammonia...anyway good luck.
 

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