Ammonia rising during cycle with bottled bacteria?

[ReefSlice]

I have 40 lbs of dry marco rock cycling in a tub with a powerhead and heater (78 degrees). I added the rock to the tub on 12/10, dosed ammonia to 2 ppm, and added 6 capfuls of microbacter start xlm. On day 2, ammonia was down to 1 ppm measured with API. On day 3, it measured .5. It then stalled on .5 for 4 days (12/12-12/16), during which time I added another 4 capfuls of Microbacter start. On the 17th my ammonia read 1 ppm again, and has been the same ever since. I added some prodibio biodigest and more microbacter start today as well. How is it possible that the ammonia is rising instead of falling? I was excited to see it falling so fast the first few days and now I'm really scratching my head. There is no source of ammonia and plenty of bacteria being added. The test tube is rinsed after every test and then rinsed with the tub water before testing. What should my next step be here?

 

[Azedenkae]

I have 40 lbs of dry marco rock cycling in a tub with a powerhead and heater (78 degrees). I added the rock to the tub on 12/10, dosed ammonia to 2 ppm, and added 6 capfuls of microbacter start xlm. On day 2, ammonia was down to 1 ppm measured with API. On day 3, it measured .5. It then stalled on .5 for 4 days (12/12-12/16), during which time I added another 4 capfuls of Microbacter start. On the 17th my ammonia read 1 ppm again, and has been the same ever since. I added some prodibio biodigest and more microbacter start today as well. How is it possible that the ammonia is rising instead of falling? I was excited to see it falling so fast the first few days and now I'm really scratching my head. There is no source of ammonia and plenty of bacteria being added. The test tube is rinsed after every test and then rinsed with the tub water before testing. What should my next step be here?

Did you see any nitrite or nitrate? Ammonia can result if it was originally used as a nitrogen source by growing/reproducing microbes, then re-released upon death.

No chance something (aside from the microbes) is dying in there, is there?

 

[ReefSlice]

Did you see any nitrite or nitrate? Ammonia can result if it was originally used as a nitrogen source by growing/reproducing microbes, then re-released upon death.

No chance something (aside from the microbes) is dying in there, is there?

I have not tested nitrates yet but plan on doing so tomorrow with my Hanna meter. Absolutely 0 chance anything is decaying in there, closed lid container with fresh rock.

 

[brandon429]

All you need is this

Open the lid and keep topped off

dont cycle in a closed lid setup

add three pinches of ground up flake food, the trick from Dr Reefs bottle bac thread

let this all stew fifteen more days from today


remove rocks and set in a tank, they’re cycled, and can’t not be cycled, regardless of what any test says in the interim or in fifteen days. this is a testless start date assignment timing based cycle we’ve been testing for 29 pages in the how to unstick any cycle thread


if you had seneye you’d see proof the ammonia isn’t and wasnt uncontrolled, and since you dont have seneye what the tests say doesn’t matter, use the timing option.


when you use these rocks prepped by fish food and two more weeks they’ll carry any fish load you want them to carry, that’s the final proof and it’ll never be non digital test kits deciding the final proof or we wouldn’t be on page 29 with perfect results

if you use this method we’d love to see your final proof which won’t be test param approximations it’ll be a pic of fish swimming in clean waters where in two weeks you lift out these rocks and set them into a tank and everyday it runs clean and normal, thats cycled. What a non cycled tank will do if you put in fish and feed is slowly cloud up and they’ll die. It’s life or death, no test kit is required to see clean vs cloudy stinky water, or living vs dead or in process of dying fish, it’s as clear of a distinction as we could hope to see.

 

[ReefSlice]

Small update. Ammonia is up to nearly 2ppm tonight, still increasing. Really not sure how this is possible after an initial drop and almost 2 weeks into the cycle. I cracked open the lid on the tub last night as well to give better gas exchange. I will try to just leave it alone, but anyone else experience this?

 

[Reefbuds]

@brandon429 Is where its at. I would definitely follow his advice on this

 

[M3ntal]

Small update. Ammonia is up to nearly 2ppm tonight, still increasing. Really not sure how this is possible after an initial drop and almost 2 weeks into the cycle. I cracked open the lid on the tub last night as well to give better gas exchange. I will try to just leave it alone, but anyone else experience this?

Follow @brandon429's advice. I have a thread on here wondering about my cycle as well, and everything ended up falling right in line with what he's stated even after WAY overdosing ammonia initially. I was stubborn and wanted to keep testing for reassurance, but it's only made me doubt what has been well established as per that thread he mentions.

Chill on the testing, wait it out.