Can you use prodibio start up if you’ve added ammonia?

HankstankXXL750

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I am cycling a new tank. 200g 3XL900 with 140# life rock and 200# Caribsea live sand. I was reading on here and saw threads about prodibio start-up. Said you can add fish after 12 hours. I’m not planning on rushing my cycle, but thinking using these live bacteria could help me to develop a stronger bio filter with more depth and diversity. I ordered prodibio start up from Amazon, but got a message of undeliverable. So I started my cycle with Ace Ammonia and Aquavitro Seed. Started last night. Added ammonia to 2-3ppm and dosed 110 ml Seed, dosed 55 ml Seed tonight. Ammonia still around 2 ppm. Today the Amazon order that said it wasn’t coming arrived, and in it was the start up system.

My question is, can I add the start up now, or will the ammonia harm the bacteria?
Or should I wait for the ammonia levels to drop?

Second question, label says can add 1/3 of hardy fish after 12 hours. Does this mean I should does ammonia to feed and establish the bacteria after adding?

Thanks.
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Go ahead and add the bacteria. 2ppm ammonia won't kill bacteria, otherwise we wouldn't use it as the standard test. You don't want it too much higher than that, but 2ppm is entirely fine.

A tank is considered cycled if it can reduce 2ppm ammonia to 0 ammonia in 24 hours or less. Once that happens, you're good to add critters.
 

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The bacteria is meant to convert the ammonia to nitrite and then another turning that into nitrate.


BTW you might want to double check on your ammonia source as to whether or not it contains surfactants.
 
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Thanks. I know about the 2ppm to 0 in a day. That is my target. One thread on here said got from 1ppm after the first dose in larger tanks as 1ppm in 200g is well more than 2ppm in like a 20g and would t develops as much nitrate. But my plan is to develop to the 2-0 plan and then do a huge water change. I’m running 1.015 salinity and 82 degrees as bacteria are supposed to develop and divide fast in those conditions. Then I will up to 1.026 or 35ppm and drop to 76 degrees before adding fish.
Thanks.
 
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HankstankXXL750

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The bacteria is meant to convert the ammonia to nitrite and then another turning that into nitrate.


BTW you might want to double check on your ammonia source as to whether or not it contains surfactants.
Using Ace professional as I read it was supposed to be one of the only ones left that doesn’t have fragrance or surfactants. Did the shake for bubbles test and it doesn’t retain a head of bubbles so assume I’m good.
I fully understand the nitrogen cycle, but this will be my first attempt at a fishless cycle. Always before I have used wet rock from lfs and Caribsea sand and added hardy fish or two depending on size of tank.
Setting this one up from scratch. Already have my fish quarantined for a minimum of 1 month, and still have another 2-6 weeks to cycle this tank. Not bringing anything over from any of my other tanks at this point to eliminate the possibility of bringing ich or velvet (that I am unaware of as none of my tanks have any sick fish) as my wife has already told me that if the new fish die she’s done. (Had a very bad stretch in a 90 with recurring velvet even after fallow for a very long time) she made me get rid of the tank and everything that went with it, but gotta love her, she let me get the 3XL900. Great gal.
 
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Go ahead and add the bacteria. 2ppm ammonia won't kill bacteria, otherwise we wouldn't use it as the standard test. You don't want it too much higher than that, but 2ppm is entirely fine.

A tank is considered cycled if it can reduce 2ppm ammonia to 0 ammonia in 24 hours or less. Once that happens, you're good to add critters.
Thanks. Therefor I need to keep the tank around 2ppm without going too much higher every night, until it goes to 0? Guessing I need to give it an ammonia source since I’m not adding fish yet.
 

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You'll probably want to prophylactically treat the fish in QT. Ich can go unnoticed for a long time, even during quarantine, so it's best to take measures to eliminate it. If you're sure they don't have velvet, the tank transfer method can get rid of ich, and is relatively easy on the fish due to not having any medications involved. Though you do have to be able to quickly catch the fish, without horribly stressing them, and have two setups to swap between.

Alternately, order from a place like Dr Reefs, get your fish all pre-quarantined.

You'll want to maintain some ammonia, yes. It's fine if it dips to nothing now and then, the bacteria won't evaporate, but you want to encourage all that nitrifying bacteria to get going properly.
 
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You'll probably want to prophylactically treat the fish in QT. Ich can go unnoticed for a long time, even during quarantine, so it's best to take measures to eliminate it. If you're sure they don't have velvet, the tank transfer method can get rid of ich, and is relatively easy on the fish due to not having any medications involved. Though you do have to be able to quickly catch the fish, without horribly stressing them, and have two setups to swap between.

Alternately, order from a place like Dr Reefs, get your fish all pre-quarantined.

You'll want to maintain some ammonia, yes. It's fine if it dips to nothing now and then, the bacteria won't evaporate, but you want to encourage all that nitrifying bacteria to get going properly.
Some of the fish are ones I saved from the 90 by doing the TTM. The rest I have gotten from reefbeauties.com. Started using them back in March after bringing velvet home from my lfs (5 hour round trip drive) decided to go online as the $200 in gas in my diesel truck buys a lot of fish online. Haven’t seen a single outbreak of ich or velvet from them yet. (They don’t pre quarantine their fish, but I have been doing a 6 week observation in 1.020 at 76 degrees and then raising salinity to 1.026 slowly before transferring to DT. If I understand the ich cycle according to humblefish I would think it would have to show up before then either as spots, or distress if localized on the gills?
 

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With otherwise healthy fish, ich can be present in low enough levels that you never see it during an observational quarantine. That's what happens when seemingly healthy tanks have an ich outbreak with no prior symptoms; stress on a fish weakens its immune system, letting the background ich take proper hold, and it then spreads from there.

Velvet is much nastier and tends to quickly make itself known, but fish can live years with few to no symptoms from ich, so a month or two is definitely not enough to catch it 100% of the time. That's why the best places treat fish regardless, since ich is so sneaky.
 
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With otherwise healthy fish, ich can be present in low enough levels that you never see it during an observational quarantine. That's what happens when seemingly healthy tanks have an ich outbreak with no prior symptoms; stress on a fish weakens its immune system, letting the background ich take proper hold, and it then spreads from there.

Velvet is much nastier and tends to quickly make itself known, but fish can live years with few to no symptoms from ich, so a month or two is definitely not enough to catch it 100% of the time. That's why the best places treat fish regardless, since ich is so sneaky.
One other question. I cannot find anything on wether to run my skimmer or not. Put the bacteria in last night after our conversation. I haven’t started either my skimmer or my UV. Won’t start my UV until the cycle is complete, but wondering about starting my skimmer as I bought a new RSK900 for it and know that it is going to run super wet for a while.
 

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I don't think your skimmer will have much impact one way or the other. A skimmer oxygenates, and removes particles of organic matter, neither of which is needed or harmful here.

Though, keep in mind that you may not need a skimmer. They can wind up removing nutrients and particulates that the corals want, particularly in lightly stocked tanks.
 
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HankstankXXL750

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I don't think your skimmer will have much impact one way or the other. A skimmer oxygenates, and removes particles of organic matter, neither of which is needed or harmful here.

Though, keep in mind that you may not need a skimmer. They can wind up removing nutrients and particulates that the corals want, particularly in lightly stocked tanks.
Thanks. I thought I read somewhere from the company not to run the skimmer. Might have been on a video. I assumed I could restart it but just wanted a nod from someone else. As far as nutrient export I definitely stock heavy, and this tank is for some angels, a miniatus grouper, a lion fish and a porcupine puffer, so I’ll need all the help I can get to keep it down.
Thanks again.
 

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Using Ace professional as I read it was supposed to be one of the only ones left that doesn’t have fragrance or surfactants. Did the shake for bubbles test and it doesn’t retain a head of bubbles so assume I’m good.
I fully understand the nitrogen cycle, but this will be my first attempt at a fishless cycle. Always before I have used wet rock from lfs and Caribsea sand and added hardy fish or two depending on size of tank.
Setting this one up from scratch. Already have my fish quarantined for a minimum of 1 month, and still have another 2-6 weeks to cycle this tank. Not bringing anything over from any of my other tanks at this point to eliminate the possibility of bringing ich or velvet (that I am unaware of as none of my tanks have any sick fish) as my wife has already told me that if the new fish die she’s done. (Had a very bad stretch in a 90 with recurring velvet even after fallow for a very long time) she made me get rid of the tank and everything that went with it, but gotta love her, she let me get the 3XL900. Great gal.


Yeah the only way the bacteria could be harmed in this is if you drastically overdosed ammonia which would eventually produce enough nitrite to kill the bacteria which produces it. This would require a serious error on your part though, so its something I wouldn't worry about
 
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HankstankXXL750

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Double-checking yourself is definitely a good impulse for this sort of hobby.
I started in the hobby in 1990 for about 10 years. Started back up last year. Things have really changed. Things I thought I knew are now taboo. New technology and methods have made it a lot easier in my opinion. Or else she has made me more patient.
 
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HankstankXXL750

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Ah, you've probably run into the "actually, it turns out we want nutrients" thing, huh?
Better skimmers. Lower heat lights. Built in refugiums, better UV. DC pumps internet or blue tooth connectivity. Apex controllers. Unending things that make it easier.
Things I miss. Picking up the phone and having ocean harvested live rock and sand delivered tomorrow. And $20 yellow tangs.
 

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You can still get ocean live rock and sand! Tampa Bay and KP Aquatics are the two main places, I think. Tampa Bay is the one with the sand. If you want rock from somewhere other than the Gulf, Unique Corals has Australian live rock in sometimes, though theirs isn't going to be as critter-rich due to not being shipped in water.
 
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HankstankXXL750

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You can still get ocean live rock and sand! Tampa Bay and KP Aquatics are the two main places, I think. Tampa Bay is the one with the sand. If you want rock from somewhere other than the Gulf, Unique Corals has Australian live rock in sometimes, though theirs isn't going to be as critter-rich due to not being shipped in water.
Yes I found those places after I had already purchased a bunch of old Tonga rock. Came out of someone’s system but it was dry. Went with life rock for this one as it looks cool, and I don’t need all the extras in a FOWLR.
 

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