Cycle question

[mjszos]

My eye says you’re at 2.0PPM ammonia… I’d monitor it and wait until you dip below 1.0 then do a half dosage of the ammonium chloride to buffer it and see how things look.

Dr Tim’s took the longest for me to cycle, I think around 20ish days before I felt comfortable adding fish.

If you’d like to diversify bacteria you can drop in some Fritz Turbo Start - but for now just keep testing your patience :)

 

[fladiver]

My eye says you’re at 2.0PPM ammonia… I’d monitor it and wait until you dip below 1.0 then do a half dosage of the ammonium chloride to buffer it and see how things look.

Dr Tim’s took the longest for me to cycle, I think around 20ish days before I felt comfortable adding fish.

If you’d like to diversify bacteria you can drop in some Fritz Turbo Start - but for now just keep testing your patience :)

Thanks! Looks close to 2.0 to me too. It’s been right around there for about a week, so I guess it makes sense to just wait for nitrite to do its job. I’ll test again in two days to see how it’s moving.

The pic below was from two days ago for nitrites, so it does seem like it’s moving pretty good on that front…

 

[fladiver]

Tested tonight and looks, at least to my eye, that ammonia has dropped and is now closer to .50. Also looks like nitrites continued to climb - maybe right around (or just over) 2.0?

Would appreciate any feedback/confirmation on what those colors are showing. I’ll plan on testing nitrates tomorrow or early Friday most likely.

If the ammonia has indeed dropped to closer to .50, it seems like next step would be to dose with Dr Tim’s Ammomium Chloride tomorrow with the normal dosage? Thanks in advance!

 

[fladiver]

Can anyone chime in to agree/disagree on my thought to add some ammonium today based on yesterday’s test? Thanks.

 

[fladiver]

Also - should I consider adding pods at this point? I have heard and read a lot about them and their benefits; would they help for my situation? Thanks!

 

[Fish Fan]

I personally would let the ammonia go down to near zero before adding more ammonia at this point, but others may do it differently.

Are you recording any nitrates yet?

 

[fladiver]

I personally would let the ammonia go down to near zero before adding more ammonia at this point, but others may do it differently.

Are you recording any nitrates yet?

Thanks for the reply! I may test again tomorrow for ammonia then.

I’m going to test tonight for nitrates. With the spike in nitrites, I’m kind of expecting to see some movement in nitrates…

Any thoughts on adding pods at this point?

 

[Fish Fan]

I would hold off on the 'pods until the cycle is complete.

 

[fladiver]

tested for nitrates tonight. To my naked eye, it looks like they’re continuing to climb. Maybe around 10-20 ppm?

 

[fladiver]

waited a few days and tested.

Looks like ammonia is back to 0. Nitrites continue to be elevated. And at least to me it looks like nitrates are also slightly higher.

Would you dose ammonia at this point? Was hoping to be in position to start adding at least a few inverts and maybe a fish this week - seems like with a large water change I should be in good shape? Would welcome thoughts as always. Thanks!

 

[fladiver]

Also - is it OK to add back my mechanical filtration to the HOB filter? And turn my UV sterilizer on? I had taken mechanical filtration out and kept skimmer off when the cycle started roughly 15 days ago. Thanks!

 

[fladiver]

Also - is it OK to add back my mechanical filtration to the HOB filter? And turn my UV sterilizer on? I had taken mechanical filtration out and kept skimmer off when the cycle started roughly 15 days ago. Thanks!

Anyone? Thanks!