Cycle question

[nawt2tawl1221]

Ok so I feel like a dummy after realizing what I just did. Got the tank put live sand and base rock also ended up getting some live rock cheap and added that. Tested my water daily with the strip test. Everything looked good. I ended up adding more live rock that had some snails and crabs. For whatever reason the nitrate and nitrite was still 0. So I thought maybe I need to add a fish. So I got a lawnmower Benny to help. He’s doing great. I finally got a real test kit with the drips. Seeing now my ammonia is .025. Nothing crazy but feel dumb. I honestly thought the strip test would be fine for now. I guess question is does anybody know if that ammonia will go up or down. I plan on testing it a few times today and tomorrow while I’m off.

 

[Gtinnel]

Is the test kit you are using API by chance? It is notorious for reading a slight ammonia level when there is not. My tank has been up for a little of 2 years now and if I test with API I will show an ammonia reading of .25.

 

[brandon429]

this above means you are done completely, that's what api reads in most running reefs because it TAN converts down to .025 nh3 and that's the specific safe zone for the kit. the main reading you are seeing needs to be divided further to discern the type of ammonia we encounter at this pH, that's my main takeaway from battles cycling in the chemistry forum.


all rock that has animals and inclusions adhered is already fully cycled, so your readings line up perfectly.

your actual nh3 ammonia is even further divided, its .0025 but a color tube kit has no way of displaying that level. this is the approximate level reefs using precycled rocks run at, they don't even run in the hundredths but it takes digital nh3 meters to see the dynamic. your cycle is done because you used skip cycle live rock in the inclusions, and then any bottle bac added was in addition to that skip cycle live rock. cycling is complete here, time to reef and choose a fish disease protocol to avoid losses in the first few months.

 

[nawt2tawl1221]

it is API. Ok awesome! Yeah everything seems fine and healthy. Deff planning on a couple of clowns, diamond watchman goby for sand sifting. I would also love to have pistol and goby pair Have any recommendations for good peaceful reef safe inexpensive fish? Also I am not planning on adding all those at once. Maybe get a royal gramma first see how they do.

 

[nawt2tawl1221]

Also what should I be monitoring then? Just the salinity, temp, nitrite, nitrate and PH. Thanks for the helps guys.

 

[brandon429]

cease testing for nitrite and ammonia, those are cycling params and cycle is done. misreading test kits on those params will drive you crazy, cause you to re buy bottle bac out of unfounded fear. test the others


nitrite is neutral at all times in reefing, even though you've read oppositely from cycling articles. they're now dated, old, wrong information.

ammonia self controls at all times in reefing, unless disease kills all the fish, in which case owning an ammonia test kit wouldnt help prevent that. ammonia will never drift up, or out of spec, without dead fish causing it. there is never an instance of ammonia creeping up, then killing fish, its the other direction always.

those are the reasons we retire nitrite and ammonia testing after the cycle completes when using updated cycling science.

 

[Gtinnel]

Also what should I be monitoring then? Just the salinity, temp, nitrite, nitrate and PH. Thanks for the helps guys.

The most important by far are to make sure salinity and temp are in range and stable. Once the tank is cycled there really isn't any reason to check ammonia or nitrite any more (honestly there isn't any reason to check nitrite ever IMO). You can check pH but if you don't do anything with trying to get it to where you want it then I wouldn't bother with it either.

I check nitrate and phosphate about once a week, and if you start adding stony corals you will eventually need to start testing alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium.

 

[nawt2tawl1221]

dang I didn’t even need to open this salt water testing kit then! Lol.

 

[nawt2tawl1221]

You guys think I should get the two clowns first or the diamond watch man goby first?

 

[brandon429]

they will bring in disease that kills most or all of your fish within 8 mos if you add some after the cycle

per the fish disease forum, the tank and the fish have to be prepped a certain way. its in the stickies in the forum

if you skip disease preps u have a 20% chance of success at 8 mos/ratios come from the fish disease forum and our other cycling thread updates

 

[Gtinnel]

dang I didn’t even need to open this salt water testing kit then! Lol.

Assuming you mean the API saltwater master kit, then you can use it to check pH, but again if you aren't going to do anything to improve it (CO2 scrubber, running airline to skimmer outside, opening windows in the house, etc) then knowing the value doesn't help that much. It works okay in my experience for checking nitrate if you don't have really low levels.

Many hobbiests, myself included, have an unused API kit sitting around unused.