Cycle stall

[mbsloan]

I have had quite a few aquariums and have done fish in cycling a bunch. This is my first fishless cycle. Having a bit of a stall and just looking for guidance.

Tank have been cycling for 4 weeks. I’m somewhere between 26-30 days since the first 2ppm dose of ammonia. Dosing with Fritz ammonia chloride.

Bacteria: Fritz turbo start, 1 cup live sand, 1 lb live rock.

Other: ocean direct Caribsea sand and dry rock.

Testers: Red Sea, Sailfert, Hanna.

Issue: for 3 days now I’m hanging at .5 ammonia (Hanna) and .5 nitrite (Red Sea & Sailfert). Just stopped falling here and is stuck at both.

Here’s my other parameters.
Temp: 80-81
Salinity: 35ppt / 1.026 (Hanna)
PH: 8-8.1 (Red Sea)
Alk: 9.5 (did get really low, 6, realized it and moved it back up to 9-9.5 over 12hr increments.

Ammonia did get down to basically 0 and I redosed ammonia to 1ppm. Trying to get it to go .75-1ppm to 0 in 24-36 hours. It was lowering at a rate of .3 per day and then just got stuck at .5

Here’s my thoughts. Just wanted some advice.
First option, just let it ride and it will eventually get to 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite. Btw I have tested with Red Sea and the Red Sea and Hanna match.

Second option, keep redosing to 1pm until it can handle it.

Lastly I have fish that have been in qt for 3 weeks now. I thought qt and the cycle would end about the same time and I could add in the fish. So I’m kinda stuck now. They have done all their meds and are just waiting and I’m ready to get them out of their 10 gal qts.

Clown Pair & Royal Gramma. In seperate 10 gal tanks. Once added in 2-3 days later going to add a small cuc is the plan. Mainly snails and a hermit or two

 

[GatorGreg]

In retrospect since you seeded your tank with live rock. What you did with the ammonia and bottle bacteria was counter intuitive. You should’ve just added your dry rock, added your seeded rock and sand. Then waited a couple weeks and then rocked and rolled. You’re over complicating this.

I’d cease adding ammonia for one. Probably wait a week or two and then do a water change and then rock and roll. Start slowly stocking tank. By that time it’ll have been like 40 days or something like that. Your tank can process ammonia I promise. The key is don’t go and throw a gang load of fish in there to start.

 

[BeanAnimal]

Don’t dump any more bacteria in. Stop testing for nitrite, it doesn’t matter. Wait a few days and put the fish in. If you really feel the need wait a few days and raise ammonia back up a bit and if it drops, put fish in. Don’t worry about 0.0 as much as seeing ammonia drop from whole numbers to small decimal.

 

[mbsloan]

In retrospect since you seeded your tank with live rock. What you did with the ammonia and bottle bacteria was counter intuitive. You should’ve just added your dry rock, added your seeded rock and sand. Then waited a couple weeks and then rocked and rolled. You’re over complicating this.

I’d cease adding ammonia for one. Probably wait a week or two and then do a water change and then rock and roll. Start slowly stocking tank. By that time it’ll have been like 40 days or something like that. Your tank can process ammonia I promise. The key is don’t go and throw a gang load of fish in there to start.

So I added the live sand and rock later to speed things up. After 3 weeks and it just not moving I got some. later to find out that I probably stalled the cycle due to DKH getting too low. But at the time I didn't realize that.

I mean based on my personal opinion, I should be able wait a few days and go. But I also don't want to kill the fish that I have been qting for 3+ weeks now...lol

 

[bluemon]

So I added the live sand and rock later to speed things up. After 3 weeks and it just not moving I got some. later to find out that I probably stalled the cycle due to DKH getting too low. But at the time I didn't realize that.

I mean based on my personal opinion, I should be able wait a few days and go. But I also don't want to kill the fish that I have been qting for 3+ weeks now...lol

How big is your tank?

1lb of live rock isn’t much to really help much with a cycle late on

 

[mbsloan]

170g total volume. It was just in my sump to seed it.

 

[bluemon]

170g total volume. It was just in my sump to seed it.

Yea a pound of live rock won’t do anything there to help

 

[GatorGreg]

I didn’t realize you had such a large tank. My fault for assuming it was a nano. In that case you would’ve needed more like 30lbs to seed

 

[BeanAnimal]

Any amount of love rock will help “seed” the system. More LE equates to more nitrification capacity in a shorter amount of time.

 

[GatorGreg]

Any amount of love rock will help “seed” the system. More LE equates to more nitrification capacity in a shorter amount of time.

I mean to get faster results. 1lb in a 170 isn’t doing much to quickly jump start a nitrogen cycle.

I used like 50lbs live rock shipped wet in my tank. It was insta start. I just put it in and started reefing

 

[mbsloan]

Honestly the live sand and live rock was just a way ti make sure that I’m adding in some diversification of bacteria and such to the tank.

I understand it isn’t going to be enough to with stand a fully stocked tank. However we are talking about 3 fish in a 170g volume to start. Besides adding in a very small cuc I won’t be adding in any more fish for a month or so. Due to travel I won’t be able to start aging the next fish or two until mid October so thinking the next fish after the first 3 would go in around November 1.

My thought, once ammonia drops to <.25, check nitrates. If they are high do a large water change and add the fish in.