Cycle Status???

[MbunaJohn]

Hello,

I finally got water in the aquarium and started cycling about 11 days ago. I went through the 7 days of Seed bacteria from aquavitro following the directions and am a week into the Red Sea Reef Mature Pro Kit. The following are the tank parameters as of about an hour ago:

PH - 7.95 (Has been hanging just above 8 but dips for a few hours every time i add the No3PO4X as directed in the RS Reef Mature kit)
Salinity - 1.025
Ammonia - 0
Nitrites - 0
Nitrates - 3
Alkalinity - 9

No sign of even the slightest algae.

Started with dry rock from Marco Rocks and sand from them as well. No phantom feeding or dead shrimp, etc... just the seed bacteria.

Lights are running about 10 hours per day as per the instructions in the RS Reed Mature kit.

I expected to see some signs of anything at this point...where am I at?

Thanks for your help on my non-question question.

Here's a quick pic. I haven't skinned the canopy yet because i'm still toying with light height and monitoring water temp...and wishing i had a par meter...

 

[AlexStinson]

You aren't seeing much because you aren't putting in much. There are as many different ways of cycling as there are reefers. I usually start out a tank with a few hermits/snails on day 1 and slowly ramp up from there. With sand and dry rock, there isn't that much to die to create the cycle.

 

[MbunaJohn]

@AlexStinson so the seed bacteria isn't enough? I had a few people tell me that phantom feeding and or a shrimp was redundant if i was seeding with bacteria.

 

[AlexStinson]

Bacteria need something to feed off of, or else they are feeding off of themselves as they stabilize their population. It sounds to me like, 11 days in, you are more than ready for some livestock. That said, if you are following some prescribed system, I wouldn't want to derail it.

 

[jetmaker]

@AlexStinson so the seed bacteria isn't enough? I had a few people tell me that phantom feeding and or a shrimp was redundant if i was seeding with bacteria.

Feed ammonia when you can process 2 ppm to 0 in 24 hrs cycle complete

 

[MbunaJohn]

Feed ammonia when you can process 2 ppm in 24 hrs cycle complete

is there any good calculator for how much ammonia to add to get to approximately 2ppm?

 

[MbunaJohn]

BTW, thank you both for taking the time to answer...

 

[jetmaker]

BTW, thank you both for taking the time to answer...

I used 2 tps in 75 gallon if that will give you a idea

 

[melypr1985]

Oh yes! I agree... you can test where your cycle is by adding ammonia to the tank. If the tank is able to process 2ppm in 24 hours then your good to go on adding some CUC. since your using a system, we dont want to mess with that much - like alex said. But you can probably test your tanks ability to process ammonia without messing up your regimen.

 

[Jakepen]

Use pure ammonia to dose.

 

[MbunaJohn]

i put 2 capfuls of ammonia in the tank last night and an hour later it tested at about 3-4 ppm. 20h later it is at 2ppm. I'll check it again tomorrow...

I wonder if the ammonia nullifies (kills) the bacteria i'm supposed to add today...should i wait until it subsides?

 

[Jakepen]

I don't think it would kill the bacteria. You should be fine to add it, also turn up your heat a little bit. Easier for bacteria to grow in warmer temperatures.

 

[Scottsquatch]

As I read your post I was gonna recommend feeding the bacteria, but I see it has been said. One thing though, be sure the ammonia is PURE ammonia like Jakepen suggested. Double check that there are no additives whatsoever. Some brands will say pure ammonia on the bottle but will still add scents.

 

[jetmaker]

i put 2 capfuls of ammonia in the tank last night and an hour later it tested at about 3-4 ppm. 20h later it is at 2ppm. I'll check it again tomorrow...

I wonder if the ammonia nullifies (kills) the bacteria i'm supposed to add today...should i wait until it subsides?

Yeah add bacteria. That means 1 capfull is 2 ppm it will give you a good hard cycle so you won't have a mini cycle later.