Cycling a 110gal Tank

[KeitoBombito]

I am new to the hobby and am cycling a 110gal saltwater tank. The tank has dry rock and sand, my lfs recommended using bottled bacteria (MicroBacter Start XLM) and food as ammonia source (Flakes), and testing with Red Sea tests. My cycle started May 7th, and has shown ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. Recently I added a good amount of food, my ammonia went to about 1.2, nitrite .05-.1 and nitrates around 2. The next day my ammonia is back down to .2-.3, nitrites at .05-.1, and nitrates looking around 8-10. Is this ready for a pair of clowns or should I wait until the tests show real 0 for ammonia and nitrites?

Below are today's tests

 

[Tahoe61]

I think you're probably safe.
I don't test nitrite as nitrite is typically inconsequential in saltwater.
Congrats on the tank.

 

[jabberkaycee]

I agree. Stop the feeding and give it a couple more days. Welcome to RBR btw. You’ll have a lot of questions along the way. There’s a lot of people here that have been exactly where you are so don’t hesitate to ask lots of questions. I’ve been out of the hobby for a while but getting ready to set up my new tank, so we’ll be new together

 

[KeitoBombito]

I agree. Stop the feeding and give it a couple more days. Welcome to RBR btw. You’ll have a lot of questions along the way. There’s a lot of people here that have been exactly where you are so don’t hesitate to ask lots of questions. I’ve been out of the hobby for a while but getting ready to set up my new tank, so we’ll be new together

Thank you! That was my plan, would you recommend seeing if ammonia gets any lower to that "zero" and nitrates rise? Another concern is the flakes I tossed in Havnt totally disappeared, should this happen if I have a good enough amount of bacteria already, or should I not worry about that lol

 

[KeitoBombito]

I think you're probably safe.
I don't test nitrite as nitrite is typically inconsequential in saltwater.
Congrats on the tank.

Thank you!

 

[jabberkaycee]

I agree. Stop the feeding and give it a couple more days. Welcome to RBR btw. You’ll have a lot of questions along the way. There’s a lot of people here that have been exactly where you are so don’t hesitate to ask lots of questions. I’ve been out of the hobby for a while but getting ready to set up my new tank, so we’ll be new together

Thank you! That was my plan, would you recommend seeing if ammonia gets any lower to that "zero" and nitrates rise? Another concern is the flakes I tossed in Havnt totally disappeared, should this happen if I have a good enough amount of bacteria already, or should I not worry about that lol

Going slow is always better than trying to rush to the next phase so waiting a few more days only helps, not hurts. You should have your brown diatoms by now. That’s your first indicator that you’re ready for your cleanup crew. You don’t need to use the flakes any longer and don’t worry about the few that are still left. The cleanup crew will take care of all the diatoms and your fish will be the source of your ammonia going forward. I can’t wait to see how the tank progresses!

 

[fishface NJ]

Welcome to R2R! Just ask away with questions.

 

[KeitoBombito]

Going slow is always better than trying to rush to the next phase so waiting a few more days only helps, not hurts. You should have your brown diatoms by now. That’s your first indicator that you’re ready for your cleanup crew. You don’t need to use the flakes any longer and don’t worry about the few that are still left. The cleanup crew will take care of all the diatoms and your fish will be the source of your ammonia going forward. I can’t wait to see how the tank progresses!

Slow and steady! Ya my first thing was going to be adding clean up crew, but that's what I was slightly confused on as my tank is pretty dang clear still, idk if my reefmat is really taking care of it all, or if it's not progressed as much as I think. Today my ammonia was just at that zero, maybe .1 mark, still showing good nitrates around 8-10. The tanks been getting fed a generous amount of flake fish food every few days or so, but no diatoms or any ugliness still, can this be ok, or is something likely off?

 

[KeitoBombito]

Slow and steady! Ya my first thing was going to be adding clean up crew, but that's what I was slightly confused on as my tank is pretty dang clear still, idk if my reefmat is really taking care of it all, or if it's not progressed as much as I think. Today my ammonia was just at that zero, maybe .1 mark, still showing good nitrates around 8-10. The tanks been getting fed a generous amount of flake fish food every few days or so, but no diatoms or any ugliness still, can this be ok, or is something likely off?

Since the tank isn't super dirty yet I was thinking of adding the clowns as my new source of ammonia and allowing some ugliness to happen that way, but really just want to make sure it's safe for these guys .