Cycling an Aquarium

[IslandLifeReef]

I have a 10 gallon cube. 7 pounds of dry rock . The filter rack in the back had a bag of media in it some a couple weeks ago I took it and the pump and put it in my established tank to build bacteria.

I filled the cube 48 hours ago and added a bottle of bacteria. Set the heater to 78. I turned the filter on and walked away. I also started phantom feeding. I checked my water today,48 hours later, and Nitrates, Nitrites, and Ammonia are all zero. Did it already cycle because of the media and pump being in the other tank and with the bottle of bacteria???????

Please help.

No, it didn't cycle that fast. At least I wouldn't count on it. The phantom feeding will provide an ammonia source, but it first needs to break down. You would also have to feed quite a bit of food in order to reach an ammonia level to be considered cycled in 48 hours. If you really want to see where your cycle is, dose your tank with ammonia to 2 ppm and see how long it takes for both ammonia and nitrate to reach 0 ppm.

Otherwise, I would just phantom feed it for a few more weeks, but don't over do it with the feeding.

 

[Staggy]

Thank you!^^^

 

[Tailfisher]

That's a good question Staggy, waiting for someone to answer to see replies.

 

[Staggy]

I feel it shows all signs that it cycled but I realize 48 hours is fast.

I’m not new to the hobby but I’m no seasoned veteran either. I was hoping someone could school me.

 

[Brew12]

I feel it shows all signs that it cycled but I realize 48 hours is fast.

I’m not new to the hobby but I’m no seasoned veteran either. I was hoping someone could school me.

I would suspect it has cycled and is ready for fish, but your phantom feeding has not proven that it is. Had a meaningful amount broken down into ammonia you would have seen an increase in nitrates. If you can get up to 5ppm nitrate with zero ammonia and nitrite you can likely call it cycled.

 

[Staggy]

Brew12 do you think I should try a fish?

 

[Brew12]

Brew12 do you think I should try a fish?

I'd give it a few days. You really have no way of knowing if the bottle and seeding worked or if the fish food hasn't broken down enough yet. Nitrates will be your key.

 

[Tailfisher]

Staggy, I just started a bio cube with live sand and a mix of dry rock . Tank was crystal clear after I set up with the live sand and dry rock so I decided to add some well established live rock and next morning tank looked like milk. Waited a few days and test for ammonia and nitrite and got zero reading. I am old school and use to always cycle with damsels or black mollies and usually took 3 weeks to a month and that was before the reef craze blew up. Now I see they frown using fish so I am just letting nature do it's thing. Well good luck to you and I hope you have a thriving reef in the near future. Patience is key

 

[Staggy]

Tailfisher thank you. It has me puzzled. I know it would be an extreme case but I don’t want my bacteria to die off. I am not creating any ammonia at the moment.

Like I said it’s onky been 48 hours so ....

 

[Tailfisher]

I also remember from chilhood days a popular aquarium shop that has been in business for 40 plus years and one of the owners was a marine biologist told me to kick of the ammonia cycles to add some urine to tank.

 

[IslandLifeReef]

Tailfisher thank you. It has me puzzled. I know it would be an extreme case but I don’t want my bacteria to die off. I am not creating any ammonia at the moment.

Like I said it’s onky been 48 hours so ....

The bacteria won't die off. As I stated before, if you want to be sure that your tank is cycled, get some ammonia and dose your tank to approximately 2 ppm. If after 24 hours your tank reads 0 ppm for both ammonia and nitrite, you are safe to add livestock. Just go slow.

As both @Brew12 and I both have said, your ghost feeding for a day or two probably isn't enough to build any noticeable ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate. IMO, I would either wait a couple more weeks while continuing to ghost feed, or just get some ammonia and see how fast your tank can process it.

 

[Brew12]

Tailfisher thank you. It has me puzzled. I know it would be an extreme case but I don’t want my bacteria to die off. I am not creating any ammonia at the moment.

Like I said it’s onky been 48 hours so ....

Nitrifying bacteria don't "starve". They start to go dormant without food for a long period of time but they will quickly become active again. If you don't want to get pure ammonia to add, you may want to try a raw shrimp or to feed the tank a little heavier.

 

[Staggy]

So it’s now been 4 full days. Nitites,Nitrates, Ammonia, and Phosphates are at zero. The fish pellets are laying in the bottoms and showing signs of rotting/decomposing. It’s time for a fish or something.

 

[Brew12]

So it’s now been 4 full days. Nitites,Nitrates, Ammonia, and Phosphates are at zero. The fish pellets are laying in the bottoms and showing signs of rotting/decomposing. It’s time for a fish or something.

I would wait until you have some nitrates. Without nitrates you have no way of knowing that your tank is safe for fish.

 

[IslandLifeReef]

So it’s now been 4 full days. Nitites,Nitrates, Ammonia, and Phosphates are at zero. The fish pellets are laying in the bottoms and showing signs of rotting/decomposing. It’s time for a fish or something.

By adding food, you are requiring a different bacteria to develop and start breaking down the food source into ammonia and nitrites first. This isn't a bad thing, it will have to happen eventually, but adds time. Like @Brew12 said, I would wait until you get some nitrates in the tank before you add fish. The way you are cycling the tank, it is the only way to be sure that you have enough bacteria to handle the bio-load of fish.

Your other option would be to purchase some ammonium chloride, or die and fragrant free pure ammonia, and dose your tank to a known value of 1-2 ppm. If your tank can process that amount of ammonia to 0 ppm ammonia and 0 ppm nitrite in 24 hours, only then would it be safe to add a couple fish.

 

[OutsideBrian]

I was looking for ammonia to help start cycling my tank. All I can find is ammonia hydroxide. I saw that Dr. Tim’s is ammonia chloride. A quick google search and [emoji15] I’m no scientist. Is the hydroxide ok to use?

 

[Brew12]

I was looking for ammonia to help start cycling my tank. All I can find is ammonia hydroxide. I saw that Dr. Tim’s is ammonia chloride. A quick google search and [emoji15] I’m no scientist. Is the hydroxide ok to use?

I would think so, but I'm not sure I would use it. I doubt it would cause any issues in the tiny amounts we would be using it in. I would be much more comfortable with Dr Tims ammonia chloride since it comes with dosing instructions.

 

[Venzzla]

Great article ! I am new to the hobby and relatively new to forums. I have a question. I have a 40 gallon breeder tank that I just added ammonium chloride to yesterday along with 2oz of turbo start 900. One day later (today) my ammonium is low .025 nitrite high and nitrate at 40. So after reading your article I added more ammonium chloride to get ammonia level back to 2 ppm. Was this correct ? Also I just noticed pH is now 7.8 so I will have to add something to bring that back up. Also, how to I get the nitrates out of tank ? I’m assuming just water change but at what point I am already at 40 ppm. I have dry Marco rock and 40 lbs of live sand that might not be live after all this. Lol. Thanks for all your help in advance !

 

[Venzzla]

My biggest fear of bringing the nitrates down would be to damage what I have going on therefore having to start process over again !

 

[Brew12]

Great article ! I am new to the hobby and relatively new to forums. I have a question. I have a 40 gallon breeder tank that I just added ammonium chloride to yesterday along with 2oz of turbo start 900. One day later (today) my ammonium is low .025 nitrite high and nitrate at 40. So after reading your article I added more ammonium chloride to get ammonia level back to 2 ppm. Was this correct ? Also I just noticed pH is now 7.8 so I will have to add something to bring that back up. Also, how to I get the nitrates out of tank ? I’m assuming just water change but at what point I am already at 40 ppm. I have dry Marco rock and 40 lbs of live sand that might not be live after all this. Lol. Thanks for all your help in advance !

Glad you liked it!

People smarter than I have said you should dose more to get back to 2ppm. In my opinion, it isn't necessary. It will not hurt anything though. I normally only recommend redosing ammonia if the initial test takes more than one day.

Do not worry about nitrates until your nitrite test read oppm. Having nitrites will cause your nitrates to read high. If your nitrates are still high when your nitrites are oppm than a water change may help.

As for pH. Don't worry about it for now. In a reef tank, pH is only effected by alkalinity and CO2 content of the water. It is important to maintain alkalinity constant so the only way to safely improve it is to look at the CO2 side of the equation. People who use buffers to raise pH are also raising alkalinity which can cause problems with coral. Don't worry about pH until your tank is a month or two old. Then, if it is still low, focus on CO2.