Cycling an Aquarium

Brew12 · Jul 27, 2019

DancingWind said:
We have progress in QT tank that was supposedly stuck on 1ppm. last night I tested with salifert nh4 test - 0ish? 0.25ish?
added 1.10ml 10% ammonia to rase it to 1.25ppm (tank is ~90L volume) - not to overdose.
today salifert test - its again 0ish. Added 0.5ml 10% ammonia and after half an hour tested again with salifert - 0.5ish ppm
Best part is:I have ~0.5ppm no2 and 3-5 ppm No3
There is some pinkish "snoot" growing on my thermometers suction cup - Is that good? QT is in basement with small windows so its a bit of a twilight during the day.

I also got some weirdness: my API ammonia test shows ~2ppm - I call this ******** since Salifert appears to respond to my ammonia input
so the moral of the story appears to be - don't spike ammonia

Glad things are working out for you!

Don't read too much into the quality of either test kit. My experience is that Salifert tends to read low (they even only advertise that it will detect ammonia above 0.5ppm) and API reads high.

That pinkish stuff isn't really good or bad, it just is. Each tank gets its own uglies that it has to work through.

Reefer_Rob · Jul 28, 2019

Ok folks, wanted to get your opinion on my cycle up to this point.

Im on Day 8

Started with Dr Tims and dosed the ammonia per the bottle. 4 drops, per gallon. This equated to 8ppm initially and later read that I wasnt the only one that dosed per the bottle and ended up with the ammonia way to high.

Caribsea Life Rock
Tropic Eden Substrate
100 gallons, RODI

79 deg throughout
7-8 dKh throughout
8.2-8.4 PH throughout
1.025 sg throughout

As of today (day 8)
2 ppm Ammonia
1 ppm Nitrite
10 ppm Nitrate

Ammonia has dropped heavily from the 8ppm initially (thank god) and Nitrite and Nitrate has risen sharply in the last 2 days. Im hoping the ammonia drops soon.

I feel like the cycle isnt totally conventional but my gut tells me to stay the course and im feeling a tad lost. What do the experts think? #reefsquad

lapin · Jul 29, 2019

My Ipinion;
You have 2 bacteria sources (Dr Tims, Caribsea Life Rock). You gave them plenty of food (ammonia) Now they are processing it. I think you are worried because ammonia is flat for 1 day. This could be your test kit or the bacteria that has grown likes higher ammonia levels and more bacteria needs to grow that likes lower levels. I would give it a few more days. I think you are just fine.

Reefer_Rob · Jul 29, 2019

lapin said:
My Ipinion;
You have 2 bacteria sources (Dr Tims, Caribsea Life Rock). You gave them plenty of food (ammonia) Now they are processing it. I think you are worried because ammonia is flat for 1 day. This could be your test kit or the bacteria that has grown likes higher ammonia levels and more bacteria needs to grow that likes lower levels. I would give it a few more days. I think you are just fine.

Thanks for reading! Ill post an updated graph in a few days.

Just for the record im using Red Sea test kits for everything and API as a 2nd opinion on the ammonia as the Red Sea kit maxes out at 2ppm

DiscGolfRob · Jul 29, 2019

Reefer_Rob said:
Thanks for reading! Ill post an updated graph in a few days.

Just for the record im using Red Sea test kits for everything and API as a 2nd opinion on the ammonia as the Red Sea kit maxes out at 2ppm

I am slightly ahead, I think, and had the same issue you did. Ammonia went to 8ppm, but in 5 days, I am down to 0. Nitrites are over 1. My tests were also Red Sea. I used a bottle of Dr. Tim’s One and Only, as well as a bottle of BioSpira.

Reefer_Rob · Jul 29, 2019

DiscGolfRob said:
I am slightly ahead, I think, and had the same issue you did. Ammonia went to 8ppm, but in 5 days, I am down to 0. Nitrites are over 1. My tests were also Red Sea. I used a bottle of Dr. Tim’s One and Only, as well as a bottle of BioSpira.

Cool, thats reassuring. Sounds like you had a little more nitrifying bacteria than I did so that must have helped process faster.

So is your cycle done? Did you dose up the ammonia 1-2ppm and see how quick it knocks it down or did you do a water change and call it good? Im debating this process.

DiscGolfRob · Jul 29, 2019

Reefer_Rob said:
Cool, thats reassuring. Sounds like you had a little more nitrifying bacteria than I did so that must have helped process faster.

So is your cycle done? Did you dose up the ammonia 1-2ppm and see how quick it knocks it down or did you do a water change and call it good? Im debating this process.

I just dosed it back up to 2ppm (I hope, haven’t tested, yet). I want to make sure I’m getting it down to 0 in <24 hours. With nitrites still being so high, I’ve still got a bit. Haven’t even bothered testing nitrates, with nitrites being so high. I haven’t rushed anything, to this point, so I have no interest in starting now

Reefer_Rob · Jul 29, 2019

DiscGolfRob said:
I just dosed it back up to 2ppm (I hope, haven’t tested, yet). I want to make sure I’m getting it down to 0 in <24 hours. With nitrites still being so high, I’ve still got a bit. Haven’t even bothered testing nitrates, with nitrites being so high. I haven’t rushed anything, to this point, so I have no interest in starting now

Understandable. Ill probably dose back up once my ammonia drops a lil bit more.

I just tested 10 mins ago and finally the ammonia came down a bit. Showing somewhere between 1.5-2ppm after sitting for a few days at 2+

Nitrite 1
Nitrate 50
both readings may be higher for all I know because those are the maxed out values

My question to you or anyone out there is, in the near future should I re dose up ammonia with Nitrite still present or wait for them to go down and dose it? Or both?

Brew12 · Jul 30, 2019

Reefer_Rob said:
Understandable. Ill probably dose back up once my ammonia drops a lil bit more.

I just tested 10 mins ago and finally the ammonia came down a bit. Showing somewhere between 1.5-2ppm after sitting for a few days at 2+

Nitrite 1
Nitrate 50
both readings may be higher for all I know because those are the maxed out values

My question to you or anyone out there is, in the near future should I re dose up ammonia with Nitrite still present or wait for them to go down and dose it? Or both?

I would wait until the nitrite drops for no other reason than to reduce total nitrate generation. When using Dr Tims it seems like Nitrites are where the big delay is so no reason to push on the ammonia imo.

DiscGolfRob · Jul 30, 2019

Brew12 said:
I would wait until the nitrite drops for no other reason than to reduce total nitrate generation. When using Dr Tims it seems like Nitrites are where the big delay is so no reason to push on the ammonia imo.

Thank you for the time that you have taken to write the article, and following up on the thread. I had already dosed back up, but only to 1ppm, because I had a feeling I needed to be careful about the nitrites and nitrates. I will make the adjustment, going forward, and allow the nitrites to come down. Thanks!

Reefer_Rob · Aug 2, 2019

Brew12 said:
I would wait until the nitrite drops for no other reason than to reduce total nitrate generation. When using Dr Tims it seems like Nitrites are where the big delay is so no reason to push on the ammonia imo.

Thanks for the input. As of now (day 12) my ammonia has dropped to 0.25. Nitrite is way high, between 2.5-5 on the color scale with an API test and maxing out at 1+ on the Red Sea test.

So unless you say otherwise im going to do this....
1. Hold off on the ammonia dosing and kick back until the nitrites drop. Maybe a week?? Then ill monitor nitrates.
2. Lets say I get to the point where I have no ammonia and nitrites. Dose up to 2ppm? See if they both drop in 24 hours and call it a cycle?
3. 25% water change?
4. Drink a beer(s)

Sorry for all the questions. Im just trying to map things out to some degree.
Thanks!

Qasimja · Aug 2, 2019

my cycle just ended my current readings are ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 10 last checked 2 days ago i used the shrimp method but since last sunday i began dosing with microbacter7 not sure how much of a difference that made my cycle took 25 days highest my ammonia got was 2.0 and the highest my nitrite got was 3.0

Brew12 · Aug 2, 2019

Reefer_Rob said:
Thanks for the input. As of now (day 12) my ammonia has dropped to 0.25. Nitrite is way high, between 2.5-5 on the color scale with an API test and maxing out at 1+ on the Red Sea test.

So unless you say otherwise im going to do this....
1. Hold off on the ammonia dosing and kick back until the nitrites drop. Maybe a week?? Then ill monitor nitrates.
2. Lets say I get to the point where I have no ammonia and nitrites. Dose up to 2ppm? See if they both drop in 24 hours and call it a cycle?
3. 25% water change?
4. Drink a beer(s)

Sorry for all the questions. Im just trying to map things out to some degree.
Thanks!

This sounds like an excellent plan. If you have a larger tank (say 90g+) you may want to only dose up to 1ppm if you intend to stock the tank slowly. Your final water change amount can be adjusted based on what nitrates are at the completion of your cycle.

katonge · Aug 5, 2019

I have an algae question. My Fluval 13.5 has been set up since 7/13. I have 2 live rocks, live sand and 2 small clownfish were added yesterday on the advice of my LFS to kick cycling into gear, but not to add any invertebrates until after the cycling was complete. So - how do I deal with the green algae starting to grow.

Brew12 · Aug 5, 2019

katonge said:
I have an algae question. My Fluval 13.5 has been set up since 7/13. I have 2 live rocks, live sand and 2 small clownfish were added yesterday on the advice of my LFS to kick cycling into gear, but not to add any invertebrates until after the cycling was complete. So - how do I deal with the green algae starting to grow.

You can add inverts like hermit crabs or snails. I would avoid any more delicate inverts like shrimp, urchins, or starfish until the tank has matured further.

BamaMedic · Aug 5, 2019

Hey yall
I’m really enjoying reading the advice in this thread. I’ve been using gallon jugs of distilled water from the store since I don’t have an RO/DI setup yet. Are there better options? No issues with levels or fish stress.

Brew12 · Aug 5, 2019

BamaMedic said:
Hey yall
I’m really enjoying reading the advice in this thread. I’ve been using gallon jugs of distilled water from the store since I don’t have an RO/DI setup yet. Are there better options? No issues with levels or fish stress.

Other than getting a RO/DI system, I'm not sure that there are "better" options. You do have other options though. If you have city water you can check their report to see what is in your water. You may be able to use water straight from the tap.
I know it's blaspheme to say in the reefing world but many of us use RODI system for little reason. The main reason I do is for peace of mind that any problems I encounter aren't related to the source water. In reality, some Seachem Prime would be a little insurance to make sure it works. Much of what we remove with our RODI systems gets put right back in via the salt. And there are a lot of successful reefers that use tap water. That said, there are also a lot of people who cannot safely use their tap water without a RODI system.

katonge · Aug 5, 2019

Brew12 said:
You can add inverts like hermit crabs or snails. I would avoid any more delicate inverts like shrimp, urchins, or starfish until the tank has matured further.

Thanks. Would keeping the lights off for some of the day help? Or do the clowns need more light?