Cycling an Aquarium

DowntownJosh

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Yeah that is surprising, I would have thought there would have been some change by now. I just checked my own timeline, and yeah, within 4 days there was definite change. I used Microbacter7. Maybe it is a good idea then to swap over.

Re: API test kits, their issue is that they are not accurate, though they are precise. At least that is my experience, doing multiple repeated tests at once.
so would you just buy the microbacter7 and add that to the existing tank? or would I need to start over and add new salt water?
 

taricha

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People use MB7 as a tank cycling product?
 

DowntownJosh

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Well to update, I checked parameters again this morning and still the same (ammonia at 2.0ppm, everything else 0). I got the Microbacter7 last night, and started the recommended dosing, which is 3 cap fulls a day. Hopefully this will kickstart this cycle.
 

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Well to update, I checked parameters again this morning and still the same (ammonia at 2.0ppm, everything else 0). I got the Microbacter7 last night, and started the recommended dosing, which is 3 cap fulls a day. Hopefully this will kickstart this cycle.
There’s a few threads on here in recent months that had similar problems using Dr Tim’s. Adding a different bacterial source cured their problem very quickly. This is why you test during a cycle folks.
 

DowntownJosh

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alright update#2, I have been dosing the Microbacter7 since thursday, and my levels are all still the same. Ammonia at 2.0ppm and everything else 0. ph dipped a bit to 7.6. I've tried testing just RODI water and it shows 0 ammonia so I don't think it's my test kit. Any other suggestions?
 

brandon429

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Josh

Dr Tims is ten day bottle bac and it doesn't fail. All you do is let your current mix stew until day 15, waaay past limits, change water, and you're cycled.


Do not think there is any scenario where one bottle of bac doesn't work, and then you have to buy redundants. that's non seneye testing and then extrapolation out to forums without any verification, we have all done it at times.

You need to know that updated cycling science is concise, has no fails logged in a thousand starts on file, directly has been measured by seneye across brands and logged, and has cycling wrapped up tightly, there's nothing to coax or counter-buy. updated cycling science knows no cycle stalls, making you have to buy more things. your cycle is done by the date on the bottle bac label, we aren't making crazy claims.

adding water bac to water and it working isn't a feat like forums make it out to be. its a certain cycle for ammonia in ten days says a cycling chart as well, from eighty years ago.

I find it ironic that bro science rewrote cycling rules and then once digital meters came on board they didn't disagree. and that authors are silent about it, nobody is discussing on paper what seneye shows. seneye has shocked their cycling paradigms Im thinking: nitrite does not stall nh3 control as stated, no cycle stalls in the tenths ppm as stated by thousands of posts, and more~

The greatest insult to marine aquarium microbiology was half a million color tube varied interpretations taken as fact, surface area mechanics rejected, and the bacteria assigned a weakness.

its the perfect scenario to drive unneeded retail purchases.
 
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Garf

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alright update#2, I have been dosing the Microbacter7 since thursday, and my levels are all still the same. Ammonia at 2.0ppm and everything else 0. ph dipped a bit to 7.6. I've tried testing just RODI water and it shows 0 ammonia so I don't think it's my test kit. Any other suggestions?
MB7 is dormant bacteria, you’ve gotta give it some time to get going. You could add a few mls of white vinegar also. It states on the bottle that rapid growth requires a carbon source. If the Dr TIMS bacteria is asleep this may turbo boost them.
 

brandon429

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the reason we do the final large water change is to export algae fuel and whatever randoms were added during cycling/shrimp, fish food, or double ammonia from a Dr Tims AC overdose.

either way, the biolayer that makes the filtration zone is laying down, so the final water change on the date the bottle bac label says starts everyone evently. and the fish live for months, until disease from skipping fallow and qt takes them...
 

DowntownJosh

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Josh

Dr Tims is ten day bottle bac and it doesn't fail. All you do is let your current mix stew until day 15, waaay past limits, change water, and you're cycled. there's no back and forth about it.

you never needed the mb7. I think we are up to one hundred reefs now in work threads applying this bottle bac + 15 day rule, seeing what cycling bac does on a seneye meter gives people a different perspective than what we get from color tube kits, or people posting their parameter approximations from the color tube comparison kits.

Do not think there is any scenario where one bottle of bac doesn't work, and then you have to buy redundants. that's non seneye testing and then extrapolation out to forums without any verification, we have all done it at times.

You need to know that updated cycling science is concise, has no fails logged in a thousand starts on file, directly has been measured by seneye across brands and logged, and has cycling wrapped up tightly, there's nothing to coax or counter-buy. updated cycling science knows no cycle stalls, making you have to buy more things. your cycle is done by the date on the bottle bac label, we aren't making crazy claims.

adding water bac to water and it working isn't a feat like forums make it out to be. its a certain cycle for ammonia in ten days says a cycling chart as well, from eighty years ago.

I find it ironic that bro science rewrote cycling rules and then once digital meters came on board they didn't disagree. and that authors are silent about it, nobody is discussing on paper what seneye shows. it has shocked their paradigms Im thinking.

The greatest insult to marine aquarium microbiology was half a million color tube varied interpretations taken as fact, surface area mechanics rejected, and the bacteria assigned a weakness.

its the perfect scenario to drive unneeded retail purchases.
So would you stop adding the MB7 or continue the recommended dosing, since I have already started it?

Thank you for the in depth response!
 

brandon429

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it wont even matter what you do, none of that mix is antibacterial and will harm the original mixture which is ready by day 10-15 close the book :)

water change and begin. adding mb7 or not in the future, neutral in the matter. it was merely a harmless expenditure in support of the local hobby store.

for sure read this thread its very new, very amazing cycle timing proofing.
 

brandon429

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also wanted to relay to the team in general, check that bad boy out. Its the first documented instance of a fully unassisted reef tank cycle within 60 days. unassisted meaning all dry surfaces, add saltwater, wait sixty days, you're cycled as if you'd bought something to boost it.

fascinating. what this means is within human history, nobody owning a reef tank beyond two months old that got dosed with any form of booster was stalled. right there above, a fully unassisted one passes ammonia oxidation.

Guess how many papers, books, or articles cover the unassisted marine cycle timeline: nada. any reader: post some if you can find them already online, pertaining to aquariums not natural systems. its an information void, that above is the first fill in line. its done sooner than 60 days, but that happened to be the first guess testing interval and it passed.

Cycling isn't about an arbitrary wait, that's what buyers do.

what sellers do is time 400 reefs to be ready at the start of a reef convention, so that buyers line up and hand out cash. Sellers never have cycling issues, or have to pick arbitrary start times. why is that
 
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Azedenkae

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alright update#2, I have been dosing the Microbacter7 since thursday, and my levels are all still the same. Ammonia at 2.0ppm and everything else 0. ph dipped a bit to 7.6. I've tried testing just RODI water and it shows 0 ammonia so I don't think it's my test kit. Any other suggestions?
Personally, just give it time. So long as you are not dosing anymore ammonia and presuming your Microbacter7 is not defective or anything, it will start to eventually decrease.
 

DowntownJosh

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Personally, just give it time. So long as you are not dosing anymore ammonia and presuming your Microbacter7 is not defective or anything, it will start to eventually decrease.
Thank you, sounds like this is what I need to do. I'll try again after 10 days to see where it's at.
 

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I have 6 weeks or so to pre-cycle some dry Pukani that's been waiting years for a project in a blue barrel. Would there be an advantage to adding bacteria in a bottle, which one, I have read good & negative experiences with all of them? Live culture vs dormant bacteria etc
 

brandon429

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No advantage, that will self cycle from natural means. If you soak the rocks in water that long, the rocks are as ammonia-able as they are from adding bottle bac


there is no where for bottle bac to attach, the interstices are already taken and the bac would just float around or sink out as floc and be removed in water changes... stacking bacteria confers no benefit. Adding new surface area attachment points adds stronger filtration, but reef tanks already use orders more surface area than needed. Your current plan will totally self cycle. Post 1334# shows this direct action plus test confirmation.
 

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It's fascinating our hobby has no assigned date of wait where we can be independent from retail assistance in cycling. That's currently being defined/
 

DowntownJosh

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alright update#2, I have been dosing the Microbacter7 since Thursday, and my levels are all still the same. Ammonia at 2.0ppm and everything else 0. ph dipped a bit to 7.6. I've tried testing just RODI water and it shows 0 ammonia so I don't think it's my test kit. Any other suggestions?
Update#3: Day 8. Still at ammonia 2.0ppm and everything else 0. Ph continues to bounce between 7.6 and 7.8. My temperature is right at 78 degrees, and salinity has remained constant at 1.025. I have not added any additional ammonium chloride, and have continued to dose the MB7, per the directions (figured I should follow the directions of 2 weeks to completion). I will continue checking all levels daily. But find it very odd that I have still yet to see any decline in ammonia levels. Even the dr. tims info says I should have seen levels decline at least somewhat by now.
 

When to mix up fish meal: When was the last time you tried a different brand of food for your reef?

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