Cycling an Aquarium

[canadianeh]

Because 10% took your nitrate down to 22. The first 10% was done before the test that read 25. Then you tested again and did another so your nitrates are around 23ppm. To make a sizable dip in nitrates you must do 50%+. 50% will get nitrates to 12. 75% will be around 8ppm. You subtract the same % from the total nitrates based on % of water change

My total system is 65 gallon. Maybe the rocks and substrate is equal to 5 gallon worth of water, let's call it 55 gallons total water only in the system. 10 gallons WC is 18% of total water system. So far I did 36% of WC. You are saying if I did 14% WC more (which bring it to total of 50% WC), it should bring my nitrates down to 12?

Is there a reference that I can read about relation between WC % and Nitrate amount?

 

[canadianeh]

So I did another 10 gallons WC and the Nitrate still shows 25 ppm....how come??

I did 30 gallons WC so far

considering I have 0 ammonia and Nitrite, is it okay to put fish in now?Or do I have t wait until the nitrate is lower than 25?

 

[Brew12]

So I did another 10 gallons WC and the Nitrate still shows 25 ppm....how come??

I did 30 gallons WC so far

considering I have 0 ammonia and Nitrite, is it okay to put fish in now?Or do I have t wait until the nitrate is lower than 25?

Two 10 gallon water changes are less effective than a single 20g water change. I would add fish and not worry about it.
Part of the issue is also likely an accuracy issue with the nitrate test. You are looking for a 2ppm or 3ppm change but that probably isn't within the accuracy of the test kit.

 

[harmy4993]

started my new tank cycle 10 days ago. added "live" pink fuji sand and dry rock. also added a jumbo raw shrimp and fritz 9. my ammonia is .50, nitrites are 1.0 and my nitrates are 40 ppm.

my question is what would happen if i took the shrimp out now? would i be a day or 2 away because i have a nitrates. or would i kill my cycle?

 

[canadianeh]

Two 10 gallon water changes are less effective than a single 20g water change. I would add fish and not worry about it.
Part of the issue is also likely an accuracy issue with the nitrate test. You are looking for a 2ppm or 3ppm change but that probably isn't within the accuracy of the test kit.

I see. The biggest brute I have is 20 gallons and I don’t want to fill up water all the way to the top as I am worried that it will break.

so you are saying each 10 gallons WC will bring down 2-3ppm only?

 

[brandon429]

Harmy

Change your water out, your cycle is done

Reason why: fritz was studied in Dr Reefs thread to adhere to tank surfaces (be cycled) in under two days.

The way you choose to test, measure, or validate that claim will vary but nonetheless the reason why fritz costs more is this exact speed.

Change out all the algae water, begin light bioload, it lives, because you're cycled.

If you'd like to test for proof, still change out the water, start clean like you're about to reef.

Take a pic of ammonia test on clean changed water; this calibrates zero ammonia for that tester.

Add cycling ammonia liquid tiny bits till the tester reads a slight, bare increment up in free ammonia, the slightest you can dose to. Post pic

In 24 hours test again, if moved down its cycled, no zero required, any movement back to your calibrated zero means cycled for these titration ammonia kits. This test can show if its ready or not, if you'd prefer the measure.

 

[WvAquatics]

I see. The biggest brute I have is 20 gallons and I don’t want to fill up water all the way to the top as I am worried that it will break.

so you are saying each 10 gallons WC will bring down 2-3ppm only?

For nitrates. Multiply the total of nitrates by .% of water change will show you your nitrates reduction..

 

[canadianeh]

For nitrates. Multiply the total of nitrates by .% of water change will show you your nitrates reduction..

Two 10 gallon water changes are less effective than a single 20g water change. I would add fish and not worry about it.
Part of the issue is also likely an accuracy issue with the nitrate test. You are looking for a 2ppm or 3ppm change but that probably isn't within the accuracy of the test kit.

So after a week today, I tested the Nitrate and it still shows 25 ppm. I decided to do 20 gallons WC, and after the WC the Nitrate test shows 10 ppm. Is this good level of nitrate for reef tank with LPS and softies dominant?

 

[Brew12]

So after a week today, I tested the Nitrate and it still shows 25 ppm. I decided to do 20 gallons WC, and after the WC the Nitrate test shows 10 ppm. Is this good level of nitrate for reef tank with LPS and softies dominant?

It's a bit lower than some people like to keep them but it is fine in my opinion.

 

[ScottyD36]

This is awesome. This being my first time ever cycling saltwater tank and me being into day 2 of this. It is great information. Thank you

 

[cvrle1]

I started cycling my rocks in a brute can 19 days ago, and am a bit stumped with what I am seeing. Wanted to ask and see if this is normal, or figure out what is going on.

Dosed Dr. Tim's ammonium chloride to 2ppm to kick things off, then added microbacter start xlm as bacteria 4 hours after. Once ammonia came down close to 0ppm, dosed back to 2ppm to see how long will it take to get down to 0ppm again. Every time I dose, I get same numbers, and it takes 3 days for it to go down to close to 0ppm. I added more bac few times, as per instruction. It said you can add more if you want, but dont have to. Nitrite also jumps up after I added more bacteria few times whcih I didnt expect. Here is a chart with all the numbers and what I did so far

Day	Date	Ammonia	Nitrate	Nitrite	Notes
0​	05/20/2020	2ppm	NA	NA	Added bacteria (initial)
1​	05/21/2020	1.5ppm	2.5 ppm	0ppm	Added bacteria after testing
2​	05/22/2020	1.5ppm	5ppm	0.05ppm	Added bacteria after testing
3​	05/23/2020
4​	05/24/2020	1.3ppm	25ppm	0.5ppm
5​	05/25/2020	1.2ppm	30ppm	1ppm
6​	05/26/2020	1ppm	40ppm	1.5ppm
7​	05/27/2020	0.8ppm	50ppm	2ppm
8​	05/28/2020	0.5ppm	80ppm	3ppm
9​	05/29/2020	0.3ppm	100ppm	2.5ppm	Dosed to 2ppm after testing
10​	05/30/2020	1.2ppm	100ppm	1.5ppm
11​	05/31/2020	0.8ppm	100ppm	3ppm	Added bacteria after testing
12​	06/01/2020	0.2ppm	100ppm	1ppm	Dosed to 2ppm after testing
13​	06/02/2020	1.2ppm	100ppm	1ppm
14​	06/03/2020	0.8ppm	100ppm	0.25ppm
15​	06/04/2020	0.2ppm	100ppm	0.1ppm	Dosed to 2ppm after testing
16​	06/05/2020	1ppm	100ppm	0.1ppm	Added bacteria after testing
17​	06/06/2020	0.4ppm	100ppm	1ppm
18​	06/07/2020	0ppm	100ppm	0.5ppm	Dosed to 2ppm after testing
19​	06/08/2020	1.2ppm	100ppm	0.25ppm

 

[Brew12]

I started cycling my rocks in a brute can 19 days ago, and am a bit stumped with what I am seeing. Wanted to ask and see if this is normal, or figure out what is going on.

Dosed Dr. Tim's ammonium chloride to 2ppm to kick things off, then added microbacter start xlm as bacteria 4 hours after. Once ammonia came down close to 0ppm, dosed back to 2ppm to see how long will it take to get down to 0ppm again. Every time I dose, I get same numbers, and it takes 3 days for it to go down to close to 0ppm. I added more bac few times, as per instruction. It said you can add more if you want, but dont have to. Nitrite also jumps up after I added more bacteria few times whcih I didnt expect. Here is a chart with all the numbers and what I did so far

Day	Date	Ammonia	Nitrate	Nitrite	Notes
0​	05/20/2020	2ppm	NA	NA	Added bacteria (initial)
1​	05/21/2020	1.5ppm	2.5 ppm	0ppm	Added bacteria after testing
2​	05/22/2020	1.5ppm	5ppm	0.05ppm	Added bacteria after testing
3​	05/23/2020
4​	05/24/2020	1.3ppm	25ppm	0.5ppm
5​	05/25/2020	1.2ppm	30ppm	1ppm
6​	05/26/2020	1ppm	40ppm	1.5ppm
7​	05/27/2020	0.8ppm	50ppm	2ppm
8​	05/28/2020	0.5ppm	80ppm	3ppm
9​	05/29/2020	0.3ppm	100ppm	2.5ppm	Dosed to 2ppm after testing
10​	05/30/2020	1.2ppm	100ppm	1.5ppm
11​	05/31/2020	0.8ppm	100ppm	3ppm	Added bacteria after testing
12​	06/01/2020	0.2ppm	100ppm	1ppm	Dosed to 2ppm after testing
13​	06/02/2020	1.2ppm	100ppm	1ppm
14​	06/03/2020	0.8ppm	100ppm	0.25ppm
15​	06/04/2020	0.2ppm	100ppm	0.1ppm	Dosed to 2ppm after testing
16​	06/05/2020	1ppm	100ppm	0.1ppm	Added bacteria after testing
17​	06/06/2020	0.4ppm	100ppm	1ppm
18​	06/07/2020	0ppm	100ppm	0.5ppm	Dosed to 2ppm after testing
19​	06/08/2020	1.2ppm	100ppm	0.25ppm

Looks pretty normal to me. You are adding a lot of ammonia. I wouldn't have any issue adding a few fish into a system that has your rock in it.

 

[cvrle1]

Looks pretty normal to me. You are adding a lot of ammonia. I wouldn't have any issue adding a few fish into a system that has your rock in it.

Thanks for the info. From what I read in the original thread, it said once ammonia reaches 0 to dose to 2ppm and see if it drops to 0 in 24 hour period.

" I will test for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates daily until ammonia is near 0ppm. I will then dose it back up to 2ppm while continuing daily tests. I will repeat this process in a smaller tank until ammonia goes from 2ppm to 0ppm within 24 hours"

So far I cant get my ammonia to drop from 2ppm to 0 in 24 hours. As for fish, I will wait on that for about a month or so, as tank isnt ready yet. Rocks are in brute can and since I have time I figured I may as well complete the cycle now, instead of in the aquarium. Will need to keep bacteria alive though so I will throw a pinch of flakes once a week into the bucket.

 

[clffthmps]

I’m going to tell you how to cycle your tank the best way and I ran across this over 2 1/2 years ago. Reef2reef. A lot of people on here are awesome and they know their s...

 

[glenn37]

I have a question i was starting a new to me 130 acrylic fish tank and it leaked so i had to take the water out to get it fixed long story short after storing the water in older tanks the salinity was at 1.047 according to the LFS and i am seeing diatoms and green algae in the tank i thought the salinity being that far off would inhibit the growing of algae and yes i am working on getting the salinity down

 

[Brew12]

I have a question i was starting a new to me 130 acrylic fish tank and it leaked so i had to take the water out to get it fixed long story short after storing the water in older tanks the salinity was at 1.047 according to the LFS and i am seeing diatoms and green algae in the tank i thought the salinity being that far off would inhibit the growing of algae and yes i am working on getting the salinity down

I think a high salinity would inhibit some algaes, but I would suspect others would thrive under high saline conditions. Especially algae that lives in tidal pools where evaporation can drive salinity high in between tides.

 

[glenn37]

I think a high salinity would inhibit some algaes, but I would suspect others would thrive under high saline conditions. Especially algae that lives in tidal pools where evaporation can drive salinity high in between tides.

thank you i have green algae and some diatoms in there now thanks you for clearing that up

 

[andrewy]

Hoping to get some help with cycling my tank. Long story, short.... had a goldfish for 2 years. Upgraded to a 26 gallon tank using my tap water I always used for the small tank. Bought a 2nd goldfish and it went downhill from there. New goldfish was lethargic so I tested water and saw my ammonia was 2 ppm. Older goldfish started going downhill and I could not get the ammonia below .25 ppm. To get to .25 ppm, I changed the water, added bacteria, added an absorbent, used prime and although I got down to .25 ppm, my older goldfish passed.
That was a week ago. A couple of days before he passed, I added a filter from a friend hoping to increase bacteria. The day he died, I received a bacteria filled filter from An online store.

for the past week, my ammonia is stuck at .25 ppm.
It is now a fish less cycle.

do I need to add ammonia or a shrimp to raise the ammonia? I would think the ammonia in the tank would keep the bacteria growing.

 

[Brew12]

Hoping to get some help with cycling my tank. Long story, short.... had a goldfish for 2 years. Upgraded to a 26 gallon tank using my tap water I always used for the small tank. Bought a 2nd goldfish and it went downhill from there. New goldfish was lethargic so I tested water and saw my ammonia was 2 ppm. Older goldfish started going downhill and I could not get the ammonia below .25 ppm. To get to .25 ppm, I changed the water, added bacteria, added an absorbent, used prime and although I got down to .25 ppm, my older goldfish passed.
That was a week ago. A couple of days before he passed, I added a filter from a friend hoping to increase bacteria. The day he died, I received a bacteria filled filter from An online store.

for the past week, my ammonia is stuck at .25 ppm.
It is now a fish less cycle.

do I need to add ammonia or a shrimp to raise the ammonia? I would think the ammonia in the tank would keep the bacteria growing.

I'm sorry about your fish!

I would suspect that your ammonia at 0.25ppm is a false positive. I would be confident of that if this were a saltwater system but I've never done fresh water. I would assume the test kits have the same issues though.
You may have solved the ammonia issue once you got it down to what your test showed as 0.25ppm but the damage to the fish may have already been done leading to it's passing after the water was corrected.

 

[andrewy]

I'm sorry about your fish!

I would suspect that your ammonia at 0.25ppm is a false positive. I would be confident of that if this were a saltwater system but I've never done fresh water. I would assume the test kits have the same issues though.
You may have solved the ammonia issue once you got it down to what your test showed as 0.25ppm but the damage to the fish may have already been done leading to it's passing after the water was corrected.

Should I try to add ammonia, then see if it goes down? If so, how much ammonia?
Thank you