Cycling help

rowenaad

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Hi, I'm new to this hobby. I have a Waterbox cube 20 (20 gal).
Day 1: I started the cycle with macro rock and sand with Aquarium Systems Start Your Tank, but Im doing a fishless cycle.
Day 15: the readings (with Salifert Test Kit) are:
  • ammonia: 0ppm
  • nitrite: 0ppm
  • nitrate: 0.5ppm
The max ammonia i've read was 0.25. Since theres no more ammonia/nitrite for the bacteria to process, i bought a bottle of Dr Tims Ammonium Chloride and dosed 2ppm.
Day 16:
  • ammonia: 2ppm
  • nitrite: 0ppm
  • nitrate: 0.5ppm
so i added a bottle (2oz that treats 30 gallon) of Dr Tims One and Only. (im based in AU and the bottle is not printed with a date, so not sure abt its effectiveness)
Day 17:
  • ammonia: 1.5ppm
  • nitrite: 0 - 0.1ppm
  • nitrate: 2.5ppm
Day 18: I dosed another 1ppm of Dr Tims Ammonium Chloride.
Day 21(today): readings remain the same since Day 17 (i tested daily). Im confused. is my water toxtic and the bacteria dead since then? or this is just normal and i can just wait?

My salinity is at 1.024 and pH varies between 8.1 and 8.3. Any suggestions for me? Thanks
 

brandon429

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you are done and never needed the second bottle of bac. Post a full tank pic so we can see your surface area in play
 
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rowenaad

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you are done and never needed the second bottle of bac. Post a full tank pic so we can see your surface area in play
Thanks. I have read the "How to unstick any seemingly stuck cycle" thread as well but thought my situation is different. I understand it has gone thru 2 complete cycles as i have nitrate but i fail to understand why the bacteria isn't processing added ammonia after the first cycle and also why the bacteria stops doing anything after the day i add the bottle of bac. Its hard to believe thats all bad readings cuz they were pretty consistent and kinda make sense in a way if i have bad water?

This is a pic of my tank. Theres about 8.5kg/18.7lb rock and 6 marine pure biofilter cube (2" each) in the back chamber. At this point, should I wait for a few more days or do a 100% water change and get a pair of clown?

IMG_7585.JPG
 

brandon429

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Those pages show that your non digital test kit isn’t right and if you owned seneye it wouldn’t appear stuck. Your tank directly applies to the thread because you’re past day ten but an entry level test kit seems stalled

add a fish, feed him, watch things proceed normally

wow that water is clear! add some snails, a clean up crew, begin

change out most of the water for new as we do, you have cycle bacteria attached to all that good surface area

using seneye the nh3 would test in the hundredths ppm and maybe thousandths, color kits always show tenths in our comparison runs from that thread
 
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rowenaad

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Those pages show that your non digital test kit isn’t right and if you owned seneye it wouldn’t appear stuck. Your tank directly applies to the thread because you’re past day ten but an entry level test kit seems stalled

add a fish, feed him, watch things proceed normally

wow that water is clear! add some snails, a clean up crew, begin

change out most of the water for new as we do, you have cycle bacteria attached to all that good surface area

using seneye the nh3 would test in the hundredths ppm and maybe thousandths, color kits always show tenths in our comparison runs from that thread
:D Great thanks. ill do a 100% water change and add the fish. Yes the water is crystal clear. Thats why i was thinking it might be bad water and even algae isnt grow in there XD
 

brandon429

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I’m particularly interested in this thread of yours I’ll tell you why


just what you mentioned, no bio markers and salifert isnt shabby lol for sure. Are there salifert misreads on file? Few, but yes. Fewest though compared to api and Red Sea in my opinion

what we have in favor is the submersion dating plus lucky second zip of bac plus our tracking patterns



yours is the exact presentation everyone on the board would agree is stuck which is why I like the pressure. Six peers are thinking your bottle bac are dead for sure


but there’s no way an outlier is coming even in spite of no counter supports lol, yours will be the best test of the week. I agree bottle bac can die but we have twenty pages and there’s a hidden facet of safety too: day twenty is time for natural residents from the home setting to be in place, they were fed initially

after a big water change I fully endorse go


not from a cavalier angle but because unapparent finish lines have been met too. Very uncommon finish lines that old cycling science would never never accept.

carbon limited or phosphate limited will be a concern but we never measured those in twenty pages, standard home contaminations bring those in by trace amounts, enough to cycle.
 
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brandon429

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Adding this so my writing seems less cra



that one was ammonia stalled till we ran the magic trick on it after day ten


that thread is a hidden secret among cycling studies. I rate it in the top five study threads on new cycling science I’ve ever seen. The flow is exactly this:

hey I’m stalled at eight ppm


did 100% water change


proof test for ammonia motion at much lower controlled level, it passes

quickly becomes a reef we get updates for a year.
 
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Rick's Reviews

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If you can play the patience game then please do not add any livestock 'to test' @brandon429 this is not only athe worst advice ever to test your water but also costly, @brandon429 why would you even suggest this !!!

@rowenhaad just test daily from now on, do not add any more live bacteria as your aquarium has sufficient, if you dose ammonia daily but not above the recommended amount, if ammonia does not disappear then do not dose anymore, you need to let your live bacteria consume the amonia that's present and you will see the cycle start, please do not add any livestock!!
 

brandon429

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Rick where it comes from are the five hundred pages of already worked tanks like this, that I know you’ve seen. Your response seemed flinchy.


when you write stuff like that even after a direct example link exactly like this tank is above, it’s hard for me to discern if you’re sincere or not.
 

Rick's Reviews

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Rick where it comes from are the five hundred pages of already worked tanks like this, that I know you’ve seen. Your response seemed flinchy.
Yes I would not put a fish in to test the water... You over complecate a normal question so best to answer in an understanding way... Don't waffle on about stuff that can be answered easy
 

brandon429

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Here’s a way you can contribute: post a link showing a failed fish in cycle, after using bottle bac. Show the consequence you’re hinting at. Just one example will do


from any thread on the web show a new tank, bottle bac, and a time where the fish couldn’t be instantly carried, show dead fish


we are at day twenty, opposite of instant. Past day ten on a cycle charts ammonia line. It’s a well tested date. I bet you can’t link one


todays bottle bac are dang good.
 

Rick's Reviews

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Yes but as a newbie/ new to aquriam saltwater your overwhelming and even hard for me to understand at times, I'm not here for a dick of, just from a new to saltwater tanks perspective your answers are very overwhelming, majority of your answers turns into science.. but simple answer is just simple knowledge or just simple reasurance to help
 

Rick's Reviews

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Here’s a way you can contribute: post a link showing a failed fish in cycle, after using bottle bac. Show the consequence you’re hinting at. Just one example will do


from any thread on the web show a new tank, bottle bac, and a time where the fish couldn’t be instantly carried, show dead fish


we are at day twenty, opposite of instant. Past day ten on a cycle charts ammonia line. It’s a well tested date. I bet you can’t link one


todays bottle bac are dang good.
Maybe your patience has worn thin who knows, I'm learning and loving reef2reef for providing me great knowledge, and I appreciate all that help me and in turn, if a simple comment or acknowledgment helps someone then great, thumbs up given means that
 

Evo R

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I normally dont get involved when different members say harsh things to one another but,
I feel that i have to stand up for @brandon429

There is a reason why he is referred to as the "cycle guru"

Few facts to consider....Look at his number of posts. Number of reaction scores. Then click on his avatar....locate the all posts section....then scroll through the endless sea of post almost all pertaining to the science of cycling a sea water tank and everything that goes along with it. Still have your doubts......READ through his posts, comments and dialogs between himself and other fellow members......and then maybe rethink your harsh statement of post number 9.

Just a question....@Rick's Reviews what scientific back ground and experiences do you have in the field of marine micro biology???

@rowenaad out of my personal experience, your tank is cycled. Just do a, as close to as possible 100% water change and add live stock slowly so that your newly established bio filter can keep up with the changing bio loads.

PS, i have started and cycled 7 reef tanks since early 2007. Cycling times ranging from 6 weeks to the most recent one which was three weeks ago with the help from @brandon429 which was a forced cycle through hyper seeding in an extreme emergency and the tank was cycled in basically 30 hrs.
 

Rick's Reviews

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Here’s a way you can contribute: post a link showing a failed fish in cycle, after using bottle bac. Show the consequence you’re hinting at. Just one example will do


from any thread on the web show a new tank, bottle bac, and a time where the fish couldn’t be instantly carried, show dead fish


we are at day twenty, opposite of instant. Past day ten on a cycle charts ammonia line. It’s a well tested date. I bet you can’t link one


todays bottle bac are dang good.
Poor guy @rowenaad listening to your advice after @brandon429 throws in live bacteria and from your answer seems like he will be doing a 100% water change, @rowenaad I would be patient and wait more answers, my apologies, this is not normal in regards to chat sorry
 

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Garf

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If this tank was 100% cycled, nobody would suggest a 100% water change. That’s ridiculous, as it would be unnecessary. A 100% water change is to buy more time for the bacteria to work in a lower nutrient system. Yeah, small livestock levels will probably be ok in a tank of fresh saltwater with limited biological activity but this method is not fishless cycling. In one of the links Brandon posted earlier apparently the test kits were lying, they did 100% waterchange, test kits were still high. Apparently the kits were still lying. Couple of days later the ammonia reduced, strangely this was evidence the tank had been fixed, yes with the kits that were now telling the truth. Cobblers
 

mike89t

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IMO if you are still measuring high levels of ammonia I would wait a few days for it to come down before adding any fish. It will come down naturally as you have added everything that you need. No need to rush things. Bacteria just needs time to multiply. Once your ammonia gets close to zero it will be totally safe to add fish.
 

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