Cycling my tank

[Dburr1014]

So I did my 50% water change and now came up with this

ph 8.2
Ammonia 0 on api and Hanna checker
Nitrate is between 40 and 65 so maybe 50
Nitrite is still high looks like 2 maybe 5 or higher

I’ll add a photo of the test results

do I just wait or another water change? What can I do about the nitrites ?

Don't worry about nitrite, it's not a problem at this level in a saltwater environment.
One more 50% water change to get the nitrate down and I think you will be looking good.
Happy Reefing!

 

[Dburr1014]

So just wait until my nitrites turn to nitrates do I need to keep feeding it the ammonia Dr tim’s comes with or stop with that part?

No more feeding ammonia or timms.
WC and add a fish.

 

[gbroadbridge]

So I’m new and on day 14 of my dr. Tims fishless cycle

PH is 8
ammonia is 0
Nitrite is 5
Nitrate is 160+
Temp is 78.1
Salinity 1.026


I’m doing a 25% water change first one yet
But should I add ammonia did my cycle stall or is it still working?
Need some serious help I would like to get fish some day but with these numbers I can’t here’s a photo of my tank I have sand and rock.

used Fiji pink live sand from carbisea and Marco rock

If you have nitrate, the cycle is done. Ignore Nitrites - unimportant.

Big water change time.

Add CUC, then add fish a week later.

 

[killer2001]

I wouldn't test for nitrates until you can confirm nitrites are zero'd out.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I wouldn't test for nitrates until you can confirm nitrites are zero'd out.

When cycling a SW tank, there is really no reason to even test nitrites unless you're trying to pinpoint the cause of super high nitrates (trites will make trates test higher than they really are.)

 

[jabberwock]

If you have nitrate, the cycle is done. Ignore Nitrites - unimportant.

Big water change time.

Add CUC, then add fish a week later.

If you put in clean up crew first, you will have to give them something to eat. If you don't have algae yet, don't add algae eaters yet. I would go with one simple fish first.

 

[jabberwock]

Let me add that you should add your most timid fish first. Let them learn the tank so they know escape routes and hiding spots in case more aggressive fish hassle them as you add more. Add fish in this order, most peaceful to most aggressive, one every week or two until you reach your stocking goals.

 

[gbroadbridge]

If you put in clean up crew first, you will have to give them something to eat. If you don't have algae yet, don't add algae eaters yet. I would go with one simple fish first.

I was thinking along the lines of snails. They wont starve in a week and will help build bio load. You can always drop in some food which will also help.

 

[jabberwock]

I was thinking along the lines of snails. They wont starve in a week and will help build bio load. You can always drop in some food which will also help.

Yep, I love nessarius snails. Feed them a little and they will be all good.

 

[ReefJuice]

Dr Tims Fishless Cycle is essentially Ammonium Chloride, so you've already added Ammonia to your tank to kick start the nitrogen cycle. Previous methods the ammonia came from fish poop and you had to wait until their waste decayed and produced Ammonia for the bacteria to feed on. Don't rush this stage though. I would honestly let the cycle continue on its own instead of starting your water changes already. Let the bacteria fauna establish itself. I personally used Brightwell's QuikCycl and MicroBacter clean. Don't forget you're going to be maintaining an entire ecosystem in a glass box. This means everything from the fish in your tank to the microorganisms that help maintain the natural cycle.