Cycling new tank - ammonia dropped off once (so far)

rojees

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Ok so here goes:

its about 16 days since I started my cycle, as in adding ammonia solution.
Levels have been constant around 2ppm, and I have added Microbacter 7 as well.

Now I am not using rock, instead I am using 2 Mantis Bio filter blocks.
Tank is also bare bottom, so I get the cycle will take longer and all that. Prob not the way to go long term but this is how it will be setup for now.

2 days ago, i.e. about day 14, the ammonia dropped to about 0.5, so I dosed it back up to 2ppm. I used the API strips and the nitrites came back to around 0 (very light coloured).

The ammonia has not since lowered (I know its only 2 days after) and I tested for nitrites again using the API strip, again I would assume around 0, colour was very light. I thought maybe the strips were faulty? So I went off to get a Sera Nitrite test, and it showed 0.5 reading.

My question, why did the ammonia drop off on day 14, and nothing since then?
 

brandon429

why did you put a reef in that
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Your cycle is done to the degree of surface area presentation you have. Waiting longer doesn’t add more bac to those blocks.

next step, add in more surface area not more bac, or ammonia.

updated cycling science rules that govern your unique cycle:
1. No cycle is stalled on day sixteen of a wet system that got bottle bac dosed, even if it’s slow slow mb7 bacteria


2. this ammonia report isn’t coming from a digital tester, so the reported results vs a digital tester reading will be polar opposite takeaways


3. your wastewater isn’t contacting much inside the blocks, so we don’t expect you to detect rates of oxidation correctly considering no other surface area in the tank and non digital test kits


4. the rule of wait time supersedes all other details. What day sixteen on a common cycling chart shows regarding ammonia control is where your tank is at

5. 2 ppm ammonia dosing is not required to proof, verify, feed or sustain a cycle. It should be a practice stopped in reefing, that level overpowers non digital test kits and tricks buyers into thinking a cycle is stalled and they buy replacement bac. In fact, the entire notion of 2 ppm dosing comes from a seller of bottle bac. No common starting bioload in reefing pumps that much ammonia into a system. Change your tank water, the blocks will remain cycled, begin reefing as you’ve planned for them (such as if this is going to be a qt tank)



your cycle isn’t stuck at all, or slower than any other cycle. Your presentation of wastewater to working surfaces is far under a typical cycle and your means of measure arent accepted as accurate. So, your cycle is done :)

if the meter let you see ammonia drop once, that’s proof of the above and a pretty strong tester to let you see it in action. You specifically do not have to repeat that process more than once, this set of surface area is cycled because 100% of cycle charts show ammonia control on day sixteen. Click any one and see


curious, why no rocks and sand for the cycle, is this a quarantine setup
 
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rojees

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Thanks for your reply!

I am new to the game so I am slightly confused already!

Firstly no rock or sand is because I thought i would keep it simple since its my first tank, though I quickly realise and have been told that I would need some form or rock for the tank, and therefore am making life harder for myself now ironically.

It is not a quarantine tank, but will be a fish only tank - will be 2 clownfish. No corals.

If my cycle is done (for now), would that mean I could put fish in? or would that go drastically wrong?

or do I need to, as you say, increase the the surface area first? in which case, how would that be done? apart from rock, or adding a substrate? are there other alternatives for my particular case?
 

brandon429

why did you put a reef in that
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Based on that plan you should do this

add in reef rocks now such that your tank looks like the rest on the site. Dry or wet rock, doesn’t matter. Set them into this tank above and make it look like all other reefs here.

wait two weeks more adding nothing, just with them in the tank circulating and sitting there uptaking bacteria by contact and time


be reading the fish disease forum during this wait time so you can prep for fish disease, before adding the clowns. Don’t add any fish till you’ve chosen a disease prevention plan from that forum, and don’t add until the surface area you need in place (rocks, sand is optional) has sat there swirling for two weeks. If you skip reading the fish disease forum and implementing those plans your fish won’t make six months.
 

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