Cycling tank with "Red Sea Pro Reef Mature Kit"

samuel venner · Jul 25, 2021

Hello.

I am currently in the process of cycling my Red Sea Max Nano reef tank.
I've added 20lbs of Carib-sea special grade live sand and about 15-20lbs of Carib-sea Life rock shapes (spored with bacteria). I've also added a mesh bag worth of Fluval bio tubes (for surface area for bacteria) in the rear sump space in the max nano.

I'm following the Red Sea Pro Reef Mature Kit to cycle my tank and have some questions relating to this.

1) I'm currently (as of 25/07/2021) on day 5 of the cycle. My ammonia on day 3 was 0.8PPM, Nitrite was 0.05, Nitrate was 15PPM all of which were close to the expected parameters of the booklet provided. Now being on day 5 I thought I would check my levels to see if its going in the right direction. Currently the Ammonia is around 0.4PPM, Nitrite 0.1/.2PPM and Nitrate has rocketed to 40+ PPM.

Now in short does this mean that I'm doing this correctly? and this to be expected at this stage ?

2) From looking forward in the box I'm supposed to see 0.25ppm< Ammonia and 0.05ppm<Nitrite by day 7 of which seem to be heading in the correct direction however day 10 states I should have 10ppm of Nitrate and 0 nitrite and ammonia. Also on Day 10 it states I can add my CUC however I'm yet to experience any bacteria blooming for them to feed from? Are they still okay to add into the tank on day 10 in the readings are 0 nitrite, ammonia and the higher than expected nitrates despite no visible algae bloom?

3) regarding the nitrate levels being high.

Am I to follow the booklet and continue adding the NoPox to lower the nitrates slowly ? Or do a water change of 50% to half them to around 15ppm on day 7 during the stated 5% water change i need to do before adding the cuc ?

and finally (sorry so many questions)

At what stage in water parameters is it safe to add a couple of fish such as peculia clowns? / when do i know the tank is cycled and ready to accept a small bio load of fish

Many thanks for your help.

PeterC99 · Jul 25, 2021

First - Welcome to R2R!

Second - Looks like your cycle is occurring with the drop in ammonia and nitrates rising.. When ammonia drops to zero, Then it’s safe to add fish. Kudos on the testing; figuring that out is half the battle.

samuel venner · Jul 25, 2021

PeterC99 said:
First - Welcome to R2R!

Second - Looks like your cycle is occurring with the drop in ammonia and nitrates rising.. When ammonia drops to zero, Then it’s safe to add fish. Kudos on the testing; figuring that out is half the battle.

thank you for the welcome and the help. Does that mean that on day 10 if ammonia is 0 and the nitrites are also 0 then its safe to add the cuc and fish slowly even if the nitrates are 40+ ? do i need to do a water change to half them before ? my only concern is the cuc wont have any algae to eat currently ?? or am i wrong ?

PeterC99 · Jul 25, 2021

Yes - When ammonia and nitrites are zero, it’s safe to add fish and CUC. Water change will help bring down nitrates.

samuel venner · Jul 25, 2021

PeterC99 said:
Yes - When ammonia and nitrites are zero, it’s safe to add fish and CUC. Water change will help bring down nitrates.

that's amazing thank you. I thought cycling was supposed to take a lot longer before I could add fish and CUC. i suppose the leftover food that the fish don't eat will feed the cuc if there's no algae present on day 10.

thanks for the help. let me know if ive gotten the wrong end of the stick

PeterC99 · Jul 25, 2021

Sounds like you are off to a great start. Add fish slowly and keep testing parameters. Also keep reading and learning from R2R, will greatly increase your success.

Dbichler · Jul 25, 2021

+1^ I add fish first though before clean up crew because cuc tend to die without enough of a food source.

samuel venner · Jul 25, 2021

Dbichler said:
+1^ I add fish first though before clean up crew because cuc tend to die without enough of a food source.

I was thinking of adding two clowns together first with a small cuc once my ammonia and nitrites are hitting 0 with maybe a 50% water change as the NITRATEs are currently in the moon 40+ppm (all of which i guess is normal for the first cycle?). i dont have any algae growth yet so should i wait for that before cuc??

ScottyG · Aug 24, 2021

I decided a few months back to get back into the hobby, got out because it was too much of a pain to set-up and tear down systems every time we moved (active duty AF, now retired). I'm using the same program you are and am on day 13. So far everything is progressing smoothly. Testing numbers have come back where they are supposed to be and like you I have no algae growth. Delayed the CUC because of this.

Would be nice to compare notes and pics as your system progresses.