Cycling with Aquavitro Seed Question

[USMC 4 LIFE]

So before I ask my question here are my parameters and set up.

90 gallon tank
40 gallon sump/refugium
BRS Pukani dry rock and dry sand
Spectrapure RO/DI water was used
Salinity : 1.023
API Saltwater test kit
Ammonia : 1
Nitrites : .5
Nitrates : 20
PH : 8.2
No skimmer and lights running at the moment.

So I started dosing Aquavitro Seed to kick start the cycle 6 days ago. On the second day ammonia was present only. Third day ammonia and nitrites only. Fourth all three. The last two day I've seen my nitrates continue to increase while the ammonia and nitrites have held steady.

I know most people on here cycle with live rock and I'm trying to find someone who has cycled dry rock and sand with bacteria to compare my experience. So My question is, is my ammonia and nitrites done spiking?

 

[brandon429]

we need two parameters for this kind of cycle, what we term type A here:

http://reef2reef.com/threads/new-ta...d-cocktail-shrimp-live-rock-no-shrimp.214618/


1. something close to 30 days submersion time, and if shorter, you were very detailed in your ammonia and repeat bottle bac additions (can be as short as 2-3 weeks to passing a digest test)

2. a digestion test, where ammonia is spiked via liquid ammonia to 2ppm and then to zero, using a highly accurate quality test kit, within 24 hours and you are at the right timeframes based on your accuracy of ammonia and bottle bac. If you aren't detailing perfect ammonia levels and adding the bottle bac once, or infrequently, wait close to the 30 day mark as our charts there show it being consistent in the unassisted cycles.

if your tank can pass a digestion test at week 3 and you did detail bottle bac and ammonia, is ready

if your tank can pass a digestion test in 30 days after nonspecific use of bottle bac and ammonia from any source, ready.

*when making decisions off ammonia at low levels you must verify your readings, using cheap ammonia test kits and no verification literally makes cycles look insane and varying, but they don't.

at no time pay attention to nitrite it doesn't matter, only the top two conditions matter. having one less misreading parameter helps in tank cycling and this one is neutral anyway.



*you may have an additional ammonia source in the tank if your live rock has organics from prior life that haven't been cleaned off, and are now rehydrated, and being reduced. that all factors into the timeframe and digest test anyway.

 

[aztoza]

Hey OP how did this turn out for you? I am using the same products with dry rock/sand in a 26g. I finished the 8-day dose of Seed (skimmer and pump off, made sure it really got in there) and am dosing the Remediation product every day or 2. Unfortunately we are not able to fishless cycle and have a little guy in there, and are finding the same thing as you—ammonia is gradually rising each day. We will now really cut back on feeding. But did you have to continue dosing Seed? What did you do and how did things turn out?

 

[ScottJ]

Hey OP how did this turn out for you? I am using the same products with dry rock/sand in a 26g. I finished the 8-day dose of Seed (skimmer and pump off, made sure it really got in there) and am dosing the Remediation product every day or 2. Unfortunately we are not able to fishless cycle and have a little guy in there, and are finding the same thing as you—ammonia is gradually rising each day. We will now really cut back on feeding. But did you have to continue dosing Seed? What did you do and how did things turn out?

FYI, the OP hasn't been on the forum in 2 years. If is the ammonia is going up, and you have livestock in there, the best thing is water changes to keep it low.

I don't know anything about the product you are using, sorry. Maybe someone else will chime in.