Day 6 of cycle: Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate all dropped to zero??

[ReefBouquet]

Is it normal for a tank to drop like this? I test before I do the drop of Bio S each night once lights are off. I also noticed that my dKH has been dropping quite quickly for the last three days since I bought a dKH test. Below is my tank details and log for reference, if needed. Planning to get a chunk of live rock next week.

Tank:

20G water box cube
9kg dry rock
live sand
bag of ceramic balls
dosing bio S nightly
ATO from bucket of RO DI water

Log:

26/08/2022
AF Bio sand + two liquid bottles of bacteria cultured as per instructions for 24 hours @ 26C.

25/08/2022
Late evening the live AF Bio Sand sand was added to the tank and the tank was brought to temp (raised from 23C to 25C), lights off, circulation on, only filter media are ceramic rings in the back and 9kg of dry rock.

26/08/2022 (Day 1)
One drop of Bio S in the evening to feed bacteria.
AI light off, but ambient light present.

27/08/2022 9.37pm (Day 2)
AI light off, but ambient light present.

26.4C
Salinity 1.024
PH 8
Ammonia 0.25ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 5ppm

One drop of Bio S in the evening

28/08/2022 9.37pm (Day 3)
Went in to the fish expert today, he was very impressed with the rock work Richard and I made. He said to turn the light on full for 6 hours each day to speed up the ugly phase. He said don't try and skip the ugly phase because the bacteria and small critters will need to eat the matter it produces and it will be better to just speed it up by blasting it and letting it happen. He said come and get a zoa in one week on live rock, to add variety to the bacteria while it's still fighting for dominance. He sold me a dKH test.

Lights on full (75% all) for 6 hours

dKH 6,4
PH 8
Salinity 1.024
Ammonia 0.10ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 5ppm

One drop of Bio S in the evening

29/08/2022 9.37pm (Day 4)
Lights on full (75% all) for 6 hours

dKH 4,8
PH 8
Salinity 1.025
Ammonia 0.10ppm?
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 5ppm

One drop of Bio S in the evening


30/08/2022 9.37pm (Day 5)

One drop of Bio S in the evening, decided to test every second day.

31/08/2022 9.37pm (Day 6)
Lights on full (75% all) for 6 hours

dKH 4,5
PH 8
Salinity 1.024
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 0ppm

One drop of Bio S in the evening

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

Is it normal for a tank to drop like this? I test before I do the drop of Bio S each night once lights are off. I also noticed that my dKH has been dropping quite quickly for the last three days since I bought a dKH test. Below is my tank details and log for reference, if needed. Planning to get a chunk of live rock next week.

Tank:

20G water box cube
9kg dry rock
live sand
bag of ceramic balls
dosing bio S nightly
ATO from bucket of RO DI water

Log:

26/08/2022
AF Bio sand + two liquid bottles of bacteria cultured as per instructions for 24 hours @ 26C.

25/08/2022
Late evening the live AF Bio Sand sand was added to the tank and the tank was brought to temp (raised from 23C to 25C), lights off, circulation on, only filter media are ceramic rings in the back and 9kg of dry rock.

26/08/2022 (Day 1)
One drop of Bio S in the evening to feed bacteria.
AI light off, but ambient light present.

27/08/2022 9.37pm (Day 2)
AI light off, but ambient light present.

26.4C
Salinity 1.024
PH 8
Ammonia 0.25ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 5ppm

One drop of Bio S in the evening

28/08/2022 9.37pm (Day 3)
Went in to the fish expert today, he was very impressed with the rock work Richard and I made. He said to turn the light on full for 6 hours each day to speed up the ugly phase. He said don't try and skip the ugly phase because the bacteria and small critters will need to eat the matter it produces and it will be better to just speed it up by blasting it and letting it happen. He said come and get a zoa in one week on live rock, to add variety to the bacteria while it's still fighting for dominance. He sold me a dKH test.

Lights on full (75% all) for 6 hours

dKH 6,4
PH 8
Salinity 1.024
Ammonia 0.10ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 5ppm

One drop of Bio S in the evening

29/08/2022 9.37pm (Day 4)
Lights on full (75% all) for 6 hours

dKH 4,8
PH 8
Salinity 1.025
Ammonia 0.10ppm?
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 5ppm

One drop of Bio S in the evening


30/08/2022 9.37pm (Day 5)

One drop of Bio S in the evening, decided to test every second day.

31/08/2022 9.37pm (Day 6)
Lights on full (75% all) for 6 hours

dKH 4,5
PH 8
Salinity 1.024
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 0ppm

One drop of Bio S in the evening

Ammonia and Nitrite..yes. That is what you expect when the tank cycles. Almost instant. The nitrate usually not so much unless you have something up taking the nitrate (such as a macro algae).

 

[ReefBouquet]

Ammonia and Nitrite..yes. That is what you expect when the tank cycles. Almost instant. The nitrate usually not so much unless you have something up taking the nitrate (such as a macro algae).

Do you think that turning the lights on has caused the nitrate to get out-competed? Should I turn them off?

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

Do you think that turning the lights on has caused the nitrate to get out-competed? Should I turn them off?

Nitrate doesnt compete. It is a product of the nitrogen cycle as organics break down. And yes, turning the lights on will cause the photosynthetic process to turn on and any photosynthetic organisms will start using nitrates and phosphates as fertilizer. This is a good thing. You want your tank to consume these or you are stuck doing water changes to reduce the levels.

One thing to note: ZERO nitrates and ZERO phosphates is BAD. If you do it too long, Dinos will start out competing your good bacteria and you have a lot of problems.

 

[Dan_P]

Is it normal for a tank to drop like this? I test before I do the drop of Bio S each night once lights are off. I also noticed that my dKH has been dropping quite quickly for the last three days since I bought a dKH test. Below is my tank details and log for reference, if needed. Planning to get a chunk of live rock next week.

Tank:

20G water box cube
9kg dry rock
live sand
bag of ceramic balls
dosing bio S nightly
ATO from bucket of RO DI water

Log:

26/08/2022
AF Bio sand + two liquid bottles of bacteria cultured as per instructions for 24 hours @ 26C.

25/08/2022
Late evening the live AF Bio Sand sand was added to the tank and the tank was brought to temp (raised from 23C to 25C), lights off, circulation on, only filter media are ceramic rings in the back and 9kg of dry rock.

26/08/2022 (Day 1)
One drop of Bio S in the evening to feed bacteria.
AI light off, but ambient light present.

27/08/2022 9.37pm (Day 2)
AI light off, but ambient light present.

26.4C
Salinity 1.024
PH 8
Ammonia 0.25ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 5ppm

One drop of Bio S in the evening

28/08/2022 9.37pm (Day 3)
Went in to the fish expert today, he was very impressed with the rock work Richard and I made. He said to turn the light on full for 6 hours each day to speed up the ugly phase. He said don't try and skip the ugly phase because the bacteria and small critters will need to eat the matter it produces and it will be better to just speed it up by blasting it and letting it happen. He said come and get a zoa in one week on live rock, to add variety to the bacteria while it's still fighting for dominance. He sold me a dKH test.

Lights on full (75% all) for 6 hours

dKH 6,4
PH 8
Salinity 1.024
Ammonia 0.10ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 5ppm

One drop of Bio S in the evening

29/08/2022 9.37pm (Day 4)
Lights on full (75% all) for 6 hours

dKH 4,8
PH 8
Salinity 1.025
Ammonia 0.10ppm?
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 5ppm

One drop of Bio S in the evening


30/08/2022 9.37pm (Day 5)

One drop of Bio S in the evening, decided to test every second day.

31/08/2022 9.37pm (Day 6)
Lights on full (75% all) for 6 hours

dKH 4,5
PH 8
Salinity 1.024
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 0ppm

One drop of Bio S in the evening

Did you ever put ammonia in the tank? What was the level?

 

[ReefBouquet]

Did you ever put ammonia in the tank? What was the level?

I put in two little bottles with the live sand "The bottles included contain laboratory isolated strains of nitrifying bacteria and a nourishment, facilitating their development and multiplication." Then I have been dosing Bio S daily, which is "Nitrifying Bacteria for start-up & ammonia reduction"

Ammonia was 0.25ppm at the start and went down from there

Am I supposed to put something else in?

TIA

 

[ReefBouquet]

Did you ever put ammonia in the tank? What was the level?

You hit the nail on the head! Thank you! This is my forst saltwater tank and I didn't know that the bacteria required ammonia... no one told me that I needed a source, not even the fish store that helped set me up!

I've ordered some and it should arrive either tomorrow or monday

 

[Dan_P]

I put in two little bottles with the live sand "The bottles included contain laboratory isolated strains of nitrifying bacteria and a nourishment, facilitating their development and multiplication." Then I have been dosing Bio S daily, which is "Nitrifying Bacteria for start-up & ammonia reduction"

Ammonia was 0.25ppm at the start and went down from there

Am I supposed to put something else in?

TIA

I don’t think much ammonia if any was put to the system, hence the very low numbers. Typically, ammonia is added to increase the population of nitrifying bacteria before fish are added. Maybe the live sand system you bought also contained heterotrophic bacteria that generated ammonia from the liquid you were adding everyday. Your system might be cycled but the water analysis data is a bit iffy on the subject. Ammonia and nitrite are close to zero and not to be trusted. What test kit are you using?

 

[ReefBouquet]

I don’t think much ammonia if any was put to the system, hence the very low numbers. Typically, ammonia is added to increase the population of nitrifying bacteria before fish are added. Maybe the live sand system you bought also contained heterotrophic bacteria that generated ammonia from the liquid you were adding everyday. Your system might be cycled but the water analysis data is a bit iffy on the subject. Ammonia and nitrite are close to zero and not to be trusted. What test kit are you using?

I'm using API for all except dKH, for dKH i'm using Aquaforest TestPro.

I added some Dr Tim's ammonia a couple of days ago, up to just over 1ppm. It has been very slowly dropping and seeing between 0-5ppm Nitrate and no Nitrite. Also slow-dripped a bit of sodium bicarbonate mixed with RO DI to raise the dKH, which is working

Am I on the right track?

 

[Garf]

I'm using API for all except dKH, for dKH i'm using Aquaforest TestPro.

I added some Dr Tim's ammonia a couple of days ago, up to just over 1ppm. It has been very slowly dropping and seeing between 0-5ppm Nitrate and no Nitrite. Also slow-dripped a bit of sodium bicarbonate mixed with RO DI to raise the dKH, which is working

Am I on the right track?

Yep.

 

[Dan_P]

I'm using API for all except dKH, for dKH i'm using Aquaforest TestPro.

I added some Dr Tim's ammonia a couple of days ago, up to just over 1ppm. It has been very slowly dropping and seeing between 0-5ppm Nitrate and no Nitrite. Also slow-dripped a bit of sodium bicarbonate mixed with RO DI to raise the dKH, which is working

Am I on the right track?

With the decline of the added ammonia concentration, you will have a better idea that nitrification is happening. Your measurements certainly indicate that is the case.

 

[ReefBouquet]

With the decline of the added ammonia concentration, you will have a better idea that nitrification is happening. Your measurements certainly indicate that is the case.

Day 17 and we finally have lift off!