DAY 9 of my FISHLESS CYCLE

[Gustozzzo]

Hello guys , got back into the hobby after many yrs. Last time around nothing was done correctly but this time i made sure to do my research and started off fresh trying to do everything correctly.

Im doing the dr tims fishless cycle , dosing ammonia .

Im on day 9 and my parameters read

Ph 8.0
Ammonia 4ppm
Nitrites 2.0
Nitrates 20 ppm

Does this sound normal . I used live sand but dry baserock .

RED SEA MAX G2 nano PENINSULA .

 

[Fish Fan]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

#WelcometoR2R

That seems quite normal to me You did add the Dr. Tim's bacteria in addition to the ammonia?

 

[Awesome Opossum]

Nitrates mean its doing its thing converting nitrites.

 

[Subsea]

Hello guys , got back into the hobby after many yrs. Last time around nothing was done correctly but this time i made sure to do my research and started off fresh trying to do everything correctly.

Im doing the dr tims fishless cycle , dosing ammonia .

Im on day 9 and my parameters read

Ph 8.0
Ammonia 4ppm
Nitrites 2.0
Nitrates 20 ppm

Does this sound normal . I used live sand but dry baserock .

RED SEA MAX G2 nano PENINSULA .

Gusto,
Everything done correctly is somewhat ambiguous depending on what you plan for your captive reef.

However, no mater what your tank plan, the first year will most likely have you dealing with the nasties, which is a progression of different algaes as your ecosystem establishes its biofiltration.

Live sand in a bag typically means some bacteria. Understand this, the nitrification bacteria cycle is only one cycle in the dynamic equilibrium of your system.

The single best thing you can do to establish biodiversity & biofiltration is to add diver collected live rock & live sand. You don’t have to have a lot, but the more the better.

https://gulfliverock.com/premium-deco-live-rock
https://tbsaltwater.com/
PS: 4 ppm is high. Discontinue dosing ammonia. Nitrite should go away.

 

[Gustozzzo]

 

[Gustozzzo]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

#WelcometoR2R

That seems quite normal to me You did add the Dr. Tim's bacteria in addition to the ammonia?

Yes i did add it . Along with first defense . Thank you

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Did you use tap water? Is that why you used the first defense?

 

[Gustozzzo]

Did you use tap water? Is that why you used the first defense?

No I used pre mixed saltwater water jugs(imagitarium water) . But in the dr tims chart it says to use it. So i did .

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

If you are still adding ammonia I would stop, ammonia of 4 is pretty high. The tank is cycled IMO, you just need to wait for the ammonia to drop, then do a water change since the nitrate will be higher. My opinion.

 

[Freenow54]

Agree with above 4ppm of ammonia is max . Maintain that for now and let the ammonia and nitrites drop. Its your job to deal with the Nitrates. The final test is to get ammonia at 4 then zero the next day. I think your doing extremely well . It took me 30-40 days

 

[Gustozzzo]

If you are still adding ammonia I would stop, ammonia of 4 is pretty high. The tank is cycled IMO, you just need to wait for the ammonia to drop, then do a water change since the nitrate will be higher. My opinion.

Thank you for the advice. I did stop dosing ammonia . I’m just waiting for ammonia to go down once it does. I will add ammonia again to see within 24 hours if it drops and then I’m truly sure the tank is cycled.

 

[Gustozzzo]

Agree with above 4ppm of ammonia is max . Maintain that for now and let the ammonia and nitrites drop. Its your job to deal with the Nitrates. The final test is to get ammonia at 4 then zero the next day. I think your doing extremely well . It took me 30-40 days

Thanks for the advice

 

[TheNative192]

Thanks for the advice

I am going through a new cycle as well. I used turbo start 900 and its almost done in 5-6 days (not carrying about nitrite as its not very toxic to marine life). It will take time before 4ppm ammonia is higher than recommended initially (2ppm is the go to). One key thing is if you are using API test kits it will never read zero it will always read 0.25 when its zero so something to be aware of!

Welcome!

 

[Gustozzzo]

Thanks for the advice

I am going through a new cycle as well. I used turbo start 900 and its almost done in 5-6 days (not carrying about nitrite as its not very toxic to marine life). It will take time before 4ppm ammonia is higher than recommended initially (2ppm is the go to). One key thing is if you are using API test kits it will never read zero it will always read 0.25 when its zero so something to be aware of!

Welcome!

Thank you and best of luck on your cycle journey as well