First off I want to say I love this community and it's been a little while since I've had a tank up and running (whew, I made it) lol
So I've begun cycling my Redsea 350 (dream build woo!!). This will be my fifth tank since entering the hobby but this time I was able to add the automation and bells and whistles I was never able to before so there was a learning curve either way (Apex is no Joke). I plan on a huge build thread soon. I'm so excited!
I watched Dr. Tim give a short lecture on a speedy cycle and some of the things happening on a microbial level and decided I was going to combine a fishless cycle with the WWC/BRS 4 month cycle approach. Which means:
Tank started and currently runs at
My confusion is: I've added Dr. Tims ammonia on three occasions trying to get to 2ppm but no matter when I test it never exceed .5ppm
I see no Nitrites (MAYBBBEEEEE the slightest almost nonexistent discoloration which could probably have been dust in the air lol) and no nitrates.
All that to say the bottled stuff is in the water!
Is it possible that with the elevated temp and low salinity the bacteria is decimating whatever I put in and I just didn't catch it? Should I start bring the tank down to proper temp and salinity? I plan to wait around for longer for coral but I also expected to see some signs of the cycle by this point. I even ghost fed some flakes twice. Maybe I just need to wait longer. Thanks all!
So I've begun cycling my Redsea 350 (dream build woo!!). This will be my fifth tank since entering the hobby but this time I was able to add the automation and bells and whistles I was never able to before so there was a learning curve either way (Apex is no Joke). I plan on a huge build thread soon. I'm so excited!
I watched Dr. Tim give a short lecture on a speedy cycle and some of the things happening on a microbial level and decided I was going to combine a fishless cycle with the WWC/BRS 4 month cycle approach. Which means:
Tank started and currently runs at
- 83 degrees F.
- 1.020 SG
- No lights
- Dr Tims ammonia
- Microbacter 7
- Skimmer and UV are not running
- No dosing yet
- Completely new dry rock aquascape
- half inch sand bed
- 4 hand-fulls or so of Marinepure ceramic spheres
- 2 handfuls of bioballs submerged for the sake of surface area (I know I know the nitrates, just curious)
- Testing ammonia with a new box of API which I'm not crazy about but I'm just looking for signs rather than spot on.
- Looking for Nitrites with 5 in 1 API test stick things (I use these for my sons freshwater tank for nitrate and I'm always able to see distinct pinks show up so I know they register even if it's loose)
- Have not tested Nitrate but plan on doing so via NYOS
- Started 1 gallon daily auto water changes for sake of rhythm at the 2 week mark
My confusion is: I've added Dr. Tims ammonia on three occasions trying to get to 2ppm but no matter when I test it never exceed .5ppm
I see no Nitrites (MAYBBBEEEEE the slightest almost nonexistent discoloration which could probably have been dust in the air lol) and no nitrates.
All that to say the bottled stuff is in the water!
Is it possible that with the elevated temp and low salinity the bacteria is decimating whatever I put in and I just didn't catch it? Should I start bring the tank down to proper temp and salinity? I plan to wait around for longer for coral but I also expected to see some signs of the cycle by this point. I even ghost fed some flakes twice. Maybe I just need to wait longer. Thanks all!