Dr Tim's suggests 1 drop per gallon
Dr. Tims cycle question....
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reeferpat137
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Okie dokie then. Haha. How big is your tank? You said 20L = 18 gallons. Also should subtract 20% for rock work and substrate
Are you using RO/DI water? Maybe check your source water for amonia. I know the last tank I cycled, the dry rock added amonia to the water
a neat fact exists that can be verified using digital ammonia meters
we can make your cycle have a measurable, terminable end date already known vs an open ended wait
it would work like this: add in one pinch of fish food right now and nothing else to the tank. grind it up in your hand for high surface area, add it in
on Wednesday this week, simply change all your water and you're cycled and anything you read on a non digital test kit won't matter. what matters is that if you add fish, they live and if someone tests ammonia command on seneye, it'll command.
reasons why: the ammonia drop line from a cycling chart is ten days for a reason, it does not mean a reef tank must move all it's ammonia to zero to close a cycle by then
it means that after ten days of submersion, inoculation and feed, the surfaces are coated in aob which will impart the ammonia control all charts show by day ten of stewing once a reasonable bioload is in the water. this cycle bioload isn't reasonable; its a shock loading that your running nano will never see
but that didn't stop the layers from building, fully
waiting for the entire unreasonable amnt of ammonia to clear is old cycling science
new cycling science knows you can peel it away, a full water change on day ten since your tank is small, forego the long wait to resolve the initial blast the tank will never see even when stocked and fed, and be done by wednesday specifically.
when you do the water change the functional layer stays behind, fresh/reasonable water is back on top, same as if you waited for it to clear until the end of the month.
you can then begin researching fish disease protocol and have them ready to apply by your known cycle end date. stating the date a reef tank will pass a seneye audit and carry fish is very much new cycling science. you can use this method to get your tank ready to present at a trade show, that way you don't miss the starting date for an able display reef...
we can make your cycle have a measurable, terminable end date already known vs an open ended wait
it would work like this: add in one pinch of fish food right now and nothing else to the tank. grind it up in your hand for high surface area, add it in
on Wednesday this week, simply change all your water and you're cycled and anything you read on a non digital test kit won't matter. what matters is that if you add fish, they live and if someone tests ammonia command on seneye, it'll command.
reasons why: the ammonia drop line from a cycling chart is ten days for a reason, it does not mean a reef tank must move all it's ammonia to zero to close a cycle by then
it means that after ten days of submersion, inoculation and feed, the surfaces are coated in aob which will impart the ammonia control all charts show by day ten of stewing once a reasonable bioload is in the water. this cycle bioload isn't reasonable; its a shock loading that your running nano will never see
but that didn't stop the layers from building, fully
waiting for the entire unreasonable amnt of ammonia to clear is old cycling science
new cycling science knows you can peel it away, a full water change on day ten since your tank is small, forego the long wait to resolve the initial blast the tank will never see even when stocked and fed, and be done by wednesday specifically.
when you do the water change the functional layer stays behind, fresh/reasonable water is back on top, same as if you waited for it to clear until the end of the month.
you can then begin researching fish disease protocol and have them ready to apply by your known cycle end date. stating the date a reef tank will pass a seneye audit and carry fish is very much new cycling science. you can use this method to get your tank ready to present at a trade show, that way you don't miss the starting date for an able display reef...
reeferpat137
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Day 8, ammonia looks to have droped a touch. Nitrite at .25. Ph 8. Added microbactor7 and nite-out2. We'll see what happens... i really didnt plan for this to be a fast cycle, the lights i chose for this tank wont be available for a few months..... i was just looking for clarification on the daily directions, lol
Randy Holmes-Farley
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To what?
The system may be phosphate deficient. There are a variety of ways to add some, including a bit of fish food.
reeferpat137
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I was mistaken. The ammonia levels were still as high as me. I checked today. Color looks lighter than 8ppm on the test, but darker than 4. Nitrite still at .25, Ph 8. Tossed in some more microbactor 7 and nite-out². Im leaving town for 2 weeks soon. So we'll see what happens while im away
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reeferpat137
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So im back in town, and nothing has changed. Ph 8, ammonia 8ppm, nitrite .25-.5 and the water is crystal clearOK, keep us updated.
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Seems like a bottle frozen in shipping could be a real possibility here.
I've gotten dud bottles of otherwise good bacterial products that were shipped in the winter.
I've gotten dud bottles of otherwise good bacterial products that were shipped in the winter.
Following instructions would have you ready a while back as stated. Since you’re going strictly off non digital test kits, you get to head into April attempting the cycle oppositely of the instructions. I still expect it will take you a long time, per api, but not in reality.
reeferpat137
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I havent done much with the tank, maybe test it every once in a while... was about to do a water change and do things differently, and decided to test today. Ammonia has droped to 2ppm, and nitrite has risen to 2ppm, maybe a bit higher. Things are finally happening
EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal
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Don't bother testing nitrite. Test ammo and nitrate...
reeferpat137
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I was under the impression that (possibly old knowledge) nitrate wont show up till nitrite starts dropping. Either way, its nice to see things not stagnant
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I'm a weirdo who loves NO2 test, if I can only have one cycling test - it's NO2.
They are more sensitive, so NO2 will show an increase before you I detect a drop in ammonia at the start of the cycle, and as long as NO2 is going up, I know ammonia is being cleared and once NO2 stats dropping, I know that 1) ammonia is cleared, and 2) nitrite oxidizers are working (so cycle is thoroughly done).
It's more that nitrite blows up an NO3 test and makes it look very high. ( a little NO2 looks like a lot of NO3 to an NO3 test) So don't trust an NO3 test until NO2 is basically cleared.
Lionfish 37
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Sounds like you made the same mistake that I made. On the side of the Ammonia bottle it says when figuring out how many drops, you have to subtract 20% of those drops for rock and sand. If you don't, you will overdose Ammonia. My LFS told me I could wait it out and it will cycle but it will take longer, or you can add additional bacteria to help aid in dealing with the extra Ammonia. My tank did cycle but it took a little longer. Wait for the Ammonia to drop under 2ppm before adding more.
Lionfish 37
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That is with their old Ammonia formula. Their is another video that says 4 drops per gallon. Also on the side of the bottle of their new formula it says 4 drops per gallon and subtract 20% for rock and sand.
EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal
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1. Large (10-15 gallon) water change
2. Test ammonia (DO NOT ADD ANY MORE)
3. Add new bottle of bacteria (I recommend Fritz Turbo Start or BioSpira)
4. IF (and only IF) ammonia read ZERO
in step 2, add a pinch of fish food daily for 3 days ("ghost feed"), and test ammonia again on day 4.
5. Don't add anything else and let the tank cycle.
*Nothing against Dr. Tim's, but I've seen SO MANY issues with their "system"... I believe people end up adding way too much ammonia and this causes problems. I hardly see any posts here or on other forums about cycling problems with other brands/not adding ammonia. And never see problems when straight ammonia isn't used...
2. Test ammonia (DO NOT ADD ANY MORE)
3. Add new bottle of bacteria (I recommend Fritz Turbo Start or BioSpira)
4. IF (and only IF) ammonia read ZERO
in step 2, add a pinch of fish food daily for 3 days ("ghost feed"), and test ammonia again on day 4.
5. Don't add anything else and let the tank cycle.
*Nothing against Dr. Tim's, but I've seen SO MANY issues with their "system"... I believe people end up adding way too much ammonia and this causes problems. I hardly see any posts here or on other forums about cycling problems with other brands/not adding ammonia. And never see problems when straight ammonia isn't used...
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