Dr Tims Cycle

[TerryG]

Hi All! I’m currently on day 9 of cycling my new tank with Dr Tims one and only and Dr Tims ammonia. At first my ammonia was reading 8ppm but as of yesterday is now reading 2ppm. I have done a water change on Sunday and added a bottle of api quick start to make sure I haven’t killed all the new bacteria.. and some stability. I have also moved over 90% of my live rock over from my existing tank. My current parameters are ph 8, ammonia 2ppm, nitrite 0.5-1, nitrates 10. My question is am I on the right track? If yes or no what do I need to do?

 

[Dburr1014]

Hi All! I’m currently on day 9 of cycling my new tank with Dr Tims one and only and Dr Tims ammonia. At first my ammonia was reading 8ppm but as of yesterday is now reading 2ppm. I have done a water change on Sunday and added a bottle of api quick start to make sure I haven’t killed all the new bacteria.. and some stability. I have also moved over 90% of my live rock over from my existing tank. My current parameters are ph 8, ammonia 2ppm, nitrite 0.5-1, nitrates 10. My question is am I on the right track? If yes or no what do I need to do?

If you moved over live rock you didn't need any bacteria. You can start with adding stuff now.

 

[brandon429]

this cycle has been fixed here

Overdosed Dr Tims Ammonia

Hi All! I currently started cycling my new tank 9-10 days ago using dr tims one and only and dr tims ammonia. Since starting my ammonia has been off the charts! I think I just realised why.. it’s because I over doses the ammonia.. my bottle said treats 394 litres and my tank is 640 litres so I...

www.reef2reef.com

its a skip cycle change water, stop testing with those kits, begin. no bottle bac was needed, no ammonia, but since those were added already thats no harm either.


change water, begin reefing, world's easiest solved cycle.

also post the full tank shot please, we're looking for degree of cured live rock and placement in the flow path within the display. anywhere above 15 or so pounds will skip cycle for any known bioload in reefing.

 

[OfficeReefer]

Yeah, you probably are in the clear. Keep in mind you can go there faster with Fritz Turbo Start 900 next time, like 9 days ago.

 

[Dburr1014]

Yeah, you probably are in the clear. Keep in mind you can go there faster with Fritz Turbo Start 900 next time, like 9 days ago.

Or just use live rock and not need any bacteria. Instant cycle

 

[OfficeReefer]

Or just use live rock and not need any bacteria. Instant cycle

This is true if you're certain about the live rock. I'd recommend this approach first of course. Probably better for the environment too.

 

[Reefer Matt]

You are on the right track. What type of coral are you going to stock? I suggest patience in reefing, but I know it is difficult when you get excited.

 

[TerryG]

this cycle has been fixed here

Overdosed Dr Tims Ammonia

Hi All! I currently started cycling my new tank 9-10 days ago using dr tims one and only and dr tims ammonia. Since starting my ammonia has been off the charts! I think I just realised why.. it’s because I over doses the ammonia.. my bottle said treats 394 litres and my tank is 640 litres so I...

www.reef2reef.com

its a skip cycle change water, stop testing with those kits, begin. no bottle bac was needed, no ammonia, but since those were added already thats no harm either.


change water, begin reefing, world's easiest solved cycle.

also post the full tank shot please, we're looking for degree of cured live rock and placement in the flow path within the display. anywhere above 15 or so pounds will skip cycle for any known bioload in reefing.

thats good to know! What percentage water change are we speaking? I did the first water change 2 days ago, should I be doing another?

 

[TerryG]

You are on the right track. What type of coral are you going to stock? I suggest patience in reefing, but I know it is difficult when you get excited.

Hey! Im going to be keeping mixed corals and sps eventually

 

[Dburr1014]

Hey! Im going to be keeping mixed corals and sps eventually

Wait for sps until you get that tank mature and stable. 6+months if your an old salt, year if new.

 

[Reefer Matt]

Hey! Im going to be keeping mixed corals and sps eventually

Ok. I personally like to cycle for at least a month before putting anything in, but everyone is different. I like to get the ugly phase over with before stocking with coral. Even with live rock and bacteria, a new tank may get diatoms and various algae before it settles down. Sps usually require at least 6-8 months of the tank running in my experience. Good luck!

 

[TerryG]

Wait for sps until you get that tank mature and stable. 6+months if your an old salt, year if new.

100%

 

[TerryG]

Ok. I personally like to cycle for at least a month before putting anything in, but everyone is different. I like to get the ugly phase over with before stocking with coral. Even with live rock and bacteria, a new tank may get diatoms and various algae before it settles down. Sps usually require at least 6-8 months of the tank running in my experience. Good luck!

Yeah you are spot on! Patience with sps

 

[brandon429]

Terry
for a quick self study, 15 mins tops, on updated cycling science/skip cycling see this easy read

A thread tracking pure skip cycle instant reefs, no bottle bac

THE GOLDEN EXAMPLE OF A SKIP CYCLE DAY 1 REEF https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/octo-high-end-sps-skip-cycle-build.713256/ read that entire thread before you read ours. that's the heart of skip cycling. Everything we do going forward in this thread reflects on that ability above, in the #1...

www.reef2reef.com

it's all we study there, no other form of cycling, that's 100+ skip cycle reefs as sublinks to establish a pattern for you and similar setups.


post your full tank shot here, so we can see your rock layout. not the misreading test kit levels, the pic of the tank.

the bottle bac and ammonia you added don't matter. its the equivalent of doing five oil changes back to back in a car. one oil change every 3k is plenty good. the extras don't help.

you aren't changing water due to backed up ammonia, that's a misread.

you're changing to lower algae incidence coming up, so change any % you want. you specifically do not have ammonia as your kit reads, its in the hundredths ppm nh3 tops and likely the thousands ppm nh3 given what we know about skip cycles. you may be surprised to read me typing that api and red sea can misread on fully running reefs as an impending crash/not cycled but if you search out the threads for yourself you'll see: nobody's fish are dying. it's always perfectly normal looking reefs, tank pics, and only 1 misreading test kit that isn't a seneye. in every post of a failed cycle. every one.

 

[merkmerk73]

I have found that Dr Tims sucks.

I wasted money on it and I wasn't seeing results at all - I dumped a whole bottle in for my 120, stocked with two small clowns, and consistently tested increasing ammonia with no nitrite or nitrates.

Dosed AGAIN - because I'm an idiot - same thing.

Finally gave up and put in some Fritz and wouldn't you know I started seeing ammonia drop and nitrates climb with very small nitrites?

 

[OfficeReefer]

I have found that Dr Tims sucks.

I wasted money on it and I wasn't seeing results at all - I dumped a whole bottle in for my 120, stocked with two small clowns, and consistently tested increasing ammonia with no nitrite or nitrates.

Dosed AGAIN - because I'm an idiot - same thing.

Finally gave up and put in some Fritz and wouldn't you know I started seeing ammonia drop and nitrates climb with very small nitrites?

I only use Fritz TurboStart 900 and I never have an issue. I get results in 24-48hrs every time.