First tank Cycle issue/question

[TomReef]

Hi everyone first time using this platform but am looking for some help/guidance on some issues I’m facing in a new tank I’ve just set up.

I have a fluval evo 13.5G all in one with an upgraded light, I’ve also added a refugium in the middle chamber using cheato and a separate light for that. Chamber 1 is running bio rings and a skimmer (skimmer is turned off), chamber 2 has more rings, foam and filter floss under refugium basket, chmaber 3 has carbon before pump aswell as holding the heaters (set to 25.5c). Also have plenty of Live rock from a previously established tank that was being shut down, aswell as some old rock that came with the tank that was cleaned before being put in. Also have a wave make providing good flow around the rock and tank

I started cycling 4 weeks ago and added Microbe lift nite out 2 as a bacteria starter and continued for for 2 weeks until the bottle ran out, I had also been adding ammonia upto 2ppm daily and have been testing every 3-4 days for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and PH.

Druing the first 2 weeks I had seen the ammonia at 2ppm and nitrite at 0ppm and nitrate at 30-50ppm. After 2 weeks and after the bottle of bacteria had run out I had then tested again and saw that ammonia was 0.2ppm, nitrite 0ppm and nitrate 50ppm but was told that my cycle still wasn’t done by FB group. I then brought another bottle of bacteria and have been dosing that for nearly 2 weeks again keeping the ammonia at 2ppm. Even after the extra bacteria boost it’s still showing 0.2ppm ammonia after 24 hours. I started to get worried as this wasn’t lowering so went out and got a Hanna ammonia checker, I have done a test using this and it read 0.08 total ammonia.

I have also had issues keeping Ph above 7.6 and the highest I’ve been able to achieve is 8 also recently (2-4 days) my alkalinity has shot down from 7 to 6 so unsure what I should be doing, have another fresh water tank in the same room and that Ph level is nearly 8 so can’t see it being a room oxygen issue.

What should I be doing next, keep doing bacteria and ammonia or just dose ammonia or would you say something else?
Any help will be appreciated, thanks in advance everyone.

 

[Quietman]

You're cycled...and then some. Once you're producing nitrate you can consider the tank cycled.

However, the tank may not be ready for fish quite yet. You could have some organic decay from the old rock and it needs to "cure". The tank is processing it really well with 0 nitrite, just going to take some time. The other factor is that the bottle contains dead bacteria (normal - just nature of bottle) and adding that can cause decay leading to ammonia.

Reading of .2ppm is likely testing/reading error. Hannah is more accurate but .08 is still a tad high but safe. Stop adding more bacteria - just one dose usually is enough as it reproduces just fine as your readings show.

Give everything a couple days to stabilize without adding anything. Ammonia should drop to 0 (or the minimum readable on test kit - usually .025 or so). If it doesn't you likely are still 'curing' rock. As long as your reading ammonia you don't need to add more. Once it's zero if it's going to be a few weeks before adding livestock then you may want to add 1 ppm every few days to keep it ready for fish.

You should be very close to done after a month so another week or two and you should see very low/0 ammonia. Keep the lights off mostly (you can turn them to view but mostly off) and flow and heater going. It'll speed up curing without growing algae. Do water changes as much as you want to keep nitrate down. You can wait and do one big one or start getting it down now and minimize algae growth. <10 ppm is a good start for nitrate.

Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

 

[Tahoe61]

I would stop the addition of ammonia.
I would wait another week, test again and proceed with a water change.
You obviously have plenty of LR and should be essential cycled by now. So much LR that I feel like all that media in the back is over kill. The scape is VERY nice, that's hard to pull off in a small tank.
Don't worry about the pH values right now. When you do the next water change the parameters should correct themselves.
Great start.

 

[KrisReef]

Stop listening to the not-so-sage advice that you reported getting from your Facebook group.

The two posts before mine are where you should put your trust, imo, based upon my limited knowledge of reeftank bacteria.

Someday I hope that there is a test that you can add some drops into a tank and the “cycle” bacteria all light up like a neon sign flashing “Here we are!”

Not being able to see them you need to know that the end product of a fish tank cycle is an increase in nitrate detected.

If you set up a coral tank I think adding bottle bacteria is a step in the wrong direction.

Starting with live rock is good for fish, but maybe just ok for a coral only tank.?

I started two phytoplankton tanks a few weeks ago, can you see which one
Is working out? I believe one of these represents a “Stalled cycle,”

OP’s tank is also in the green zone, imo.:cool:

 

[Quietman]

I will add some unasked for advice. The tank is perfectly safe for some corals now. They can consume that level of ammonia. Since it's first tank and no fish yet, I'd get a few soft corals and let those grow out a few months before adding fish. That'll help your tank deal with the nutrient load of fish when you add them, especially with a smaller tank. Corals (especially faster growing softies) consume nutrients very well.

If you want an SPS tank, I'd still start with softies to mature it. Just put them on some large rubble rock and you can remove them easily when you want to switch over. Get something fun that everyone says you don't want it a mature tank. Some waving hand polyps perhaps. Keep it on a disposable rock and just chuck it when done.

 

[TomReef]

Hi all,

Thank you all for the advice you’ve given. I’m going to try as you all suggested and not add anymore more bacteria or ammonia for the next week then retest again and check results, then do a water change. Feel better now I’m at least on the right track and my tank hasn’t failed completely.

 

[Uncle99]

You posted you used live rock.
You were cycled right then.
Time for fish.

 

[brandon429]

it's not that you might be ready then TomReef / nice post Uncle u got there fast 100% agreed.

Its that you were ready two weeks ago and are missing the sole risk to your system: skipping fish disease preps. Has nothing to do with cycling, you're long done.

The reason it doesn't seem done is bc you've been taught old cycling science by the Facebook group. 98% of that is wrong (that a setup using live rock needed more time than this)

It was stated here above that the tank was cycled, impressive r2r. That's new cycling science, to buck the trend of the masses. The cool part is, anyone with a calibrated seneye nh3 meter is more than welcome to audit any updated rules, then audit the old rules, and post the results = how many days does it take to control ammonia in a reef cycle