Fishless Cycling Question w/Photos

[jphilip813]

Hello fellow reefers, I am starting a nano reef aquarium and this is the first time I have heard of fishless Cycle...I started the process almost two weeks ago with the Dr. Tim's instructions...that for some reason just didn't work for me; Ammoniaand Nitrate were literallyoff the charts...I bought about 3 bottles of the product. I decided to do a 25% water change this past Saturday, starting the process all over again, this time using Instant ocean as well as Fritz Zyme 9 and threw a frozen cube in the aquarium (recommendedby LFS). The numbers are finally looking better, especially Ammonia, as of today, the numbers for Ammonia is Zero, however Nitrite and Nitrates are extremely high. I have tested daily, using bost API and Red Sea Test kits. Is this thing at Cycling stage yet As? As of today, my numbers are listed below
Nitrate are 50+ (RS)
pH is hovering at 8.0 (Red Sea)
Nitrites over 1 (RS) /2 & 5ppm (API)
Ammonia 0 (RS) 0 for (API)

 

[brandon429]

your cycle is done. the test kits you are using are the source of countless misreads, and that happened here as your first bottle of dr tims worked great, though the kit disagreed. your cycle is 1000% done just like all cycles on this thread:

How to unstick any seemingly stuck cycle

non digital ammonia test kit readings (api, Red Sea, nyos, seachem badges) make you think you aren’t cycled when indeed you are if you owned a $200 expensive seneye meter, you’d never be doubting your cycle status. since .01% of the reefing population owns these, we need a way to help the...

www.reef2reef.com

take time to read that explanation and you will never have a stalled cycle concern for the rest of your reefing career, no reef cycles stall that's something we've been told that makes us buy more bottle bac. the folks who made original cycle rules conveniently left out the info that with nine dollar testers, about 3/4ths of cyclers w have misreads.

 

[jphilip813]

your cycle is done. the test kits you are using are the source of countless misreads, and that happened here as your first bottle of dr tims worked great, though the kit disagreed. your cycle is 1000% done just like all cycles on this thread:

How to unstick any seemingly stuck cycle

non digital ammonia test kit readings (api, Red Sea, nyos, seachem badges) make you think you aren’t cycled when indeed you are if you owned a $200 expensive seneye meter, you’d never be doubting your cycle status. since .01% of the reefing population owns these, we need a way to help the...

www.reef2reef.com

take time to read that explanation and you will never have a stalled cycle concern for the rest of your reefing career, no reef cycles stall that's something we've been told that makes us buy more bottle bac. the folks who made original cycle rules conveniently left out the info that with nine dollar testers, about 3/4ths of cyclers w have misreads.

OMG, I was just reading one of your posts just now regarding stalled cycles...so funny...lol

 

[brandon429]

I think about fifty thousand people have been tricked by the false cycle rules about stuck cycles, and they all bought more bac


this makes infinite vette payments for bottle bac sellers. we're taking it all back lol.

 

[brandon429]

** I spy something else in clues


that rock...that's not bone white rock looking dry

that looks like it showed up wet/was live from the pet store, is that the case

 

[jphilip813]

I think about fifty thousand people have been tricked by the false cycle rules about stuck cycles, and they all bought more bac


this makes infinite vette payments for bottle bac sellers. we're taking it all back lol.

And to think I literally both another set on the way in the mail as we speak (should arrive Thursday)....lol guess what is going back to BRS

 

[jphilip813]

** I spy something else in clues


that rock...that's not bone white rock looking dry

that looks like it showed up wet/was live from the pet store, is that the case

Yep it was directly from the LFS...no need to recreate majic/nature...they see it at the LFS

 

[brandon429]

thats some columbo style troubleshootin'




so in that case above, you did something called a total skip cycle where zero bottle bac was needed. per this thread

(funny the lfs doesnt mind selling the extra bac, right )

 

[brandon429]

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

right now you're googling failed cycle to retro find that example, hoping its from this year at least, and seeing still only more of my diatribe, is that funny or not types of cycles: -dry rock with bottle bac and wait for params to line up, add fish when api permits dry rock and bottle...

www.reef2reef.com

how bad on a scale from 1-10 do our cycle rules need updating, so that folks aren't ripped off?

10~

for kicks, email this thread or post it on facebook to your lfs let's see the response.


When they sell wet cured live rock to folks, it comes with all the bac you'll ever need, and there's literally no where for new bottled bacteria to attach.

*they dont know that because our written rules are designed to make us buy things, only biohacking nerds off the internet know the free truth.

 

[jphilip813]

thats some columbo style troubleshootin'




so in that case above, you did something called a total skip cycle where zero bottle bac was needed. per this thread

(funny the lfs doesnt mind selling the extra bac, right )

Well I went to two different LFS in the area...and just ask for BAC...the second one had no idea what I was doing. But After reading your write-up...lol looks like I helped the local businesses and online vendor waaay more than I needed too...Oh and dont forget Amazon...lol

 

[jphilip813]

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

right now you're googling failed cycle to retro find that example, hoping its from this year at least, and seeing still only more of my diatribe, is that funny or not types of cycles: -dry rock with bottle bac and wait for params to line up, add fish when api permits dry rock and bottle...

www.reef2reef.com

how bad on a scale from 1-10 do our cycle rules need updating, so that folks aren't ripped off?

10~

for kicks, email this thread or post it on facebook to your lfs let's see the response.


When they sell wet cured live rock to folks, it comes with all the bac you'll ever need, and there's literally no where for new bottled bacteria to attach.

*they dont know that because our written rules are designed to make us buy things, only biohacking nerds off the internet know the free truth.

I am really starting to really believe this stuff....but we believe in the quick fix, that it is easy to sell to people like me... "Sell it in a bottle" and I will be first in line to get it, if it means I get to skip a step...;Shamefullyembarrased

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

** I spy something else in clues


that rock...that's not bone white rock looking dry

that looks like it showed up wet/was live from the pet store, is that the case

Came into the comments to ask. That rock doesn't look two weeks wet.

 

[jphilip813]

Came into the comments to ask. That rock doesn't look two weeks wet.

Thats because it is MORE than two weeks wet at my local fish store...I had it close close to two weeks now this Friday coming

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Thats because it is MORE than two weeks wet at my local fish store...I had it close close to two weeks now this Friday coming

I'm aware now after reading and before commenting. Starting with live rock isn't really starting a fishless cycle, as I understand them. You didn't mention live rock in your post so was trying to help you find what is going on. Someone got there first

 

[brandon429]

They sold you rock though that will truly truly help prevent dinos invasion and it’ll be ten times better than white base rock for beginning the microbial chain of life that helps prevent some fish diseases as I’m reading in the fish forum.

 

[jphilip813]

I'm aware now after reading and before commenting. Starting with live rock isn't really starting a fishless cycle, as I understand them. You didn't mention live rock in your post so was trying to help you find what is going on. Someone got there first

No worries...Yeah, started off with Live Sand and and added Live Rock 2 days afterwards...

 

[jphilip813]

No worries...Yeah, started off with Live Sand and and added Live Rock 2 days afterwards...I also added a few large biospheres from my 120g in the back and added one box of the smaller spheres in the Nuvo AIO refugium section.