Fishless cycling w/Dr Tims.. is this normal?

[LivinTheSwreefLife]

Hi, I am doing a fishless cycle for the first time (well, technically was fishless while cycling previous tanks, but always used well established live rock to start so the cycle was pretty much instant). Anyway, I put in my dry rock and live sand, filled the tank with saltwater from rodi mixed to 1.025 sg, and added Dr Tim's, followed by his ammonia product. I measured later that night and ammonia was 2.0 ppm and nitrite 0.0 ppm, so I figured I was off to the right start.

But it's now day 7 and I still have 2.0 ppm ammonia without having added any more since the first day. His instructions keep saying "if ammonia falls below 1 ppm dose more" every day but it never falls. I know things must be working on some level because I have 5 ppm nitrite now, but shouldn't the ammonia have come down already?

Just wanted to see if this was normal... thanks for any insight you can give!

 

[Rick.45cal]

Yes it's pretty normal. Just make sure you don't go and add more ammonium chloride until after the nitrites drop down. That way you don't stall the cycle. Sometimes starting a tank this way can be an exercise in patience. It took a good 8 weeks for my 2 quarantine tanks to cycle this way. Just be patient

 

[LivinTheSwreefLife]

Yes it's pretty normal. Just make sure you don't go and add more ammonium chloride until after the nitrites drop down. That way you don't stall the cycle. Sometimes starting a tank this way can be an exercise in patience. It took a good 8 weeks for my 2 quarantine tanks to cycle this way. Just be patient

Ok thank you that's reassuring!

 

[Xclusive Reef]

Yes it's pretty normal. Just make sure you don't go and add more ammonium chloride until after the nitrites drop down. That way you don't stall the cycle. Sometimes starting a tank this way can be an exercise in patience. It took a good 8 weeks for my 2 quarantine tanks to cycle this way. Just be patient

2 months? i might be mistaken but i thought DR. Tim's is an instant cycle where you can add fish on the 7th or 8th day? just want to clear things up for people starting new tank setups and ready this post..

 

[brandon429]

how have ammonia readings been verified here, have they been verified using a different test kit brand? we like to seek anything but API readings, and then match that sample with a red sea or a salifert. the bottle bac you added in suspension can reduce ammonia in that time, though the surfaces need a month to coat nicely.

Its true there should be some digestion immediately if the live bacteria component was vital and used correctly with the ammox portion...no change is curious and atypical.

 

[lion king]

Did you add any bacteria, like biospiro(highly recommended).

 

[Xclusive Reef]

Hi, I am doing a fishless cycle for the first time (well, technically was fishless while cycling previous tanks, but always used well established live rock to start so the cycle was pretty much instant). Anyway, I put in my dry rock and live sand, filled the tank with saltwater from rodi mixed to 1.025 sg, and added Dr Tim's, followed by his ammonia product. I measured later that night and ammonia was 2.0 ppm and nitrite 0.0 ppm, so I figured I was off to the right start.

But it's now day 7 and I still have 2.0 ppm ammonia without having added any more since the first day. His instructions keep saying "if ammonia falls below 1 ppm dose more" every day but it never falls. I know things must be working on some level because I have 5 ppm nitrite now, but shouldn't the ammonia have come down already?

Just wanted to see if this was normal... thanks for any insight you can give!

how many drops per gallon did you use of the ammonia product? 1 per gallon or 4 per gallon?

 

[LivinTheSwreefLife]

how many drops per gallon did you use of the ammonia product? 1 per gallon or 4 per gallon?

This was months ago, but I followed directions on the bottle and dosed 4 drops per gallon.

What I ended up doing was not seeing the ammonia go down for a few more days, and then got fed up and added Biospora. Tank was cycled 2 days later.

Hope that helps any future readers as my tank has been cycled for a while now :)

 

[Idoc]

What type of live rock did you use? If Pukani (and you didn't cure it first), dead organic materials deep in the rock will start to decompose and elevate your ammonia levels as well...or keep your ammonia levels from looking like they are dropping. When I cured my Pukani, it dumped loads of ammonia the first couple of weeks (as well as phosphates)!

 

[brandon429]

edit seen original post apr 7th