I may be in over my head on this...

[RonnieSimmonz]

I have been wanting to start a reef tank for quite a while now. In fact, around 3 years ago I purchased everything I needed to start an all in one around a Biocube 38. I ended up moving due to work and selling it as a serious steal to some lucky craigslister. Now I am back at it...and I'm not playing around this time. I went all out when deciding what to purchase for my current build. Anyway to the point...

I started the tank about 3 weeks ago and promised myself I would take is slow and not jump the gun on anything. My LFS told me it would be best to use Nutri-SeaWater to kickstart the cycle. Along with that I decided to use Dr Tims One and Only. Last Friday I added the dosage in compliance with the directions, however my ammonia had not come in the mail yet. Last night, when it finally arrived, I dosed my tank with 4 drops per gallon. At the time of adding ammonia, my water parameters were what one would consider nominal. This afternoon when I tested the params again my ammonia had spiked to 8ppm!!! Immediately did a 30% water change to get them down.

Is this drastic of a spike indicative of the whole experience of keeping a nano rather than a larger reef tank?

Specs:
- JBJ RL-20 AIO
- Carribsea life rock
- Carib Sea arago something sand
- AI Prime 16
- Duetto ATO

Water Params:
- Ammonia: 2 ppm
- PH: 8.0
- Nitrite: 2ppm
- 20 ppm

 

[TheWalkingCoral]

I'm new to reefing so tank everything I say with a grain of salt. From my understanding the reason larger tanks are easier is because things tend to dilute and make it easier to manage the larger you go. The main thing between now and your cycle finishing is nothing. I'd argue even stop testing for a week or two now that you have ammonia in there and wait for some diatoms. I'm not sure if high ammonia affects cycling or not. 2.0ppm is normal to dose up to from what I seen.

Is there livestock in the tank?

 

[Kellie in CA]

I've never used ammonia to induce a cycle, so I can't comment on that. But, I've never had a tank over 25 gallons and I've done ok. I rarely dose anything and rely on frequent water changes to keep parameters in check. But, yes, you do need to be careful about anything you add to the tank. The smaller the volume of water, the easier it is to throw something out of whack and cause a domino effect.

 

[ScottJ]

Just let the tank cycle. The ammonia will get processed to nitrite, then that will get processed to nitrate. It'll take time, don't get ahead of yourself. Search this forum, read a lot. There is more information here than you can imagine!

DON'T be putting livestock in till it's cycled, which will take a while! Just look up how to cycle a tank. You will have more success the slower you go!

 

[mike550]

Cycling a tank is probably one of the more nerve wracking things that you need to do. It’s also a pain. But once you’re through it you’ll be fine. @Kellie in CA is right that larger tanks tend to be more tolerant of “mistakes” because of the water volume. But I wouldn’t second guess yourself. Plenty of people have great tanks of all sizes.

Do you have rock or sand in your tank? You need someplace for the bacteria to take hold.

One other suggestion. Welcome to R2R and saltwater reefing! You’ll soon learn that there are many opinions and they may be in conflict with each other. My suggestion is to figure out what’s fact and then work through a solution that makes sense for you. Good luck,

 

[RonnieSimmonz]

Just let the tank cycle. The ammonia will get processed to nitrite, then that will get processed to nitrate. It'll take time, don't get ahead of yourself. Search this forum, read a lot. There is more information here than you can imagine!

DON'T be putting livestock in till it's cycled, which will take a while! Just look up how to cycle a tank. You will have more success the slower you go!

I definitely do not plan on putting any livestock into the tank until I am confident it is cycled. Do you think I made the right choice in performing a water change? 8 ppm seems extremely high given what I have read thus far.

 

[RonnieSimmonz]

Cycling a tank is probably one of the more nerve wracking things that you need to do. It’s also a pain. But once you’re through it you’ll be fine. @Kellie in CA is right that larger tanks tend to be more tolerant of “mistakes” because of the water volume. But I wouldn’t second guess yourself. Plenty of people have great tanks of all sizes.

Do you have rock or sand in your tank? You need someplace for the bacteria to take hold.

One other suggestion. Welcome to R2R and saltwater reefing! You’ll soon learn that there are many opinions and they may be in conflict with each other. My suggestion is to figure out what’s fact and then work through a solution that makes sense for you. Good luck,

I have Carib Sea life rock as well as Carib Sea sand

 

[MarkyMark_]

How many drops of ammonia did you add? Keep in mind, 20 gallons is the maximum capacity of your tank, that doesn't necessarily mean there are 20 gallons of water in it

 

[mike550]

I have Carib Sea life rock as well as Carib Sea sand

Okay then. Now this just takes time.

 

[RonnieSimmonz]

How many drops of ammonia did you add? Keep in mind, 20 gallons is the maximum capacity of your tank, that doesn't necessarily mean there are 20 gallons of water in it

I added 4 drops per gallon and tried to account for the displacement. I figured there were around 15 gallons of actual water in the tank.

 

[ScottJ]

Do you think I made the right choice in performing a water change? 8 ppm seems extremely high given what I have read thus far.

No harm in a water change, but not necessary at this point. 8ppm is a little high, but it will get eaten by BB eventually.

 

[davidcalgary29]

I agree that a water change will likely help. So would live rock, but I understand that you've gone in a different direction. I cycled a 13.5g Evo last December using 'QuickCycl' ammonia at the 4 drop/g dosage, and I think it was too much. With a 25% water change, 11 pounds of live rock, and a bottle of Dr. Tim's that aquarium cycled in ten days.

I started a 40g IM Fusion at the same time with the same ammonia dosage, but used MicroBacter XLM, didn't do a water chanage, and had significantly less live rock (but it still amounted to the same weight). That tank took a month to cycle.

 

[Oldreefer44]

One of the more difficult things to do is to let nature take its course versus trying to "help" things along. Lack of patience has been the source of failure for many a new hobbyist. Often the best course of action is to do nothing. As others have said, regardless of the amount of ammonia present now, it will eventually cycle away and will do no harm as long as no fauna is added until it is finished.