I need some serious help with my cycle

[MrMeanyHead]

ok so quick tank details, it’s a fluval evo 13.5, im running only some filter floss, I have sand and life rock in as well as some biomedia in the back chambers.

So I’ve made some very bad mistakes in cycling this tank already. I messed up my salinity due to not having my refractometer properly calibrated. I’ve since fixed that a few days ago and my salinity is stable. I also overdosed ammonia by squirting it into the tank on accident and I’m pretty sure I killed all the bacteria in my tank.

Now to the actual values, after getting my salinity to stabilize, it’s since been 3 going into 4 days. I have redosed Dr Tim’s, my ammonia has been sitting at 2 ppm, nitrite at 2 ppm, and nitrates at 10. It’s been sitting here for a while even before I fixed my salinity. So I’m at a loss for what to do, any advice would help.

Btw temp is stable.
Here is the rest of my parameters

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Welcome to your new home for saltwater reef aquarium resources and fun! Welcome to the family! :D

 

[code4]

I am pretty sure you didn't kill all the bacteria in your tank. Tanks sometimes go through mini cycles when we add more livestock or rocks. Just let it keep cycling.

If you have livestock in it do a large water change.

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

If your testing methods are accurate, your tank is cycling. you just have not built up enough bacteria to handle the amount of ammonia or "load" that you added. You can't have nitrites or nitrates without nitrifying bacteria. Keeping in mind that the nitrate test also includes nitrites in its results.
Things that can be helpful to help answer you questions are. What test kits are you using ( specifically for each test) and how much ammonia did you add in what concentration?

 

[Airedale Reef]

It actually sounds like you’re still in the middle of a normal cycle rather than completely starting over.

Assuming you don't have any livestock....fishless cycling is basically just building up a bacteria colony that can process ammonia → nitrite → nitrate. Even if things get disrupted, it doesn’t usually mean everything is “dead,” it just means the system may have slowed down or reset a bit.

Right now the main thing to understand is this:

Ammonia at ~2 ppm is plenty for bacteria to feed on
Nitrite showing up (like your 2 ppm) means the first stage is working
Nitrate (10) confirms things are processing through the cycle

So you’re actually not stuck—you’re seeing the cycle happen. : )

What I’d do from here is:

Don’t chase it with more dosing right now. Just let it run and test every couple of days. Here is what I generally follow:

1. Dose ammonium chloride or another clean source of ammonia, so that total ammonia is between 1 and 2 ppm... Even with the salinity issue and the ammonia overdose earlier, bacteria are pretty resilient once they start establishing. You’re more likely seeing a stalled or uneven cycle than a total crash. If you accidentally dose too much, you can perform a water change to bring down the level of ammonia.

2. Wait for total ammonia to drop to 0.25 ppm (if the level of total ammonia goes up, your rocks weren't fully cured, which will add time to this step).

3. Repeat until your rocks can process the dosed ammonia down to 0.25 ppm within 24 hours.

When finished, your tank will have a working biofilter capable of handling a typical initial bio-load.

 

[FrugalReeferJon]

 

[code4]

P.S, welcome to the party.

 

[Mebbid]

Welcome to the party!

As to your problem, tbh I'm not really seeing any issues. High ammonia levels can stall out a cycle rather than reset it but you'd have to be WAY higher than the 2ppm you're showing. It takes time to finish a cycle, over a month in many cases.

If you want to add something more beneficial to your tank to speed up the cycle, I'd suggest a pound or two of live sand from Tampa Bay Saltwater. It takes time to get it harvested and delivered, but it's a great addition to a new tank. It can likely help you get past the ugly stage after the initial cycle as well.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

4 days is a short time for a cycle, a dry rock cycle can take 3-4 weeks, I would just leave the tank alone for a bit until the ammonia drops to zero

 

[vetteguy53081]

 

[vetteguy53081]

ok so quick tank details, it’s a fluval evo 13.5, im running only some filter floss, I have sand and life rock in as well as some biomedia in the back chambers.

So I’ve made some very bad mistakes in cycling this tank already. I messed up my salinity due to not having my refractometer properly calibrated. I’ve since fixed that a few days ago and my salinity is stable. I also overdosed ammonia by squirting it into the tank on accident and I’m pretty sure I killed all the bacteria in my tank.

Now to the actual values, after getting my salinity to stabilize, it’s since been 3 going into 4 days. I have redosed Dr Tim’s, my ammonia has been sitting at 2 ppm, nitrite at 2 ppm, and nitrates at 10. It’s been sitting here for a while even before I fixed my salinity. So I’m at a loss for what to do, any advice would help.

Btw temp is stable.
Here is the rest of my parameters

Disregard nitrites which are freshwater specific and these readings may be false especially if using API tests . I recommend to take a water sample to an LFS that does not use API tests and see what readings they come up with and to compare with yours

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

FWIW, Dr Tim’s is a very slow way to cycle. Fritz Turbo start will process ammonia much faster.

 

[Freenow54]

ok so quick tank details, it’s a fluval evo 13.5, im running only some filter floss, I have sand and life rock in as well as some biomedia in the back chambers.

So I’ve made some very bad mistakes in cycling this tank already. I messed up my salinity due to not having my refractometer properly calibrated. I’ve since fixed that a few days ago and my salinity is stable. I also overdosed ammonia by squirting it into the tank on accident and I’m pretty sure I killed all the bacteria in my tank.

Now to the actual values, after getting my salinity to stabilize, it’s since been 3 going into 4 days. I have redosed Dr Tim’s, my ammonia has been sitting at 2 ppm, nitrite at 2 ppm, and nitrates at 10. It’s been sitting here for a while even before I fixed my salinity. So I’m at a loss for what to do, any advice would help.

Btw temp is stable.
Here is the rest of my parameters

It seems to be ok to me wait it out ammonia should eventually drop according to my own records. Bear in mind you are dealing with a small volume and I have no idea how much rock you have . When mine ( 100 Gallon ) dropped to zero I kept adding ammonia as per my article until Nitrite dropped to zero . I was adding anywhere from 10 to 30 ml at a time every day. Then the final test bring it to 4ppm Ammonia and should be processed in a day. This is from my notes following my fishless cycling article

 

[MrMeanyHead]

Thanks for the help everyone, I’m going to test again today. Just wanted to add that I’ve only dosed ammonia twice. On the day before my graph and then again 5 days in.

I’m just worried because I’ve fixed my salinity, and redosed Dr Tim’s but the ammonia has not moved an inch.

 

[Fish Fan]

Thanks for the help everyone, I’m going to test again today. Just wanted to add that I’ve only dosed ammonia twice. On the day before my graph and then again 5 days in.

I’m just worried because I’ve fixed my salinity, and redosed Dr Tim’s but the ammonia has not moved an inch.

As mentioned above, there's nothing to worry about here

A typical fish-less cycle with Dr. Tim's One and Only takes about 3 weeks give or tank, despite what it may say on the bottle

Don't add any more bacteria or ammonia, just let the bacteria do their thing and watch for the ammonia to drop to ~0.25 ppm on your API test kit, and then you should be good to start slowly adding some hardy livestock.

I hope that helps!

 

[Dom]

ok so quick tank details, it’s a fluval evo 13.5, im running only some filter floss, I have sand and life rock in as well as some biomedia in the back chambers.

So I’ve made some very bad mistakes in cycling this tank already. I messed up my salinity due to not having my refractometer properly calibrated. I’ve since fixed that a few days ago and my salinity is stable. I also overdosed ammonia by squirting it into the tank on accident and I’m pretty sure I killed all the bacteria in my tank.

Now to the actual values, after getting my salinity to stabilize, it’s since been 3 going into 4 days. I have redosed Dr Tim’s, my ammonia has been sitting at 2 ppm, nitrite at 2 ppm, and nitrates at 10. It’s been sitting here for a while even before I fixed my salinity. So I’m at a loss for what to do, any advice would help.

Btw temp is stable.
Here is the rest of my parameters

You could do something called “seeding”.

This is when you take a piece of live rock from an established tank and place it in your new tank.

The existing nitrifying bacteria colony on the piece of seed rock will then populate all the live rock in the tank.

Done.

 

[Freenow54]

I was citing the article I followed . Worked for me . To each his own .