Is my quarantine tank cycled ?

ying yang

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Hi hope all is ok.
Well day 22 of cycling my tank using doctor tims one and only and amnonia chloride
54 litre tank /15 us gallons i believe.

27 march =added 45 drops amnonia
Amnonia 2 ppm ,nitrite/nitrate 0
28 march =same.
29 march= added 20 drops amnonia as amnonia 1 ppm so got it back to 2 ppm,nitite,nitrate 0
30-31 march =amnonia 2-4 ppm also added air stone ,nitrite/nitrate=0
1 April =2 ppm amnonia,nitrite/nitrate 0
2 april=1ppm amnonia,nitrite 0.25.added 10 drops amnonian chloride
3-4 april =no testing
5 april 4ppm amnonia, nitite 2-5 or more,nitrate 5-10
6 april 2-4 ppm amnonia, nitrite 2-5 or morenitrate 5-10
7 april 2 ppm amnonoa.nitrite 2-5 or more.nitrate 5-10
8-9th april =no test.
10 th april=0.5 ppm amnonia.nitrite 2-5 ppm or more.nitrate 10 ppm.
11th=no test.
12th april=0 ppm amnonia.2-5ppm or more nitrite.10 ppm nitrate. Changed 50% water with freshly made salt water sg 1.020
13-14th april=no test
15th april =added 40 drops amnonian chloride/waited 30 minutes whilst mixed in tank and tested amnonia at 2 ppm.to see if could drop to 0 in a 24 hour period which it did drop to 0 in 24 hours.
16-17 april =no test.
18 april ( today ) changed 90-95% water and tested straight away and amnonia 0ppm.nitrite still 2-5ppm or could be higher.was expecting nitrites to be much lower
 

bReefedBaker

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Hi hope all is ok.
Well day 22 of cycling my tank using doctor tims one and only and amnonia chloride
54 litre tank /15 us gallons i believe.

27 march =added 45 drops amnonia
Amnonia 2 ppm ,nitrite/nitrate 0
28 march =same.
29 march= added 20 drops amnonia as amnonia 1 ppm so got it back to 2 ppm,nitite,nitrate 0
30-31 march =amnonia 2-4 ppm also added air stone ,nitrite/nitrate=0
1 April =2 ppm amnonia,nitrite/nitrate 0
2 april=1ppm amnonia,nitrite 0.25.added 10 drops amnonian chloride
3-4 april =no testing
5 april 4ppm amnonia, nitite 2-5 or more,nitrate 5-10
6 april 2-4 ppm amnonia, nitrite 2-5 or morenitrate 5-10
7 april 2 ppm amnonoa.nitrite 2-5 or more.nitrate 5-10
8-9th april =no test.
10 th april=0.5 ppm amnonia.nitrite 2-5 ppm or more.nitrate 10 ppm.
11th=no test.
12th april=0 ppm amnonia.2-5ppm or more nitrite.10 ppm nitrate. Changed 50% water with freshly made salt water sg 1.020
13-14th april=no test
15th april =added 40 drops amnonian chloride/waited 30 minutes whilst mixed in tank and tested amnonia at 2 ppm.to see if could drop to 0 in a 24 hour period which it did drop to 0 in 24 hours.
16-17 april =no test.
18 april ( today ) changed 90-95% water and tested straight away and amnonia 0ppm.nitrite still 2-5ppm or could be higher.was expecting nitrites to be much lower

Tank isn’t completely cycled until you have
0 ammonia
0 nitrite
Trace amounts of Nitrate
 

brandon429

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It’s fully done. Post a pic of your filtration media.

reasons it’s done, from the microbiology of reef tank cycling thread:

Dr Tims takes ten days it’s on the label you’re nearing 3x that duration.

ammonia has dropped, it’s the only param we measure in updated cycling. Recall back in the 90s how if you didn’t have a dsb a reef tank couldn’t work? And nowadays there’s all kinds of reefs


cycling rules are exactly that pliable. Your cycle is done to the degree you have surface area in flow, and based on the stated ammonia movement that’s not just a pvc setup there’s media in line, cycled, to get movement down that fast. Nitrite and nitrate no longer factor due to everyone use tests that vary wildly in accuracy for them, and they’re chemically neutral in the cycle anyway. Ammonia is what burns, we control that we are ready says all reef tank conventions (hundreds of reefs ready, same exact start date, a predicted timeframe cycle completion example)
 

Jay Hemdal

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Hi hope all is ok.
Well day 22 of cycling my tank using doctor tims one and only and amnonia chloride
54 litre tank /15 us gallons i believe.

27 march =added 45 drops amnonia
Amnonia 2 ppm ,nitrite/nitrate 0
28 march =same.
29 march= added 20 drops amnonia as amnonia 1 ppm so got it back to 2 ppm,nitite,nitrate 0
30-31 march =amnonia 2-4 ppm also added air stone ,nitrite/nitrate=0
1 April =2 ppm amnonia,nitrite/nitrate 0
2 april=1ppm amnonia,nitrite 0.25.added 10 drops amnonian chloride
3-4 april =no testing
5 april 4ppm amnonia, nitite 2-5 or more,nitrate 5-10
6 april 2-4 ppm amnonia, nitrite 2-5 or morenitrate 5-10
7 april 2 ppm amnonoa.nitrite 2-5 or more.nitrate 5-10
8-9th april =no test.
10 th april=0.5 ppm amnonia.nitrite 2-5 ppm or more.nitrate 10 ppm.
11th=no test.
12th april=0 ppm amnonia.2-5ppm or more nitrite.10 ppm nitrate. Changed 50% water with freshly made salt water sg 1.020
13-14th april=no test
15th april =added 40 drops amnonian chloride/waited 30 minutes whilst mixed in tank and tested amnonia at 2 ppm.to see if could drop to 0 in a 24 hour period which it did drop to 0 in 24 hours.
16-17 april =no test.
18 april ( today ) changed 90-95% water and tested straight away and amnonia 0ppm.nitrite still 2-5ppm or could be higher.was expecting nitrites to be much lower
I wonder if there is a typo in your post? 2-5 ppm nitrite (with an i) after a 90% water change is unheard of. Nitrate (with an a) can show that, especially with some "slop" in test kits.

Jay
 

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Hi hope all is ok.
Well day 22 of cycling my tank using doctor tims one and only and amnonia chloride
54 litre tank /15 us gallons i believe.

27 march =added 45 drops amnonia
Amnonia 2 ppm ,nitrite/nitrate 0
28 march =same.
29 march= added 20 drops amnonia as amnonia 1 ppm so got it back to 2 ppm,nitite,nitrate 0
30-31 march =amnonia 2-4 ppm also added air stone ,nitrite/nitrate=0
1 April =2 ppm amnonia,nitrite/nitrate 0
2 april=1ppm amnonia,nitrite 0.25.added 10 drops amnonian chloride
3-4 april =no testing
5 april 4ppm amnonia, nitite 2-5 or more,nitrate 5-10
6 april 2-4 ppm amnonia, nitrite 2-5 or morenitrate 5-10
7 april 2 ppm amnonoa.nitrite 2-5 or more.nitrate 5-10
8-9th april =no test.
10 th april=0.5 ppm amnonia.nitrite 2-5 ppm or more.nitrate 10 ppm.
11th=no test.
12th april=0 ppm amnonia.2-5ppm or more nitrite.10 ppm nitrate. Changed 50% water with freshly made salt water sg 1.020
13-14th april=no test
15th april =added 40 drops amnonian chloride/waited 30 minutes whilst mixed in tank and tested amnonia at 2 ppm.to see if could drop to 0 in a 24 hour period which it did drop to 0 in 24 hours.
16-17 april =no test.
18 april ( today ) changed 90-95% water and tested straight away and amnonia 0ppm.nitrite still 2-5ppm or could be higher.was expecting nitrites to be much lower
The nitrate cycle is done. Stop dosing ammonia and put some small fish in there.
 

brandon429

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what we do is change out water for new, the cycle remains stuck to surfaces, and the system is ready. people input high degrees of ammonia sometimes/ starting with clean water as a universal approach is a nice streamlining technique

its not because we think the water has free ammonia still

still monitor the cycle status in qt tanks after completion to make sure meds aren't messing with it but you can always have new filter pads prepping in a separate container of water and dr tims and a pinch of fish food to keep swaps ready if concerned. as I read on the fish disease forum many reefers use prime or other detoxifiers that may skew test results but they wont starve or strip a biofilter...it'd take a direct antibiotic effect to pull that off or tap rinsing as Dan P has showed.
 
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ying yang

ying yang

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20210418_134056.jpg
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Funny thing is had little salt water mix left and tested it and nitrate reading started off blue ( all tests using api master salt water test kit) then went next colour light purple so 0.25 nitrite.use instant ocean salt and 4 stage rodi unit tds 0 etc.
Im no good with technolodgy so have to excuse me sorry.did want post picture then write what it is but just dont know how to.so first showing 0.25 nitrite from salt water mix.mixed 16 hours sg 1.020.then pointing to how much water was left when drained water out so around 5-10% water left in tank then tested tank with 90-95% clean fresh salt water in tank and still getting ( hard to distinguish colours) 2-5ppm nitrite .before water change was dark purple now lighter but still around 2 ppm.then i added 40 drops amnonian chloride to get amnonia back to 2ppm and can see expiry on test kit is 2025 so brand new test kit.then show amnonian chloride and 4 oZ bottle doctor tims one and only.
If by 1 pm tommorrow amnonia is 0 ppm after 24 hours then once again tank can make 2ppm-0 ppm within 24 hour period and as im reading the chloride stops the fish from intaking nitrite and reading only need to know if tank can make amnonia 2ppm down to 0 ppm in 24 hours then your good to add fish.but others say got to get amnonia and nitrite to read 0 ppm after 24 hours.
Filter is internal filter with sponge and 10 plastic balls and doctor tim advised adding marbles or plastic balls like i have in my tank in qt or bb tank as less surface area.hope i provided enough information and be happy hear your opinions thanks
 

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brandon429

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its important to consider that there is a surface area minimum to carry a bioload and qt tanks challenge this whereas display reefs do not

reefers always focus on bacteria, but your bacteria are already in max ability right now given 3x duration from a ten day concentrated cycling mix that's been fed.

that's a very low ammonia read for api, surprised its not higher, that's total proof you are ready as a visual pic. you once had the ammonia higher than that, it moved to that, = all set. nice job not rushing

were you to be using digital testers to determine params, and be out of spec, you'd add more surface area as there's nothing you can do to thicken or add to the current loads on existing surface area.

Reef forums leave out surface area in every cycling challenge and they hyperfocus on bacteria. this is trained.

we will click buy bottled bac instantly and without hesitation anytime api says to. And it says to a Lot
 

Storm Trooper Reefer

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1-2 Gallon a week water change, no more dosing, (stop API) get something like Saliftert for NO3/PO4 (not as likely to have false positives), add first fish and a snail or two, turn on light, see what happens.
 
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ying yang

ying yang

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I wonder if there is a typo in your post? 2-5 ppm nitrite (with an i) after a 90% water change is unheard of. Nitrate (with an a) can show that, especially with some "slop" in test kits.

Jay
No typo i meant nitrite at least 2ppm as showed in pictures 5 and 6.its clearly a dark purple which represents 2ppm unless im colour blind but mrs sees what i see also.in the last 2 weeks nitrites been either 2ppm or 5ppm or maybe higher as test maxed out at 5ppm as 2 or 5 ppm nitite colour card look identical nearly
 

brandon429

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Neat post, that’s enough surface area for a fish in treatment.


see how qt tank either restrict surface area or allocate it to lower flow areas, that’s so key in your pics. All wastewater eddy swirls above and what contacts down low gets nitrified

it will still work but this is a challenge for production facilities where bioload is concentrated. In this case a neat model but not a dangerous setup, that’ll do for quarantine nice job.

a display tank: 4D contact (inside contact included for really porous rock like tonga branch) live rocks jut up into the middle of the water column or as a total wall. The second a fish emits waste its in surface area contact. Then whatever gets down to topical sandbed layer can be handled there if any.


it’s neat how when we focus on surface area we gain more control over filtration than aiming to reinforce existing surfaces.

if you want nitrite and nitrate compliance (not required, this is backsliding compared to how we cycle nowadays, ammonia control is all that matters in 2021 cycling) you’ll need to deal with bioloads meant for quarantining. You are asking for reef display action in a placement restricted quarantine. But since ammonia is all that matters, it’s still good to go. change water and begin using the arrangement
 
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ying yang

ying yang

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It’s fully done. Post a pic of your filtration media.

reasons it’s done, from the microbiology of reef tank cycling thread:

Dr Tims takes ten days it’s on the label you’re nearing 3x that duration.

ammonia has dropped, it’s the only param we measure in updated cycling. Recall back in the 90s how if you didn’t have a dsb a reef tank couldn’t work? And nowadays there’s all kinds of reefs


cycling rules are exactly that pliable. Your cycle is done to the degree you have surface area in flow, and based on the stated ammonia movement that’s not just a pvc setup there’s media in line, cycled, to get movement down that fast. Nitrite and nitrate no longer factor due to everyone use tests that vary wildly in accuracy for them, and they’re chemically neutral in the cycle anyway. Ammonia is what burns, we control that we are ready says all reef tank conventions (hundreds of reefs ready, same exact start date, a predicted timeframe cycle completion example)


Internal filter with sponge and some plastic balls and also maybe 50 plastic balls bottom of tank for extra surface area as per doctor tims recommendation on his speech at macna
 

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ying yang

ying yang

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SG at 1.020? I run mine at 1.026. This is my second go around from years ago, I think 1.020 is to low.

Doctor tim recommended few things whilst cycling and one of them was to lower the salinity so i did. So that bacteria dont have to fight osmosetic pressure as much or something like this
 

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brandon429

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hey seeing that inline canister filter you're now uber set. You have more surface area than most quarantine tanks; they'd only be using the HOB

you truly met every provision water bacteria need. you gave them ample attachment zones, can reef.
 
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ying yang

ying yang

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Ok so few saying ready to buy first fish and quarantine and 1 saying wait till nitrite 0 also.and as nitrite causes no ill effect in salt water its not dangerous so aslong as amnonia 0 ppm tommorrow i be getting fish so thankyou very much.
This picture of diaplay tank which is opposite readings on api test kit ha ha .
Amnonia staying at 1ppm for over a week and nitrite 0.25 ppm.
Dt been running a month now with ghost feeding flakes every other day for a week then started using seachem stability just over 1 week ago and adding some Amnonian chloride few times.wont go into details until later if problem as fish be qt for 1 month so got 1 month to get dt into line.thanks all for advice/opinions
 

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ying yang

ying yang

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1-2 Gallon a week water change, no more dosing, (stop API) get something like Saliftert for NO3/PO4 (not as likely to have false positives), add first fish and a snail or two, turn on light, see what happens.
Ok great thanks will look into changing
 
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