More shrimp?

[SaltyCrabs]

Started my cycle 6 days ago added 1 large shrimp and been dosing microbacter 7 daily. Ammonia level is only .25 Should I add more shrimp to try to get up to 2.0?

 

[Jekyl]

I would just be patient. See where you're at after the bottle is finished. No harm comes from being patient. Rushing is where you'll have issues in this hobby.

 

[Suohhen]

Started my cycle 6 days ago added 1 large shrimp and been dosing microbacter 7 daily. Ammonia level is only .25 Should I add more shrimp to try to get up to 2.0?

If your targeting a specific ammonia level it is better to just dose. Ace Hardware sells ammonia which is free from soap, dye, or anything else that'll hurt your tank. They call it janitors ammonia, or ammonia smell, it smells very strongly of ammonia and you only need to use a few ml

 

[neonreef3d]

Started my cycle 6 days ago added 1 large shrimp and been dosing microbacter 7 daily. Ammonia level is only .25 Should I add more shrimp to try to get up to 2.0?

Why not just use DR Tim's one and only live bacteria and purchase with ammonia bottle

 

[Suohhen]

I can be more specific that a lot of the bacteria tends to build up on the shrimp itself so you may not see much rise in ammonia but it will definitely still cause a cycle and can take quite a while to consume the whole shrimp. This is just an antiquated way to do it imo since dosing is more controlled and whole I agree with Jekyl that patience is always the best practice in this hobby it is good to have the supplies and skills to be able to quickly get a qt tank up and running at any time.

 

[vetteguy53081]

When cycling with shrimp, leave the shrimp in the tank for 72 hours. That's it.
It may even visibly rot, or envelope in some type of mucous. That's what needs to happen. As the shrimp rots, ammonia is released into the water, and bacteria is growing exponentially, spreading into the substrate. The water may even look a little cloudy, which is totally normal and nothing to be concerned about. After three days, remove the shrimp and throw it away. It is no longer needed. Test for ammonia and see what it measures. It should read at the very least 1ppm, or higher.
Test the aquarium daily for Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate, logging the information on graph paper or perhaps in a spreadsheet or app. The more data points you collect over time will graph the rise and fall of each of these parameters. No livestock of any kind should be placed in the aquarium as long as you have any measurable traces of ammonia or nitrite because these are toxic to fish and invertebrates. Start planning what you'll want to put in your aqurium while you have a few weeks to wait. There's no reason to rush this process. A good solid foundation will benefit your future reef and handle the bioload adequately.

 

[SaltyCrabs]

When cycling with shrimp, leave the shrimp in the tank for 72 hours. That's it.
It may even visibly rot, or envelope in some type of mucous. That's what needs to happen. As the shrimp rots, ammonia is released into the water, and bacteria is growing exponentially, spreading into the substrate. The water may even look a little cloudy, which is totally normal and nothing to be concerned about. After three days, remove the shrimp and throw it away. It is no longer needed. Test for ammonia and see what it measures. It should read at the very least 1ppm, or higher.
Test the aquarium daily for Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate, logging the information on graph paper or perhaps in a spreadsheet or app. The more data points you collect over time will graph the rise and fall of each of these parameters. No livestock of any kind should be placed in the aquarium as long as you have any measurable traces of ammonia or nitrite because these are toxic to fish and invertebrates. Start planning what you'll want to put in your aqurium while you have a few weeks to wait. There's no reason to rush this process. A good solid foundation will benefit your future reef and handle the bioload adequately.

The shrimp has been in there 6 days. Getting some stringyness to it. Been measuring ammonia every day. Today ammonia was measured at .25 The tank is 150G with 30G sump roughly.

 

[vetteguy53081]

The shrimp has been in there 6 days. Getting some stringyness to it. Been measuring ammonia every day. Today ammonia was measured at .25 The tank is 150G with 30G sump roughly.

Sounds very low. Are you using API test kit by chance ?

 

[SaltyCrabs]

Sounds very low. Are you using API test kit by chance ?

No salifert

 

[SaltyCrabs]

No salifert

Checked ammonia today,looks like it crept up to .50. Maybe it is just going to take a little longer do to the volume of water. I am use to running a 30G cube