New tank- ATM Colony query.

[Lukeva]

Hi all,

I appreciate this might have been asked before, and I have searched the threads but would like some help. I set up a 230ltr tank with 180ltr display a few weeks ago. I added 20kg live rock and live sand (with bottle type bacteria). It did a very small quick cycle I guess from die off. I added Prodibio Start Up as per the instructions; 2 days later added 2 small clowns as all parameters were good.

The fish have been in 11 days and are feeding well, lively etc. There was a small spike in ammonia up to about 0.25ppm a day after adding the fish but it is back to <0.25ppm. Nitrites went up to 0.6ppm a few days later and didn't come down, nitrates are about 3ppm. 2 days ago I added the correct amount of Colony and turned the skimmer off. I have fed very lightly mysis as fish are juvenile.

The nitrite is still about 0.4ppm although it does look fainter, maybe 0.3ppm; using JBL kit.

My question is will the Colony work as I didn't use it before adding the fish when all parameters were zero? Do I just need to be patient or should I add another couple of small fish and CUC? I have diatoms starting.

Current parameters:

NH4 <0.25ppm
NO2 0.4ppm
NO3 3ppm
PO4 <0.02
Alk 7Dh
Salinity 1.024

If anybody has good knowledge of Colony please help, I have some more left I can add.

 

[ReefRusty]

Just leave it and let it ride it course. Live rock and sand you have complete the cycle if it was wet when you bought it. Dont worry about you Nitrite levels. Main ones are your Nitrate and ammonia.

The ammonia might be a false reading and under 0.25 its not a concern as Im sure it will be 0

 

[Lukeva]

Just leave it and let it ride it course. Live rock and sand you have complete the cycle if it was wet when you bought it. Dont worry about you Nitrite levels. Main ones are your Nitrate and ammonia.

The ammonia might be a false reading and under 0.25 its not a concern as Im sure it will be 0

Thanks for the reassurance, yes ammonia doesn't seem to be a problem. Do you think another small fish would help the ATM Colony feed?

 

[brandon429]

agreed to call. cease any testing for cycle its done and locked.

focus 100% of attention on fish disease preps from the fish disease forum. that's next challenge

adding a small fish or not wont matter, the cycle is done, no new additions needed, nothing to consider about your cycle left. you'd add fish after checking out the disease forum to see what they're bringing in/get ready for loss tests unrelated to cycling

your cycle is completely done, everything you've read about the old rules has been updated as they're really just selling us bottle bac over and over, you already paid for bacteria w the live rock. the tests you are using aren't super accurate, they're entry level kits and due to the time in state we already know how your cycle has progressed because you gave us the time line portion of a cycling chart, your stated param measures weren't factored as accurate. that's everyone's api cycle not just yours...the overall # of days underwater sets the rule and then the skip cycle from live rock was icing on the cake. ready day 1

 

[Lukeva]

agreed to call. cease any testing for cycle its done and locked.

focus 100% of attention on fish disease preps from the fish disease forum. that's next challenge

adding a small fish or not wont matter, the cycle is done, no new additions needed, nothing to consider about your cycle left. you'd add fish after checking out the disease forum to see what they're bringing in/get ready for loss tests unrelated to cycling

your cycle is completely done, everything you've read about the old rules has been updated as they're really just selling us bottle bac over and over, you already paid for bacteria w the live rock. the tests you are using aren't super accurate, they're entry level kits and due to the time in state we already know how your cycle has progressed because you gave us the time line portion of a cycling chart, your stated param measures weren't factored as accurate. that's everyone's api cycle not just yours...the overall # of days underwater sets the rule and then the s

agreed to call. cease any testing for cycle its done and locked.

focus 100% of attention on fish disease preps from the fish disease forum. that's next challenge

adding a small fish or not wont matter, the cycle is done, no new additions needed, nothing to consider about your cycle left. you'd add fish after checking out the disease forum to see what they're bringing in/get ready for loss tests unrelated to cycling

your cycle is completely done, everything you've read about the old rules has been updated as they're really just selling us bottle bac over and over, you already paid for bacteria w the live rock. the tests you are using aren't super accurate, they're entry level kits and due to the time in state we already know how your cycle has progressed because you gave us the time line portion of a cycling chart, your stated param measures weren't factored as accurate. that's everyone's api cycle not just yours...the overall # of days underwater sets the rule and then the skip cycle from live rock was icing on the cake. ready day 1

kip cycle from live rock was icing on the cake. ready day 1

agreed to call. cease any testing for cycle its done and locked.

focus 100% of attention on fish disease preps from the fish disease forum. that's next challenge

adding a small fish or not wont matter, the cycle is done, no new additions needed, nothing to consider about your cycle left. you'd add fish after checking out the disease forum to see what they're bringing in/get ready for loss tests unrelated to cycling

your cycle is completely done, everything you've read about the old rules has been updated as they're really just selling us bottle bac over and over, you already paid for bacteria w the live rock. the tests you are using aren't super accurate, they're entry level kits and due to the time in state we already know how your cycle has progressed because you gave us the time line portion of a cycling chart, your stated param measures weren't factored as accurate. that's everyone's api cycle not just yours...the overall # of days underwater sets the rule and then the skip cycle from live rock was icing on the cake. ready day 1

Thanks- will add another small fish- Royal Gramma and CUC

 

[brandon429]

Reef Rusty has it right, agreed.


what I like to relay about updated cycling science is we simply have on-time start dates now.


there isn't a mid-slope where the tank carries only some life

once you show up with wet rocks/already cycled or once you dose bac to dry systems and meet the dates on the label, those are carrying pretty much the same bioloads across all reef tanks we can source out so many thousands of cycling new tanks here just to check the outcome patterns on their updates.


old cycling science was all about the #1 concern that bacteria were not ready, or were half-alive but its just not like that we know now and mainly due to meters like seneye. that's the first or second in a generation of digital devices that show absolute precision free ammonia readings, we know that bottle bac are actively able to instantly handle fish tanks in dry setups due to seneye testing, and we know for certain any degree of live rock transferred from another tank absolutely confers the full complement needed to the tank, without wait.

anytime there's a concern that someones bottle bac was dead/inert we can look for any degree of ability to move ammonia...when that ability is spread out among common sand and rocks surface area, its a powerful collective filter and it will run any common starting bioload you can think of.

that's the handiest summary imo of the cycling changes in the last ten years. its about knowing the exact date we can load up on bioload, when disease is factored of course.

your specific allowable start date was the date you set that many pounds of wet rock into the tank