Nitrates

[AdamG280]

So I’ve been cycling my tank with fish and a coral and adding nitrifying bacteria for 8 weeks now. I tested the ammonia: 0, tested the nitrites: 0, but my nitrates also look like 0. Granted, I’m using the API tests with the test tubes and I have a Hanna nitrate tester coming today, but I kind of want to put in some macroalgae. How long do you think it will take to build up some nitrates to support that?

 

[AdamG280]

Why are you cycling with fish and corals in the tank? Why do you expect corals to thrive in a new tank? Why are you going so fast? What kind of rock did you start with? How many gallons is the tank?

API test kits are tricky to get consistent results with, but if you are performing the tests as prescribed, they should be good enough in the early stages.

If you want, post a full tank shot (FTS). It can be very helpful information. Here is my recent FTS.

Oh. I read that clowns would be ok during a cycle. I don’t have the time to do the one where you add your own ammonia. It seems complicated. I have one coral, and it is thriving. Last time I cycled a reef tank I used the shrimp method and it was gross. So the tank is cycled and everything seems ok, but I’ll be waiting to add anything else. I think adding too many things at once messed up my last tank. I’ll probably wait 6 months to add anything else. It’s a nano 12 gallon. I did not start with live rock this time. I used it last time and I got all kind of weird things along with it and some kind of sulfurous white slime that was impossible to eradicate. The only reason I checked the nitrites and ammonia was to make sure the lack of nitrates wasn’t due to it not being cycled. My latest nitrate test showed less than 5 ppm but at least more than 0. I’m still waiting on the Hanna nitrate kit to check for a more exact measurement. I sent back the LR nitrate kit in exchange for the HR one. The tank is very clean. I just have a bit of cyano, but I just scrape it off the glass and the UV sterilizer and filter sock seem to take care of it.

 

[jabberwock]

Oh. I read that clowns would be ok during a cycle. I don’t have the time to do the one where you add your own ammonia. It seems complicated. I have one coral, and it is thriving. Last time I cycled a reef tank I used the shrimp method and it was gross. So the tank is cycled and everything seems ok, but I’ll be waiting to add anything else. I think adding too many things at once messed up my last tank. I’ll probably wait 6 months to add anything else. It’s a nano 12 gallon. I did not start with live rock this time. I used it last time and I got all kind of weird things along with it and some kind of sulfurous white slime that was impossible to eradicate. The only reason I checked the nitrites and ammonia was to make sure the lack of nitrates wasn’t due to it not being cycled. My latest nitrate test showed less than 5 ppm but at least more than 0. I’m still waiting on the Hanna nitrate kit to check for a more exact measurement. I sent back the LR nitrate kit in exchange for the HR one. The tank is very clean. I just have a bit of cyano, but I just scrape it off the glass and the UV sterilizer and filter sock seem to take care of it.

A pair of clowns in a 12 gallon is too much in my opinion. They may be ok while they are small, but they will get bigger. You should not add any more fish to such a small tank.

They may also survive the cycle but will likely suffer irreparable damage to their health, and not live very long.

If you don't have the time to do it correctly, you are just throwing away your money. Sorry if that is harsh. I wish you the best of luck.

 

[Lavey29]

A pair of clowns in a 12 gallon is too much in my opinion. They may be ok while they are small, but they will get bigger. You should not add any more fish to such a small tank.

They may also survive the cycle but will likely suffer irreparable damage to their health, and not live very long.

If you don't have the time to do it correctly, you are just throwing away your money. Sorry if that is harsh. I wish you the best of luck.

Agree, cycling with fish is cruel and inhumane to the animals and certainly may cause damage to them. 12g is like 7g with rocks so 2 clowns will probably not do well long term there at all.

 

[AdamG280]

Agree, cycling with fish is cruel and inhumane to the animals and certainly may cause damage to them. 12g is like 7g with rocks so 2 clowns will probably not do well long term there at all.

There’s so much contradictory information out there. It’s hard to know what’s true and what isn’t. They survived the cycle. A Google search indicated that dosing nitrifying bacteria would mean there would never be an ammonia spike. I think if I ever have to cycle again, I’ll go back to the shrimp method. It takes a while but at least nothing would be harmed and I wouldn’t have to rush the process by dosing ammonia, which I’m sure I’d screw up somehow.

 

[Lavey29]

There’s so much contradictory information out there. It’s hard to know what’s true and what isn’t. They survived the cycle. A Google search indicated that dosing nitrifying bacteria would mean there would never be an ammonia spike. I think if I ever have to cycle again, I’ll go back to the shrimp method. It takes a while but at least nothing would be harmed and I wouldn’t have to rush the process by dosing ammonia, which I’m sure I’d screw up somehow.

Not shrimp just get a small bottle of ammonia and a bottle of nitrifying bacteria. 2 weeks later the tank is cycling. Your tank is fine now but we're the fish gills harmed? Time will tell.

 

[Pridedcloth3]

Not shrimp just get a small bottle of ammonia and a bottle of nitrifying bacteria. 2 weeks later the tank is cycling. Your tank is fine now but we're the fish gills harmed? Time will tell.

As long as he did it right everything is fine. I've done fish in cycles from day one and never had issues. To add when it comes to fish in cycling clowns are the staple for it because they tank it so well. You can have your opinion but numbers don't lie. Also adding coral to day one isn't uncommon anymore because coral brings various types of bacteria with them. Not long ago I posted my pavona which was a day one coral and had not only survived but outgrown and lasted longer than any coral around it, even surviving a temperature crash that wipped out 98% of my tank with the pavona sps being the 2%. Not trying to pick a fight but you're scolding the guy with a bias.

 

[Lavey29]

As long as he did it right everything is fine. I've done fish in cycles from day one and never had issues. To add when it comes to fish in cycling clowns are the staple for it because they tank it so well. You can have your opinion but numbers don't lie. Also adding coral to day one isn't uncommon anymore because coral brings various types of bacteria with them. Not long ago I posted my pavona which was a day one coral and had not only survived but outgrown and lasted longer than any coral around it, even surviving a temperature crash that wipped out 98% of my tank with the pavona sps being the 2%. Not trying to pick a fight but you're scolding the guy with a bias.

No just offering my opinion. Modern advances have made fish cycles unnecessary. That's a simple fact now.

 

[Pridedcloth3]

No just offering my opinion. Modern advances have made fish cycles unnecessary. That's a simple fact now.

Spending money on something you get free could also be considered unnecessary

 

[Lavey29]

Spending money on something you get free could also be considered unnecessary

Well there are those in the hobby and then there are true hobbyists who put the well being of their aquatic animals as a "necessary " high priority.

 

[CHSUB]

No just offering my opinion. Modern advances have made fish cycles unnecessary. That's a simple fact now.

Is it your “opinion” or “simple fact now” those are two different concepts…

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Dinoflagellates have no greater ability to survive in a low nutrient environment than any other algae or plant. Cyanobacteria have an ability to fix n2 but not dinoflagellates.

What’s the evidence of that?

I think it is a very viable explanation with no evidence to the contrary.

 

[Lavey29]

Is it your “opinion” or “simple fact now” those are two different concepts…

It's my opinion based on the "simple fact" that their have been advancements in the hobby over what was the norm many years ago. So your post is not really making any common sense at all unfortunately but keep trying.

 

[CHSUB]

What’s the evidence of that?

K. brevis is a dinoflagellate without nutrients it dies, Trichodesmium, a Cyano is more capable of survival in low nutrient conditions. Imo this can be applied to “glass box science”…

On the other hand, ocean-dwelling, blue-green algae species in the groups Trichodesmium and Synechococcus have been studied for their potential roles in Karenia brevis (Florida red tide) ecology. Trichodesmium forms extensive blooms offshore and “fixes” nitrogen into a more useable form. It is hypothesized that, as these bloom die and decay, they can provide nutrients to a developing K. brevis bloom. Ocean-dwelling species of Synechococcus can be a food source for some microscopic algae, and lab studies by others have suggested they have the potential to nourish K. brevis.

 

[CHSUB]

It's my opinion based on the "simple fact" that there have been advancements in the hobby over what was the norm many years ago. So your post is not really making any common sense at all unfortunately but keep trying.

Keep trying what? You make statements about absolutes in a hobby…your opinion is fact?? Why is it a fact that “cycling” with fish is cruel? You further suggest people are poor hobbyists if they disagree with your “opinion facts”?

 

[Lavey29]

Keep trying what? You make statements about absolutes in a hobby…your opinion is fact?? Why is it a fact that “cycling” with fish is cruel? You further suggest people are poor hobbyists if they disagree with your “opinion facts”?

You appear to be lacking in some comprehension skills relating to my posts so I will respectfully decline to comment further here.

OP I wish you success with your new tank.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

K. brevis is a dinoflagellate without nutrients it dies, Trichodesmium, a Cyano is more capable of survival in low nutrient conditions. Imo this can be applied to “glass box science”…

On the other hand, ocean-dwelling, blue-green algae species in the groups Trichodesmium and Synechococcus have been studied for their potential roles in Karenia brevis (Florida red tide) ecology. Trichodesmium forms extensive blooms offshore and “fixes” nitrogen into a more useable form. It is hypothesized that, as these bloom die and decay, they can provide nutrients to a developing K. brevis bloom. Ocean-dwelling species of Synechococcus can be a food source for some microscopic algae, and lab studies by others have suggested they have the potential to nourish K. brevis.

Nothing there says that the theory of why dinos become pest at low nutrients and become less of a pest at higher nutrient levels is not perfectly valid.

 

[CHSUB]

You appear to be lacking in some comprehension skills

Now to insults… another “opinion fact”?

 

[CHSUB]

Nothing there says that the theory of why dinos become pest at low nutrients and become less of a pest at higher nutrient levels is not perfectly valid.

true…

”theory of why dinos become pest at low nutrients and become less of a pest at higher nutrient levels”, …since I don’t bother to determine exactly what kind of algae I remove, I have no real feeling whether this is true or not, however it’s not how I would solve an algae problem.

 

[jabberwock]

Keep trying what? You make statements about absolutes in a hobby…your opinion is fact?? Why is it a fact that “cycling” with fish is cruel? You further suggest people are poor hobbyists if they disagree with your “opinion facts”?

Cycling with fish in is cruel.

 

[CHSUB]

Cycling with fish in is cruel.

Why?