parameter checks during cycle

[Noah Hemingway]

What do you test for everyday during a cycle? I have been testing Salinity, ammonia, nitrites & nitrates everyday and PH/Temp every other day! What else should I be measuring during my cycle?

 

[SteveG_inDC]

Early in the cycle you mainly want to test ammonia and nitrite. Nitrate tests are sometimes inaccurate in the presence of nitrites. Once you levels of ammonia and nitrite come down you'll want to test nitrate just to confirm that the cycle was completed.

If you are doing a fishless cycle, then temp, pH, and salinity are not that important to monitor except to make sure your setup is stable enough to introduce critters. So if those parameters are swinging around you want to fix that, definitely before you add inverts, since they are more sensitive. I keep my salinity lower than usual and temp higher than usual during the cycle. In fact, I just finished cycling a tank and am dialing in those parameters before I move my first fish from QT (once I install a cover to prevent jumping).

By the way, temp should be a matter of leaving a probe in the water, so that's just a given. pH and salinity are also easy to test, so by all means monitor them if you have the gear, if nothing else than to make sure your testing/monitoring gear is working and calibrated.

 

[Noah Hemingway]

Early in the cycle you mainly want to test ammonia and nitrite. Nitrate tests are sometimes inaccurate in the presence of nitrites. Once you levels of ammonia and nitrite come down you'll want to test nitrate just to confirm that the cycle was completed.

If you are doing a fishless cycle, then temp, pH, and salinity are not that important to monitor except to make sure your setup is stable enough to introduce critters. So if those parameters are swinging around you want to fix that, definitely before you add inverts, since they are more sensitive. I keep my salinity lower than usual and temp higher than usual during the cycle. In fact, I just finished cycling a tank and am dialing in those parameters before I move my first fish from QT (once I install a cover to prevent jumping).

By the way, temp should be a matter of leaving a probe in the water, so that's just a given. pH and salinity are also easy to test, so by all means monitor them if you have the gear, if nothing else than to make sure your testing/monitoring gear is working and calibrated.

Yes I have a probe in the water, I just log all my results into graphs - Thanks

 

[PghReef]

Salinity maybe weekly to make sure it's not drifting.
Forget about the ph
Ammonia nitrite and nitrate every few days until the cycles complete. As stated above with nitrite your nitrate will read off the charts high.
Alk and ca after cycle is complete before adding critters

 

[Noah Hemingway]

Salinity maybe weekly to make sure it's not drifting.
Forget about the ph
Ammonia nitrite and nitrate every few days until the cycles complete. As stated above with nitrite your nitrate will read off the charts high.
Alk and ca after cycle is complete before adding critters

Thanks!

 

[Gort]

.. I keep my salinity lower than usual and temp higher than usual during the cycle. In fact, I just finished cycling a tank and am dialing in those parameters before I move my first fish from QT (once I install a cover to prevent jumping).

By the way, temp should be a matter of leaving a probe in the water, so that's just a given. pH and salinity are also easy to test, so by all means monitor them if you have the gear, if nothing else than to make sure your testing/monitoring gear is working and calibrated.

Hey @SteveG_inDC - why do you keep salinity lower and temp higher? Asking cuz I'm getting ready to start a dry rock cycle. Curious how tight I need to keep the salinity

 

[Azedenkae]

Hey @SteveG_inDC - why do you keep salinity lower and temp higher? Asking cuz I'm getting ready to start a dry rock cycle. Curious how tight I need to keep the salinity

Dr. Tim suggests that the nitrifiers we want to cultivate grow faster at lower salinities and higher temperatures. So some people cycle that way.

Keeping salinity 'tight' is not super important, so long as it is not outside of the range at which the nitrifiers can grow.