Hi guys,
ok so I’ll put down what I’ve did and where I am and you guys can suggest what I should do as I’m confused and unsure now.
about 7 weeks ago I setup my tank. I used Tim’s ammonia in a bottle (which I overdosed a bit accidentally) my LFS who guided me through all of this didn’t give me bacteria he just gave me the ammonia so I wasn’t off to a great start but after a week or so I went and purchased two big bottles £140 worth of bacteria has been put into this tank because the ammonia was so high and just refused to come down.
I’ve had my water tested weekly for ammonia it started with the sera kit as extremely dark and blue/green which is the highest it can read. Now it’s testing light/dark green which is in the middle like 5mg/l.
I’ve gotten matured rock from LFS several times to try and introduce more bacteria to speed this up. I’ve got live rock and live sand also in the tank.
I went to LFS yesterday and he said it should have come way down by now so he said he would give me two drums of water from his marine tanks in the shop which he did so last night I siphoned out 20 litres or so and refilled with his water.
I’m just feeling at a loss with this I know patience is key but it’s taking forever and the ammonia and nitrites are high I wish the ammonia would just drop down. I used my low range Hanna checker to test nitrates I have 5ppm + nitrates too so I’m assuming the bacteria is converting ?
In the last 4 days diatoms have appeared also so I’m not sure if this is a good thing. He said to give it 3-5 days after introducing his water and mature rock he said it should work.
he also told me at the start the coral in the middle (frogspawn) wouldn’t die and would be ok to be put in the tank.. funnily enough it’s not as it’s almost fully retracted now.
the mature rock he gave me yesterday has two Kenya trees attached to it surprisingly they are up and swaying around looking fine.
should I wait this out or ? Anyone got any advice I’d really appreciate it.
thanks for reading this giant story.
It takes time and no two tanks are the same so saying "this will take X many days" is meh.
If you are getting diatoms and such then it is getting closer.
Your Nitrates will generally not drop in a new tank, you need to do a water change to drop those after cycle.
You don't add ammonia to actual live rock... I mean LIVE not dry rock they called live. The ammonia is just harmful to small creatures on it.
Kenya trees are a lot more hardy then a frogspawn, you should not cycle with coral, especially not LPS/SPS
I would never add LFS water to a tank, you are just adding dirty water, it doesn't contain a ton of bacteria. It is sort of like adding fish tank toilet water.
slythy
Well-Known Member
Hes got live rock and live sand which should be enough, more than likely its just rock from the LFS thats been seeded but it should still be enough. I agree im sure most decisions were probably based on info from the LFS. The coral should have waited for sure but after a big water change and making sure salinity is good hes ready for his first fish.
Lavey29
10K Club member
Totally agree with this but now we are OG reefers...lolI think that we're all impatient at the beginning
+1 Bad advice from the LFS
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When I’ve hung my hat on my experience my hat rack inevitably falls over. Patience is as important in the hobby as humility.
“The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know” (Einstein)
“The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know” (Einstein)
I wish you'd do something Sean that will contribute to cycling science, and if you do this trick I'll link this thread to #1 first example view in our 33 page cycle analysis thread.
It'll be the first example readers see of false stall science but in a good way that helps aquarists gain absolute confidence in when you can start reefing from a cycling setup
Your tank legit meets the old rule set standard of stalled, broken cycle, so it's a worthy study. Its why fish tank pros at lfs are stumbling, legit. Anyone who does not practice testless cycling will never believe your tank was fully cycled by compound action for a while now, confirmed by one obvious / certain / glaring standout blanketing detail from that pic
A detail from your picture is actually the most solid proof of cycle completion you'll ever see without needing a test kit, but we should proof the claim first this time.
*you cannot make your tank safer for fish by waiting any longer. Your fish safety is now 100% linked to your acclimation habits when adding fish, and then how you're prepping for disease or not in your fish stock design
Your tank is the best example I've seen recently of a false stall, due to the conflict again from a non digital ammonia test contrasted by an absolute proof of completed cycle seen in the posted tank picture.
Testless cycling science rules apply here, you have benthic markers that are only present in fully cycled tanks, running ammonia levels in the above tank shot is .002-.007~ ppm nh3 if a seneye was plugged into that test water.
Notice you're reporting 1-2 ppm ammonia
And I'm saying specifically your ammonia is in between .002-.007 ppm ammonia *as nh3* not as nh4 specifically due to a certain detail in your opening tank shot... this discrepancy is what we're about to test.
Please see the instructions on the test kit you have and change your report levels to nh3, are you still reading 1-2 ppm?
You are reporting your ammonia as nh4, that's part of your testing issue. We only care about nh3 in reefing
Nh4 reporting is for freshwater.
If the fish you're about to buy and add right into the tank dies then it's my fault and you are not guilty of the heinous crime
Go to a fish store and buy whatever common fish you want to initially stock, a clownfish/a goby for example
Bring home and net out of the bag, place directly into the tank above. Take pics, watch how it acts normal as soon as you add it
Let's give it a day or two, no fish will live and act normal in 1-2 ppm ammonia water, he'll writhe and twist and die a horrible doom and they'll drum me out of cycleville.
But if that fish lives then I get #1 example earned for visual benthic cue cycling verification where we already know your exact ammonia range based on a single tank picture + your number of days this reef has had water.
*agreed water change is what we normally do but there's a reason I want to skip that here for this job.
Let's apply updated cycling science to this actual water column. Please plop a fish in this reef
Brandon
It'll be the first example readers see of false stall science but in a good way that helps aquarists gain absolute confidence in when you can start reefing from a cycling setup
Your tank legit meets the old rule set standard of stalled, broken cycle, so it's a worthy study. Its why fish tank pros at lfs are stumbling, legit. Anyone who does not practice testless cycling will never believe your tank was fully cycled by compound action for a while now, confirmed by one obvious / certain / glaring standout blanketing detail from that pic
A detail from your picture is actually the most solid proof of cycle completion you'll ever see without needing a test kit, but we should proof the claim first this time.
*you cannot make your tank safer for fish by waiting any longer. Your fish safety is now 100% linked to your acclimation habits when adding fish, and then how you're prepping for disease or not in your fish stock design
Your tank is the best example I've seen recently of a false stall, due to the conflict again from a non digital ammonia test contrasted by an absolute proof of completed cycle seen in the posted tank picture.
Testless cycling science rules apply here, you have benthic markers that are only present in fully cycled tanks, running ammonia levels in the above tank shot is .002-.007~ ppm nh3 if a seneye was plugged into that test water.
Notice you're reporting 1-2 ppm ammonia
And I'm saying specifically your ammonia is in between .002-.007 ppm ammonia *as nh3* not as nh4 specifically due to a certain detail in your opening tank shot... this discrepancy is what we're about to test.
Please see the instructions on the test kit you have and change your report levels to nh3, are you still reading 1-2 ppm?
You are reporting your ammonia as nh4, that's part of your testing issue. We only care about nh3 in reefing
Nh4 reporting is for freshwater.
If the fish you're about to buy and add right into the tank dies then it's my fault and you are not guilty of the heinous crime
Go to a fish store and buy whatever common fish you want to initially stock, a clownfish/a goby for example
Bring home and net out of the bag, place directly into the tank above. Take pics, watch how it acts normal as soon as you add it
Let's give it a day or two, no fish will live and act normal in 1-2 ppm ammonia water, he'll writhe and twist and die a horrible doom and they'll drum me out of cycleville.
But if that fish lives then I get #1 example earned for visual benthic cue cycling verification where we already know your exact ammonia range based on a single tank picture + your number of days this reef has had water.
*agreed water change is what we normally do but there's a reason I want to skip that here for this job.
Let's apply updated cycling science to this actual water column. Please plop a fish in this reef
Brandon
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I'm impressed by folks ready to add fish and not 100% trust the cycle is broken
I thought testing the actual water in question against updated cycling science with potential failure or success outcome not known makes for a far better test of updated cycling science
The reason we aren't carefully floating your fish in acclimation for hours again is because that isn't ideal acclimation. That allows for ammonia issues within the holding bag, your tank is in safe zone ammonia right now, so setting your display to any normal salinity and then netting over any common starter fish is much better acclimation.
I thought testing the actual water in question against updated cycling science with potential failure or success outcome not known makes for a far better test of updated cycling science
The reason we aren't carefully floating your fish in acclimation for hours again is because that isn't ideal acclimation. That allows for ammonia issues within the holding bag, your tank is in safe zone ammonia right now, so setting your display to any normal salinity and then netting over any common starter fish is much better acclimation.
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