Saltwater tank won't cycle

[easton96]

Hello! I started my tank about 3 weeks ago. I bought water from my local fish store and added Dr. Tims Ammonia and One and Only. My ammonia wont come down from around 6ppm. I cannot raise my Nitrite and Nitrates around 0 so i know it isnt cycling. I also have a PH of 6.5-7. I have tried adding PH+ and still no luck.
Note: There are no fish in the tank, just rock and sand and 3 snails.

 

[Fish Fan]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

#WelcometoR2R

6.0 ppm ammonia is very high and could be why the bacteria are not growing. I would do some water changes to bring that concentration down to about 2.0 ppm.

You *might* need to add some more bacteria because of the elevated ammonia.

I wouldn't worry about the pH at this point.

Good luck!

 

[easton96]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

#WelcometoR2R

6.0 ppm ammonia is very high and could be why the bacteria are not growing. I would do some water changes to bring that concentration down to about 2.0 ppm.

You *might* need to add some more bacteria because of the elevated ammonia.

I wouldn't worry about the pH at this point.

Good luck!

Thanks! I'll give it a try!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Dr Tims is slow and sometimes takers weeks. Add Fritz Turbo start if you want to get going faster:

Not all Cycling Bacteria are created equal. Who's who, and what do they need?

One Last update to the Biospira Temp extreme side quest (earlier results below) The Biospira sample that got a single "hard freeze" in 15mL centrifuge tube overnight in the freezer at 0F - actually ended up processing ammonia AND nitrite just fine, it was merely significantly delayed. See...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Roatan Reef]

Did you add Dry or Wet aquacultured rock? I would toss a piece of live wet rock, either from your LFS or a place like Tampa Bay Saltwater to help things along.

 

[easton96]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

#WelcometoR2R

6.0 ppm ammonia is very high and could be why the bacteria are not growing. I would do some water changes to bring that concentration down to about 2.0 ppm.

You *might* need to add some more bacteria because of the elevated ammonia.

I wouldn't worry about the pH at this point.

Good luck!

About how long after doing a 25% water change and adding additional Dr. Tims should I *hopefully* start seeing the ammonia levels coming down to manageable number?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

About how long after doing a 25% water change and adding additional Dr. Tims should I *hopefully* start seeing the ammonia levels coming down to manageable number?

Weeks?

Use Fritz turbo start.

 

[Fish Fan]

About how long after doing a 25% water change and adding additional Dr. Tims should I *hopefully* start seeing the ammonia levels coming down to manageable number?

Change out a little more than half the water, you want to cut that 6.0 ppm ammonia by more than half.

As Randy mentioned above, Fritz TurboStart does seem to work much faster and controlling ammonia than the Dr. Tim's product, if you're in a hurry to move forward.

 

[Peer.Boerner]

I just cycled a dry rock tanks with Fritz Turno. Worked perfectly. 6 weeks in I have a few corals and clownfish doing great.

 

[get-salty]

I would stop the WC as you may restart the cycle.

With that high of ammonia, you need to dump more bacteria in a bottle. This will consume the break down and hopefully kick start the cycle.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I would stop the WC as you may restart the cycle.

With that high of ammonia, you need to dump more bacteria in a bottle. This will consume the break down and hopefully kick start the cycle.

Why do you think that? Most cycling bacteria are attached to surfaces.