Tank not cycling using Dr Tims the One and Only

[SimonDamminga]

I am pretty new to saltwater tanks and I seek your advice.

About a week and a half ago I started the cycling proces for my newly set up tank by dosing a bottle of Dr Tims the One and Only Nitrifying bacteria.
I followed all the steps and I am a bit worried about the results.

Day 1: I added the bottle of bacteria and dosed about 2ppm of ammonia (also Dr Tims) and all seemd to be fine
Day 2: I checked the ammonia levels and they were 1.5ppm and the Nitrite was at 0ppm.
Day 3: The ammonia was still at 1.5ppm and I dosed another batch of ammonia just like the instructions say.
Day 4: I checked the ammonia and nitrite and values are still the same, so my thought was that someting is hapening because the ammonia stayed on 1.5ppm between the two da.
Day 5 - 9: The ammonia levels and the nitrite levels stay the same. 1.5ppm for ammonia and 0ppm for nitrite.

The testkits that I use are the Salifert test kits.
For substrate I used live sand and I used dry rock for my scape.
Water temp is 26°C (78.8°F)
PH is 8
Nitrate is around 25ppm from day one and has not changed (maybe a little but not a lot).

Based on this information and the instructions saying that you can add fish on day 9 because the tank should be cycled (or close to being cycled), I think Dr Tims is not working for me. So I was thinking of buying some live rock to jumpstart the cycling process.

Is this something you recommend or are there other recommended options?

 

[attiland]

Incorrect

Great help and advice

 

[SimonDamminga]

What about nitrate and phosphate?
You may never measure nitrite. With DR Tim’s I never seen it straight to nitrate in my case.

Nitrate is about 25ppm of what I can see. Nirtites are 0. Phosphate I don't know, because I don't have a testkit for that. I knew that you may never see nitrites when using Dr Tims.

I will keep testing my water daily/every other day.

 

[SimonDamminga]

I wouldn't even use the tester to re verify your new clean water as we did above. I will take total public responsibility if your new bioload dies on the date after the water change, add what you had planned to add. Total public shaming/on me lol/ if it fails.

I think if you use that kit to retest it, and it sticks, total revolt w occur and your cycle will last 2 years he he

but if you just go/day 14 on clean water, what you add wont cloud up the tank.

if the reef is uncycled, what you add will cloud it up in five hours. to the point of obvious action needed. uncycled tanks cloud when bioload is present and sustained like a fish/cuc

*what about the dreaded dead bottle bac


see cycling chart. ammonia compliance is on day ten


day 14 was planning for that.

I have some great new regarding the cycle. Today I tested the water and my ammonia is way down from 1.5ppm yesterday to 0.5ppm today. Besides that my nitrite still reads 0ppm and my nitrates read a around 50ppm.

I think I needed a bit more patience.
Is there anything else i need to do? Dose some more ammonia for example (as stated in the Dr tims day by day fishless cycle recipe)?

 

[brandon429]

What I listed will work, and so will dosing it with ammonia over and over

no arrangement will prevent your cycle from being ready on the date stated, after water change, even if it didn’t drop above the outcome wouldn’t change.

if you want to add and test just for fun, can do. And if it takes past fourteen days for it to come down u have the option of beginning on that date, after a water change. Dont approach cycling as if we are going to stop completion, we’ve been trained that way so we make repeat purchases

a cycle will complete on its own, with no dosing of anything just water. All we did is speed it up two weeks here. When we add ammonia out of balance, or too little or too much bottle bac, that doesn’t matter. You can’t stop a cycle in a wet tank without freezing boiling or antibiotics IF it’s open topped system exchanging matter with the home. If it’s a sealed sterile closed system, that’s different. Nobody has a reef like that.

 

[attiland]

Nitrate is about 25ppm of what I can see. Nirtites are 0. Phosphate I don't know, because I don't have a testkit for that. I knew that you may never see nitrites when using Dr Tims.

I will keep testing my water daily/every other day.

I think you are done. If you stop dosing Ammonia and do a water change you can start to search for your first fish.
On a side note get a phosphate test. You will need it

 

[Screwgunner]

In my opinion you already have a battle day one nitrates that high did you use city water or rodi
. If you used city water you nuked your bacteria from the git. Chlrorine will disapate out of the tank in a couple days but chloramine will not. Well water is ok some times.

 

[BoneDoc]

It hasn’t been asked yet but those who are cycling, do you leave the skimmer off? Dr Tim specifically mentions that the skimmer will pull the bacteria from the way column.

 

[brandon429]

he's recommending it that way to maximize the bacteria


I assure you it will not stop the cycle from completing in the same date an unskimmed system will complete on. a supporting claim for skimming during cycle might be that the extra o2 a skimmer boosts bac adhered to surface area within the tank

 

[Dan_P]

I am pretty new to saltwater tanks and I seek your advice.

About a week and a half ago I started the cycling proces for my newly set up tank by dosing a bottle of Dr Tims the One and Only Nitrifying bacteria.
I followed all the steps and I am a bit worried about the results.

Day 1: I added the bottle of bacteria and dosed about 2ppm of ammonia (also Dr Tims) and all seemd to be fine
Day 2: I checked the ammonia levels and they were 1.5ppm and the Nitrite was at 0ppm.
Day 3: The ammonia was still at 1.5ppm and I dosed another batch of ammonia just like the instructions say.
Day 4: I checked the ammonia and nitrite and values are still the same, so my thought was that someting is hapening because the ammonia stayed on 1.5ppm between the two da.
Day 5 - 9: The ammonia levels and the nitrite levels stay the same. 1.5ppm for ammonia and 0ppm for nitrite.

The testkits that I use are the Salifert test kits.
For substrate I used live sand and I used dry rock for my scape.
Water temp is 26°C (78.8°F)
PH is 8
Nitrate is around 25ppm from day one and has not changed (maybe a little but not a lot).

Based on this information and the instructions saying that you can add fish on day 9 because the tank should be cycled (or close to being cycled), I think Dr Tims is not working for me. So I was thinking of buying some live rock to jumpstart the cycling process.

Is this something you recommend or are there other recommended options?

Dr. Tim’s failed for me too. I bought a bottle in the winter and assumed it froze during delivery.

It is possible that you bought a bad bottle. Ammonia levels with a good product should be observed to decline in a couple of days. Nitrite takes much longer to disappear.

 

[Albert bada]

I am pretty new to saltwater tanks and I seek your advice.

About a week and a half ago I started the cycling proces for my newly set up tank by dosing a bottle of Dr Tims the One and Only Nitrifying bacteria.
I followed all the steps and I am a bit worried about the results.

Day 1: I added the bottle of bacteria and dosed about 2ppm of ammonia (also Dr Tims) and all seemd to be fine
Day 2: I checked the ammonia levels and they were 1.5ppm and the Nitrite was at 0ppm.
Day 3: The ammonia was still at 1.5ppm and I dosed another batch of ammonia just like the instructions say.
Day 4: I checked the ammonia and nitrite and values are still the same, so my thought was that someting is hapening because the ammonia stayed on 1.5ppm between the two da.
Day 5 - 9: The ammonia levels and the nitrite levels stay the same. 1.5ppm for ammonia and 0ppm for nitrite.

The testkits that I use are the Salifert test kits.
For substrate I used live sand and I used dry rock for my scape.
Water temp is 26°C (78.8°F)
PH is 8
Nitrate is around 25ppm from day one and has not changed (maybe a little but not a lot).

Based on this information and the instructions saying that you can add fish on day 9 because the tank should be cycled (or close to being cycled), I think Dr Tims is not working for me. So I was thinking of buying some live rock to jumpstart the cycling process.

Is this something you recommend or are there other recommended options?

I started cycling with Dr. Tim’s five days ago my pH has been 8.0 8.1 today day five my ammonia reading is almost 2 ppm
But nitrite Is reading about zero and nitrate is around .25 i’m using dry Marco rock Aquascape add it live sand and also a nice life rock which I’ve had in my other tank for about a year I don’t know if this is why my nitrite is 0 But I think my live rock and sand plus the bacteria have a lot to do with it I don’t know

 

[Screwgunner]

You are 100% right you will never see any nitrite . When your ammonia is gone in 24 hours after putting it in . You should be good.