Yes ammonia, no nitrite or nitrate

[paulinexo]

Hi guys,

I’ve been in the freshwater aquariums for a while now and this is my first saltwater tank. I’m having issues with cycling.

I have a 60gallon tank with 60 lbs of dry rock and live sand that I placed in there.

Day 1: used dr. Tim’s ammonia as directed (didn’t check the ammonia level this day) and put dr Tim’s nitrifying bacteria

Day 2: realized my salinity was too high (in the 1.036) so I did a bunch of water changes and now my salinity is where it’s supposed to be (1.024-1.026). After that was settled, I checked my ammonia and it read 2ppm. I checked nitrite and nitrate with 0ppm reading. Checked my ph, it was 7.4, so I raised it up with a buffer and now it’s 8.3. I thought I didn’t have any nitrites and nitrates due to all the water changes I did for the salinity. I added another bottle of nitrifying bacteria

Day 3: ammonia still reads 2ppm and still zero nitrites and nitrates.

Please help. I’ve never had this issue with freshwater as I would see nitrite/nitrate readings pretty much instantly. Any suggestions or tips would be helpful.

 

[Spare time]

Dr Tims can take a while to work. You can speed it up by doing any of the following
- raising the temp to 81F ish
-Lowering the salinity (try 1.019 or so)
-adding another bacteria that is known to be rapid like biospira or fritz turbo

 

[brclark82]

Put in a bottle of Fritz TurboStart and you’ll be ready for fish in 3 days or less, Dr Tims is very slow if it does anything

 

[Spare time]

PS never use buffer solely to raise pH. It will raise alk too.

 

[paulinexo]

Dr Tims can take a while to work. You can speed it up by doing any of the following
- raising the temp to 81F ish
-Lowering the salinity (try 1.019 or so)
-adding another bacteria that is known to be rapid like biospira or fritz turbo

Thanks so much. Will definitely try that.

 

[paulinexo]

Put in a bottle of Fritz TurboStart and you’ll be ready for fish in 3 days or less, Dr Tims is very slow if it does anything

Thank you so much!

 

[paulinexo]

PS never use buffer solely to raise pH. It will raise alk too.

Thank you, I did see that but my regular pH is a 7.4 which I thought I read should be minimum 7.6-8.3. I did check my alkalinity afterwards and it was a 10, which I think is good?

 

[Propane]

No advice just gotta wait at this point.

 

[paulinexo]

No advice just gotta wait at this point.

Haha the hard part! Thanks tho

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Thank you, I did see that but my regular pH is a 7.4 which I thought I read should be minimum 7.6-8.3. I did check my alkalinity afterwards and it was a 10, which I think is good?

Don't worry about testing anything except ammonia and niTRATE. Since you're showing ammonia, now you need to wait for the ammonia to drop down close to zero (depending on the test kit) and for niTRATES to register.

 

[paulinexo]

Don't worry about testing anything except ammonia and niTRATE. Since you're showing ammonia, now you need to wait for the ammonia to drop down close to zero (depending on the test kit) and for niTRATES to register.

Thank you!

 

[Idech]

Please help. I’ve never had this issue with freshwater as I would see nitrite/nitrate readings pretty much instantly. Any suggestions or tips would be helpful.

I’ve never seen nitrites and nitrates raise instantly in fresh water and I’ve cycled lots of tanks. It takes the same time to cycle a saltwater tank with ammonia as it does freshwater, more or less : 20-30 days.

 

[paulinexo]

I’ve never seen nitrites and nitrates raise instantly in fresh water and I’ve cycled lots of tanks. It takes the same time to cycle a saltwater tank with ammonia as it does freshwater, more or less : 20-30 days.

You’re probably right, it has been awhile since I started fresh. I just didnt remember how long it took, but for some reason i feel like I didn’t wait that long for any nitrites/ates to register haha. But thank you, will be patient!

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

You’re probably right, it has been awhile since I started fresh. I just didnt remember how long it took, but for some reason i feel like I didn’t wait that long for any nitrites/ates to register haha. But thank you, will be patient!

Patience is something you've got to have. Nothing good happens fast in this hobby. Plan on it taking a year to get through the uglies and for your tank to become stable - that way, if it happens sooner, think how happy you'll be

 

[Dan_P]

Hi guys,

I’ve been in the freshwater aquariums for a while now and this is my first saltwater tank. I’m having issues with cycling.

I have a 60gallon tank with 60 lbs of dry rock and live sand that I placed in there.

Day 1: used dr. Tim’s ammonia as directed (didn’t check the ammonia level this day) and put dr Tim’s nitrifying bacteria

Day 2: realized my salinity was too high (in the 1.036) so I did a bunch of water changes and now my salinity is where it’s supposed to be (1.024-1.026). After that was settled, I checked my ammonia and it read 2ppm. I checked nitrite and nitrate with 0ppm reading. Checked my ph, it was 7.4, so I raised it up with a buffer and now it’s 8.3. I thought I didn’t have any nitrites and nitrates due to all the water changes I did for the salinity. I added another bottle of nitrifying bacteria

Day 3: ammonia still reads 2ppm and still zero nitrites and nitrates.

Please help. I’ve never had this issue with freshwater as I would see nitrite/nitrate readings pretty much instantly. Any suggestions or tips would be helpful.

Dr Tim’s can be slow to start. Wait a week or two to see what happens or add Turbo Start or Biospira now and be done in a couple days.