Cycling help

[Reefchef]

Ok guys I need your help. I started my cycle almost 2 months ago using bio spira and dr.tims ammonia. I tested it tonight and the ammonia is at about 2ppm which I did about 3 days ago, it's not going down. I have some more bio spira on the way coming tomorrow. My question is should I add tgat and maybe a piece of live rock. Please let me know your thoughts, and yes im a proud rookie!!! Thank you in advance good the help.

 

[Reefchef]

Here is also a pic of my nitrite and nitrate test tonight. The top one is nitrite and the bottom is nitrate.

 

[ZapataInc]

Do you have any live stock in your tank?

 

[jordanbevis]

How big is the tank, also have you done any water changes?


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[civics14]

Any rock or any bio media for the bacteria to grow on?

Don’t do any water changes until the cycle is complete.

 

[Reefchef]

Do you have any live stock in your tank?

No

 

[Reefchef]

How big is the tank, also have you done any water changes?


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200 gallons, and no I've only been topping off the ato.

 

[Reefchef]

Any rock or any bio media for the bacteria to grow on?

Don’t do any water changes until the cycle is complete.

I have my aqua scape in I would say about a good 150lb at least, I started with all dead rock, and I also have a bag of Exxodus nitryx in the sump. Thank you guys

 

[civics14]

That’s a lot of ammonia remaining for 2 months. I did something similar with stability tho and it was done in a month.

Guess just keep waiting it out. It’s clear that the process has started with that amount of nitrate showing tho. Once the ammonia and nitrite is zero’ed out, I’d perform a large water change to get those nitrates down.

 

[FutureInterest]

It is unusual for ammonia to still be registering... Clearly you have denitrifying bacteria present or you wouldn't have nitrites/nitrates. A boost from some established tanks would probably help.

 

[ActiveAngel]

I agree; that’s a lot of ammonia remaining. I wonder how that much got there.

Have you been adding ammonia everyday? If so, it’s not necessary, and could potentially explain. Otherwise, I think all the dead rock you used must have had lots of organics that are still decomposing. And I agree with everyone else here. Adding more rock from an existing tank can help to boost your population a little.

Also I applaud your patience. Keep it up!

And while I dislike recommending products/chemicals to add; there are a few ‘waste control’ liquids that could speed up the process of decomposition... assuming that is the issue, which it may not be. And as for different sources for ‘bacteria in a bottle’, I’m a fan of turbostart.

Also; you could use this time to help get ahead on your nitrogen reduction, and do a couple of big water changes. Or add some Chaeto and a good light. But that would all be lower priority.

Otherwise, keep up the continue patience. Small changes and constant monitoring will lead to long term success in this hobby

 

[Johnny’O]

Where can you get turbo start locally

 

[ZapataInc]

Where can you get turbo start locally

I don't know locally but you can get it from algaebarn.com

 

[Shawn]

I had a problem cycling mine in the beginning because I was afraid of hitchikers on live rock (read too many horror stories online) and started with dry rock. I'll never make that mistake again. Once I dropped live rock in my very first tank I had a bacteria bloom a few days later, and a week later my tank had finished cycling. Just a thought to consider.

 

[jcook54]

I've got a few pieces of live rock or a bag of SEachem's Matrix that you can have to better seed the tank. You have the good bacteria, just not enough of it. Honestly, I wouldn't add any additional additives and see if an injection of good bacteria might get you squared away.

 

[Reefchef]

I agree; that’s a lot of ammonia remaining. I wonder how that much got there.

Have you been adding ammonia everyday? If so, it’s not necessary, and could potentially explain. Otherwise, I think all the dead rock you used must have had lots of organics that are still decomposing. And I agree with everyone else here. Adding more rock from an existing tank can help to boost your population a little.

Also I applaud your patience. Keep it up!

And while I dislike recommending products/chemicals to add; there are a few ‘waste control’ liquids that could speed up the process of decomposition... assuming that is the issue, which it may not be. And as for different sources for ‘bacteria in a bottle’, I’m a fan of turbostart.

Also; you could use this time to help get ahead on your nitrogen reduction, and do a couple of big water changes. Or add some Chaeto and a good light. But that would all be lower priority.

Otherwise, keep up the continue patience. Small changes and constant monitoring will lead to long term success in this hobby

I didn't add it daily, but I did add a bit the other day when it was reading zero. I was under the impression with the bio spira I needed to feed it periodically.

Hiding how much I spend from my wife helps with the patience department! honestly I planned to let it cycle at leat6 a couple months, that's the reason I haven't really been bothered by it.

Thank you for the advice!

 

[Reefchef]

I had a problem cycling mine in the beginning because I was afraid of hitchikers on live rock (read too many horror stories online) and started with dry rock. I'll never make that mistake again. Once I dropped live rock in my very first tank I had a bacteria bloom a few days later, and a week later my tank had finished cycling. Just a thought to consider.

You hit the nail on the head, I had the exact paranoia! I've already said heck with that and sourced a piece of live rock! Ive considered it and hopefully picking it up tomorrow, thanks.

 

[Reefchef]

I've got a few pieces of live rock or a bag of SEachem's Matrix that you can have to better seed the tank. You have the good bacteria, just not enough of it. Honestly, I wouldn't add any additional additives and see if an injection of good bacteria might get you squared away.

As always thank you Justin, I greatly appreciate it. I have someone giving me a piece of live rock already, I will let you know if that falls through on me for some reason. Thanks bro

 

[bzb]

That API kit is good for starting out, but you need to make sure you follow the instructions exactly - especially for the nitrate test. I had wildly fluctuating readings until I started doing it correctly, and then I thought I was still doing it wrong, because it was registering 0ppm. Asked another member to test on his better kit (which is even more of a pain in the ass!) and it's at 0.25ppm.

I can't recommend Fritz Zyme 9 and/or BioSpira enough for a fresh tank. If you poured in a 32oz bottle of it, you'd likely be completely cycled in a few more days.

 

[Adam]

The bacteria in a bottle option is basically an instant cycle method vs adding food or a piece of shrimp to the tank and letting nature take it's course. So when you dump the bottle in you need to add fish. If you don't add fish right away but add the bacteria that bacteria needs to be fed. If there wasn't a consistent source of ammonia added frequently, like daily to every other day, and weeks had gone by without adding any the bacteria most likely went dormant when there wasn't anything else for it to feed on. The NO3 you're seeing is most likely from when the bacteria had finished processing the initial ammonia you put in and the NO4 is from that bacteria going active again after what you just added. Algae need NO3 & PO4 to grow and there should be no PO4 in the tank unless it was in/on the dry rock you added. That being the case there won't be any algae that will grow until you add fish and start feeding them as that food is where the phosphorus & phosphate will come from. So we'll need to get the NO3 down before you get to that point to help mitigate the algae explosion that usually happens with all new tanks.

I would not add more Biospira or someone's live rock to the display right now unless you're ready to add fish and not going to QT them. With a the total volume you have you'll need almost 13ml of ammonia (250 drops! Much easier to add by doing ml's) to reactivate the bacteria whether it's what's in the tank already or what you add from the new bottle. (I'd add that bottle when you're ready to add the fish as some of the initial bacteria died off.) That amount of ammonia will need to be added once or twice more to verify the bacteria is processing it correctly. If you're going to QT the new fish, get that tank setup and running using the info I shared with you previously. In the mean time just let the display to it's thing. A couple weeks before you're ready to introduce those first fish is when it's time to address this again and get the display ready. If you have QT'd fish and are ready to go let us know.

BTW, with that sized system you will be able to add 4-6 fish easily right from the start when using Biospira. I've put four fish in a 20L at the same time for QT using Biospria. A trigger, Kole tang, Starry blenny and an anthia, I didn't have an ammonia spike. And I feed heavy in QT.