160g cycle 5th week ammonia disappeared?

R6REEFER · Oct 13, 2015

This is the 3rd tank I've cycled but the other 2 weren't near the size this one is.week 4 I had .25 ammonia, 4 days later still .25 ammonia with no niti or nita. Now I'm in the 5th week, just tested zero's across the board. It's a 125 with 40 gallon sump, I only have about 40 lbs liferock to cycle the tank then I'm building sculptures using reef saver rock. I have a damsel plus I've been ghost feeding for weeks. 2 nights ago I threw a whole rock shrimp in there. Zeros across the board. Never experienced this and it has me quite puzzled. I've tested nita with both api and red sea test kits. Any help? I went and put a down payment on the eel I want to add, I shall be picking him up this coming monday. Hopefully I can get this thing cycled by then.

brandon429 · Oct 13, 2015

The only way I know to assess any cycle question is a digestion test using the highest quality ammonia test brand you can get, specifically a cleaning ammonia dose to 3 ppm and then if it's true zero in 24 hours that's good

Some nitrates should be present

Three common timeframes known to be able to get to that digestion test ability are

Speed cycling where both bottle bac and verified +1 or 2 ppm ammonia sustained 2-3 weeks (rotting shrimp vary, true liquid ammonia dosing is accurate)

Boosted cycling where only ammonia or battle bac is used (because the other complement contaminates in anyway, but slower than if we dosed it) is a little over a month typically, maybe two.

And cured live rock is instant, they typically come home with the full ability to digest ammonia, provided the transfer trip didn't kill a bunch of benthic creatures to overcome the ability briefly.

Where did the ammonia initially come from in your cycle

inetjnky · Oct 13, 2015

Why not aquascape it now and utilize your existing live rock that's in there now?

R6REEFER · Oct 14, 2015

I did for the time being, just did it last night. I am going to order the reef saver next month some time to create my other 2 structures. This is it now.

R6REEFER · Oct 14, 2015

I had 40 lbs of live rock in buckets I added plus 160 lbs ocean direct live sand, a damsel, and ghost feeding rock shrimp.

inetjnky · Oct 14, 2015

Does the reef saver already have bacteria on it? Just wondering if any die off might cause a new cycle?

R6REEFER · Oct 15, 2015

Haven't added the reef saver yet, I have to build the structures and introduce to tank one at a time.

inetjnky · Oct 15, 2015

First, I'd remove the damsel. It's frowned upon to cycle a tank with livestock present.

Second, you can either get some ace hardware janitorial ammonia and dose 1ml / 10 gal of water to get your ammonia level up to. 2ppm and test until your ammonia and nitrites go to zero and repeat until you reach zero ammonia and nitrites in a 24 hour period.

I'm assuming your bacteria is already present with your live rock however if it's not and you dose ammonia then you will need to dose bacteria in a bottle. Cycling this way will take about 2 to 3 weeks.

If you choose to cycle with shrimp, put a few shrimp whole in a pair of panty hose and crank your temp up to 82 or 83 degrees. The shrimp will take around a week to start breaking down and you should see whatever bag you put them in encrust over with a white film. You should be able to test and see ammonia and nitrites during the first and second week. Leave the shrimp in till they dissolve. Should take 4 or 5 weeks but your cycle should be done. You'd need to introduce a measurable ammonia source to 2-3ppm after that to determine if your tank is truly cycled if it can process the ammonia and nitrites back to zero in 24 hours.

Either way, keep your lights off during this process.

R6REEFER · Oct 15, 2015

Good stuff, I nay try that ammonia test tonight. I believe it's already cycled. It's been 6 weeks now and I have zero's across the board but I noticed yesterday my filter socks were producing skimmate so that leads me to believe the biological filter is on fact present. I am removing the damsel this week sometime, he will not get along with Mr. Eel anyway. He is going to try to be a bully and the eel will make a meal out of him.