Adding Dr. Tim’s one and only?

[grr410]

Quick question….

This past Sunday, two days ago, I added my water, rock, and substrate. My LFS said there was no need to add Dr. Tim’s One and Only, because the rock they sold me had bacteria on it. Is it to late to add Dr. Tim’s One and Only? If so, should I just add a bottle and follow instructions? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Quick question….

This past Sunday, two days ago, I added my water, rock, and substrate. My LFS said there was no need to add Dr. Tim’s One and Only, because the rock they sold me had bacteria on it. Is it to late to add Dr. Tim’s One and Only? If so, should I just add a bottle and follow instructions? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Adding bottled bacteria is almost never a "bad" thing (ok, maybe bad for your wallet), but I'd be cautious if you're doing the "Dr. Tim's Fishless Cycle". Many people have reported difficulty with uniform drop size when adding the ammonia.
Personally, I prefer using other sources of ammonia such as fish food (ghost feeding).

Question is, why do you feel you need to add bacteria? Have you tested for ammonia? Nitrates? (No need to test for nitrITES in a saltwater cycle)

 

[grr410]

Adding bottled bacteria is almost never a "bad" thing (ok, maybe bad for your wallet), but I'd be cautious if you're doing the "Dr. Tim's Fishless Cycle". Many people have reported difficulty with uniform drop size when adding the ammonia.
Personally, I prefer using other sources of ammonia such as fish food (ghost feeding).

Question is, why do you feel you need to add bacteria? Have you tested for ammonia? Nitrates? (No need to test for nitrITES in a saltwater cycle)

Thank you for your input it’s appreciated. I just felt as though nothing has occurred yet, tested yesterday and everything was at 0, maybe I tested to early? Just was curious if it would help, if I did utilize the one and only, I would possibly add a fish on the scheduled date but I am unsure if I would, simply due to my schedule and nothing else.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Thank you for your input it’s appreciated. I just felt as though nothing has occurred yet, tested yesterday and everything was at 0, maybe I tested to early? Just was curious if it would help, if I did utilize the one and only, I would possibly add a fish on the scheduled date but I am unsure if I would, simply due to my schedule and nothing else.

Ok, let's back up - there is no "scheduled date" for adding fish. You add fish, inverts, etc, AFTER your tank is cycled. If you currently have zero ammonia, then toss in some fish food (a pinch or 2, depending on your tank size) so the existing bacteria has something to eat. (If you purchased the fishless cycle kit, add about 1/2 the amount of ammonia recommend and then test as instructed.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

This may help...

Cycling an Aquarium

Cycling a new aquarium. One of the earliest topics a new aquarium hobbyist needs to learn is how to properly cycle their aquarium. There is a ton of information on this process and many different methods on how to accomplish it. There are many different chemical and biological cycles our tank...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[grr410]

Ok, let's back up - there is no "scheduled date" for adding fish. You add fish, inverts, etc, AFTER your tank is cycled. If you currently have zero ammonia, then toss in some fish food (a pinch or 2, depending on your tank size) so the existing bacteria has something to eat. (If you purchased the fishless cycle kit, add about 1/2 the amount of ammonia recommend and then test as instructed.

I was under the impression that Dr Tim’s recommended you add a fish on the 12th day or so according to his instructions.

 

[Spare time]

If it was live rock, just dump the whole bottle of bacteria in and start a fish QT (or buy from a pre-quarentined source; which isn't the same as the fish sitting in copper water at the store). If the rock was dry rock, then add some fish tank ammonium chloride and then add the whole bottle (and give it about a week or two)

 

[BigTimeIssues]

I just done the fishless cycle with Dr tims and ammonia chloride. The goal is to add up to 2ppm ammonia and test it to see that it is at that point. Then if the ammonia can successfully go from ammonia to nitrite to Nitrate within 24 hours, you are ready. That is how I understand it, the fish food will hardly break down into ammonia quickly enough to really get that spike of ammonia and then the following reduction.

I'm not a marine biologist, nor a chemist. This is what my research landed me. At the 14 day mark I could dose my tank up to 2ppm ammonia and 24 hours later test zero ammonia and zero nitrite. Compared to when I started I dosed 2ppm ammonia and it took 4 days to get to zero ammonia and nitrites took another day or so.