are my nitrates/nitrites/ammonia ok??

[Kengo]

Hi, i started cycling my tank yesterday by adding dr Tim’s one and only and ammonia. Today i tested it and it came out to this: is it ok?

 

[ndrwater]

Your fine, for where you are. Not quite done yet. Keep an eye over the next few days. Ammonia and Nitrite should be zero

 

[Kengo]

Your fine, for where you are. Not quite done yet. Keep an eye over the next few days. Ammonia and Nitrite should be zero

thanks! how long do you think it'll take to cycle?

 

[Idoc]

When you can process 2ppm ammonia to zero in 24hrs, then you will be cycled... it's not really an exact time thing.

 

[ndrwater]

Just exactly what @Idoc said...

 

[Kengo]

ok thanks! Should I add anymore ammonia tho?

 

[ndrwater]

I would follow the directions on the bottle to the letter.
Dr Tim's is good stuff and definitely proven to work well

 

[brandon429]

I want to offer another way to cycle your tank vs the standard method. There's no debate that nitrite, nitrate and ammonia have an orderly fashion in cycling (see any google cycling chart for the timeframes) but theres something that goes fully unspoken in the hobby: ability to accurately measure any of those, ever. Seneye reader users are exempt from the doubt/$ devices

but most cyclers are using api/titration kits, searches show where I'm heading regarding accuracy



If you started with live rock from the pet store that has coralline on it, real coralline which is signified by other associated animals and pigments you can see, then its already cycled and you have the full bac complement.


If you started with dry rock, typical wet pack live sand which is already cycled, then expect your readings, if accurate, to be mixed in that you are dealing with substrates already capable of running a full bioload, they showed up wet. Wet = you have bac unless a scientist engineers wet to not equal bac.

Clearly, knowing the types of rock you started with matters or we don't know if you are supposed to be adding vs stopping ammonia from being present.



so if we've wound up that you used dry sand, dry rocks, and then the dr tims setup, this is a way you can cycle it without fail, without variance. it also works for the second way, the wet sand/dry rock approach:

let your current water mixture swirl and stew as is for 30 days. change out all the water, refill with new saltwater, you are cycled.







it doesn't matter if you used exacting Dr Tims amounts, or halfs, or twice over amounts, you are cycled. you have to far exceed prep amounts to turn Dt Tims into an effective sanitizer. up to that point, its a massive feed source for bac far beyond normal environmental levels.



aquarists cannot stop a cycle when they are in a home, or microbiologists could just work from home they wouldn't need a positive pressure lab with all kinds of devices and non carpeting.



Change the water, run a new ammonia test at 30 days, every tank in existence will pass and you don't even need to test at all. follow directions on how many drops of ammonia to add




B

 

[Kengo]

Are my parameters on track?

 

[Bryson.bobby]

Are my parameters on track?

Yep

 

[Kengo]

Only my nitrites have changed, is that ok?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Do not add ammonia. You want to test every 2-3 days to assure bacteria is bringing those levels down

 

[Kengo]

Do not add ammonia. You want to test every 2-3 days to assure bacteria is bringing those levels down

ok! The only time i added ammonia was when I first started the cycle

 

[vetteguy53081]

ok! The only time i added ammonia was when I first started the cycle

Yes.

 

[Bleigh]

How big is your tank and how much/often are you adding ammonia?

From your numbers, it looks like you have a good bio load of the ammonia -> nitrite bacteria, but the colonies that move nitrite to nitrate still need to grow. Can your test kit test above 50 ppm? Mine cannot. You may have way more than 50 ppm. I think there's ways to dilute water for test and figure out a more precise number, but it depends on what you're using. Not sure what others have to say, but my opinion would be to do a water change too. Especially if you have sand, because you don't want it to lock up any of the nitrates. I would definitely go with other people's advice if they think that's a bad idea though. I'm still very new to all of this.

 

[Bleigh]

ok! The only time i added ammonia was when I first started the cycle

Do you have fish or of food in the tank? You may be having a bit of a die off from your rock or your sand if any of it was live.

 

[Kengo]

Do you have fish or of food in the tank? You may be having a bit of a die off from your rock or your sand if any of it was live.

i dont have any fish or food in there, I only have dry rock and live sand.

 

[Bleigh]

i dont have any fish or food in there, I only have dry rock and live sand.

Hmmm... it's interesting that the nitrite is climbing without a source/addition of ammonia. I wonder what's contributing to that.

 

[Kengo]

Hmmm... it's interesting that the nitrite is climbing without a source/addition of ammonia. I wonder what's contributing to that.

is that good or bad? haha

 

[Bleigh]

is that good or bad? haha

Lol... I have no idea. I would imagine there would have to be some source of ammonia for the nitrites to be continuing to increase. Maybe you're at the peak and they'l; turn around here soon.