Reef Ryder
Active Member
There are good points here but there are some things being said that is leading this guy in the wrong direction... bowing out, Good luck.
Cycle Guidance
- Thread starter Cscultho
- Start date
- Tagged users None
is good to have all points to consider for cycling threads, no one way uncontested should win out don't go
adding bac is harmless and good insurance if someone wants to add bottle bac. it cannot kill pods, so im for it vs ammonia.
I wouldn't mind in the least if he adds both the bac and the ammonia, and waited on the fish purchase as the general advice is to go slow agreed.
The reason I didn't advise that is due to the threads we collected of emergency tank setups or house moves that were skip cycle setups...the way I clean out my tank by parting every surface out on dinner plates and then rinsing my live sand w tapwater is a skip cycle reassembly too, handy stuff!
we think its the same biological action to move an aquarium across town and skip the cycle as it is for one to bring home purple live rock from the fish store. all forms of reef disagreement hone the hobby its good practice!
In the end, the digestion test is the undebated test that everyone agrees signifies end of a cycle. if that test is wanted here, then have a test kit that can register about half a ppm and don't go above it. All we're saying is that with coralline, one doesn't need that test at all nor the stress on the live rock animals, though they can likely take it when we give them the ammonia anyway.
adding bac is harmless and good insurance if someone wants to add bottle bac. it cannot kill pods, so im for it vs ammonia.
I wouldn't mind in the least if he adds both the bac and the ammonia, and waited on the fish purchase as the general advice is to go slow agreed.
The reason I didn't advise that is due to the threads we collected of emergency tank setups or house moves that were skip cycle setups...the way I clean out my tank by parting every surface out on dinner plates and then rinsing my live sand w tapwater is a skip cycle reassembly too, handy stuff!
we think its the same biological action to move an aquarium across town and skip the cycle as it is for one to bring home purple live rock from the fish store. all forms of reef disagreement hone the hobby its good practice!
In the end, the digestion test is the undebated test that everyone agrees signifies end of a cycle. if that test is wanted here, then have a test kit that can register about half a ppm and don't go above it. All we're saying is that with coralline, one doesn't need that test at all nor the stress on the live rock animals, though they can likely take it when we give them the ammonia anyway.
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Ok guys/gals.....2.5 weeks into the cycle so how do you know when the cycle is complete? I still read 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and 20 nitrate. I have 2 damsels in the tank that have been fed 2-3 per day for the past week.
What are my next steps?
What are my next steps?
You would run an ammonia test, but not just an API test- a non API test per the thread linked in post #7
If salifert says no ammonia that's good
If both an API and a Redsea says zero ammonia off the same sample as cross-verifiers that's good to go
If salifert says no ammonia that's good
If both an API and a Redsea says zero ammonia off the same sample as cross-verifiers that's good to go
We have a section in the thread posted about live rock that isn't able to be visually verified by benthic growths, if your system takes the ammonia to zero and it's verified then you're done cycling *if you haven't dosed bottle bac to the tank
Have you added any bottle bac to the tank during cycling
The reason that's handy info is because bottle bac makes the water cycle the ammonia, but no bottle bac means your rocks in question did the cycling
Have you added any bottle bac to the tank during cycling
The reason that's handy info is because bottle bac makes the water cycle the ammonia, but no bottle bac means your rocks in question did the cycling
Brew12
Electrical Gru
Don't dose ammonia!!!! You have fish in your system already!!!!
Just continue to add fish 1 or 2 at a time, a few weeks apart, and keep monitoring ammonia.
Brew12
Electrical Gru
That depends on what your end goals are for nitrate levels and what you plan on doing for nutrient export.
It might be a good time to do a 20% water change but don't feel like you need to.
ha good catch I missed the fish use here, thought it was rock only due to number of these posts running forgot to re read. good catch
the non api ammonia test should show zero with your bioload in place already, if it does then don't add any more fish for a month or until they're quarantined. agreed no ammonia where there are living organisms. when fish are in place among suspect uncycled rock we are testing for ammonia but not adding any, fine catch there.
the non api ammonia test should show zero with your bioload in place already, if it does then don't add any more fish for a month or until they're quarantined. agreed no ammonia where there are living organisms. when fish are in place among suspect uncycled rock we are testing for ammonia but not adding any, fine catch there.
glb
7500 Club Member
Your numbers suggest that the live rock completed the cycle quickly. Fish can handle 20ppm nitrates fine. If you plan to o add coral in the near future, you will need to lower the nitrates. Enjoy your tank!
Brew12
Electrical Gru
Don't ask that!!!!!!!;Troll;Troll;Troll;Troll;Troll;Troll
Sorry.. couldn't help it! You will find more opinions on this than just about anything else in reefing. Some people like to be down at 0ppm and feed their corals. 2ppm to 20ppm are very popular ranges. Some people never test nitrates and run beautiful systems with over 100ppm nitrates.
100ppm holy cow!!!
Don't ask that!!!!!!!;Troll;Troll;Troll;Troll;Troll;Troll
Sorry.. couldn't help it! You will find more opinions on this than just about anything else in reefing. Some people like to be down at 0ppm and feed their corals. 2ppm to 20ppm are very popular ranges. Some people never test nitrates and run beautiful systems with over 100ppm nitrates.
I have very little algae on my rocks currently....but i am starting to see some algae strands starting to grow on the glass. I think it's about time to get some snails...any recommendations for snails and how many for a 55g display tank?
Brew12
Electrical Gru
I would recommend reaching out to Reefcleaners.org. They offer a good product at good prices. I wouldn't start with as large a CuC as recommended but maybe 1/2 the total recommended amount to start. You may think adding 50 snails to your system is crazy, but once they are in the system you realize just how spread out they get.
