Cycle question and progression

[Donnyreefer]

Hello im brand new to this and its my first go around and am currently doing a fishless cycle, i have a 20 gallon long with live sand , dry rock , 2 filters and some decent flow with what i have for now . I filled it up with rodi water and added fritz zyme 9 and a raw shrimp in a mesh bag , this morning i tested the water and i have
1.0 ppm ammonia
5.0 ppm nitrite
30 ppm nitrate
12 dkh
Is that normal on day 2? Ill leave the shrimp in there to continue to feed that good bacteria and Ill post pictures of my setup and test log sheet
Happy reefing

 

[brandon429]

very easy one here. leave this all stewing for 8 days, change out the water for new and remove the shrimp and when you fill it back up its been cycled 5 over the due date lol. no joke.

there is no more testing to mess with, and be stumbled by, all the gears are turning we see and fritz is 48 hour bacteria, waiting 8 days extra is to please the masses who'd have you wait 40 if that's what a test said even though you bought the costliest bac. it works very fast. our water change exports all the waste water for new, and the filter has stuck to the rocks and can't ever be starved out, or water changed out, cycled means cycled. locked in place, by day eight, in the arrangement you have.

 

[Idoc]

Progressing nicely. But that's a lot of nitrates that quickly... usually it takes a couple days for the shrimp to start to decompose.

Was it just an oversight that you mentioned only adding RODI water? I'm hoping this was RODI saltwater, lol.

Try to keep the ammonia around 2ppm max. You may need to remove the shrimp to do this.

 

[Garf]

Hello im brand new to this and its my first go around and am currently doing a fishless cycle, i have a 20 gallon long with live sand , dry rock , 2 filters and some decent flow with what i have for now . I filled it up with rodi water and added fritz zyme 9 and a raw shrimp in a mesh bag , this morning i tested the water and i have
1.0 ppm ammonia
5.0 ppm nitrite
30 ppm nitrate
12 dkh
Is that normal on day 2? Ill leave the shrimp in there to continue to feed that good bacteria and Ill post pictures of my setup and test log sheet
Happy reefing

Looks like you was planning a 3 month cycle . There’s no need to light it up and let it mature slowly if you wish. Longer cycles demonstrate patience, if nothing else. It’s also a good period to get your testing techniques polished, for when it becomes more important. Good luck

 

[Donnyreefer]

Thanks for the feedback everyone , i know i dont wanna get the ammonia to high or it will stall so im testing ammonia often , yes rodi saltwater i made myself and it might be the dry rock breaking down dead stuff on it?

 

[Donnyreefer]

Took another test and this is what i got on day 2 , not really sure why im getting all 3 spikes all at once , it is dry rock and maybe thats why? Thanks in advance

 

[Garf]

Took another test and this is what i got on day 2 , not really sure why im getting all 3 spikes all at once , it is dry rock and maybe thats why? Thanks in advance

Nitrate test is picking up the nitrite, as well as any nitrate so will be high. The important one here is nitrite. It both proves ammonia is being converted into nitrite, and that nitrite is not fully converted to nitrate. Looks like it’s cycling well at this early stage.