Cycle stall !?

[Jack684523]

I put together a 10 gallon nano reef about 4 weeks ago. I used a aquaclear70. 10 pounds live rock live sand and dr Tim’s one and only. I didn’t know much about putting a tank together so I figured my LFS could help me but this is where I think I messed up Lol. He told me to use the dr Tim’s and add a fish that he had given me and told me to come back after 4 days w. My water sample. I go back to him he tells me my tank is cycled and is ready for corals. Idk why I listened to him but I did. He told me to buy 4 snails a frog spawn and a gsp. I am now 4 weeks into my cycle w. Them still in my tank. I bought a api test kit ,y nitrites and nitrates are sky high i really don’t know what to do my nitrites and nitrates have been sky high for 2 weeks now but the corals and snails seem like there doing fine. I did like 6 25 percent water changes back to back because that’s what the lfs told me to do and still nothing. I even added more dr Tim’s like they told me to. Any idea on what you guys think I should do.

 

[reefdad]

What kind of LR and live sand did you use? Also, what are the measurements and what's the feeding schedule like?

 

[Jack684523]

What kind of LR and live sand did you use? Also, what are the measurements and what's the feeding schedule like?

The LR was from my lfs And the live sand was caribsea. I’m currently not feeding anything he said there was no need to the fish he made me buy died after like 4 days. There’s only 4 snails in here and gsp and frogspawn. There’s copepods everywhere and strings hanging off the rock

 

[reefdad]

I would hold off on any new fish for now, and keep up periodic water changes. Once you see the levels dropping, start target feeding a tiny tiny amount of something like coral frenzy to the frog spawn. (By tiny I mean about 5 of the .5 mm pellets). Use a dropper or dentist syringe cut to the correct size to make sure the coral gets the food. If the rock was really populated with anything other than bacteria you may be having die off.

 

[reefdad]

I would hold off on any new fish for now, and keep up periodic water changes. Once you see the levels dropping, start target feeding a tiny tiny amount of something like coral frenzy to the frog spawn. (By tiny I mean about 5 of the .5 mm pellets). Use a dropper or dentist syringe cut to the correct size to make sure the coral gets the food. If the rock was really populated with anything other than bacteria you may be having die off.

Oh, and make sure the salinity and temp match when doing a water change. That'll minimize any additional die off [emoji4]

 

[Jack684523]

Oh, and make sure the salinity and temp match when doing a water change. That'll minimize any additional die off [emoji4]

So you don’t think I should add anything for the nitrites ? They’ve been over the chart for 2 weeks now straight. Red strings keep coming out of the corals and they’re growing on the rock and sand. I know it’s jot worms or anything because they jus come rite off

 

[reefdad]

So you don’t think I should add anything for the nitrites ? They’ve been over the chart for 2 weeks now straight. Red strings keep coming out of the corals and they’re growing on the rock and sand. I know it’s jot worms or anything because they jus come rite off

Might be able to use something like Seachem Safe Nitrite & Nitrate Detoxifier, but I don't have any experience with it. Also some activated carbon like the ROX from bulk reef supply. I prefer using a refugium to pull out nitrates, but that can be slower and would need to be set up.

 

[Jack684523]

Might be able to use something like Seachem Safe Nitrite & Nitrate Detoxifier, but I don't have any experience with it. Also some activated carbon like the ROX from bulk reef supply. I prefer using a refugium to pull out nitrates, but that can be slower and would need to be set up.

I have sea chem prime it says it detoxifies nitrites and nitrates. I also have a aquaclear70 I did the mod on it for the refugium but I don’t have anything in there yet except chemi pure elite and a piece of filter because that’s what the lfs said. He said to do the refugium after it’s cycled

 

[reefdad]

Hmm. How long has it been in? From my understanding it has a limited amount it can absorb, try measuring nitrates, swaping it out and measure again after 12 and 24 hours.

I started mine with the chaeto in tank after 1 week. There's a thread on converting a HOB to a refugium here: https://www.reef2reef.com/index.php?threads/548567/

 

[Jack684523]

Hmm. How long has it been in? From my understanding it has a limited amount it can absorb, try measuring nitrates, swaping it out and measure again after 12 and 24 hours.

I started mine with the chaeto in tank after 1 week. There's a thread on converting a HOB to a refugium here: https://www.reef2reef.com/index.php?threads/548567/

I haven’t added anything yet

 

[reefdad]

I haven’t added anything yet

Ah ok. Try adding it, but be sure to test levels before so you can track any changes. I would do a water change first, wait 30 min to an hour, then test params, then add it. Do you have any photos of the tank?

 

[IslandLifeReef]

Nitrates will not test properly if you have nitrite it the tank. You will always get a false high reading, so stop measuring them until you get your nitrites down to 0 ppm. The red stringy things are probably cyano, but it is hard to tell without a picture. If ammonia is 0 ppm, time will be your best friend lowering the nitrites. Your tank needs to build the bacterial bed to convert nitrite efficiently. If you start adding chemicals to remove the nitrite, you are only lengthening the process. Keep doing weekly water changes, keep testing ammonia and nitrite, and stop listening to that LFS, they aren't helping you. I would also recommend trying Fritz turbo start 900, or just adding the remainder of the bottle of Dr. Timms One and Only. With Dr. Timms, you really need to shake it well because the bacteria tends to settle to the bottom and is very difficult to get it suspended in the solution. The Fritz is also a reliable product and will give you a little diversity.

 

[Jack684523]

Ah ok. Try adding it, but be sure to test levels before so you can track any changes. I would do a water change first, wait 30 min to an hour, then test params, then add it. Do you have any photos of the tank?

 

[reefdad]

Looks like cyano. I would listen to IslandLifeReef's advice, he/she is completely correct.

 

[Jack684523]

Nitrates will not test properly if you have nitrite it the tank. You will always get a false high reading, so stop measuring them until you get your nitrites down to 0 ppm. The red stringy things are probably cyano, but it is hard to tell without a picture. If ammonia is 0 ppm, time will be your best friend lowering the nitrites. Your tank needs to build the bacterial bed to convert nitrite efficiently. If you start adding chemicals to remove the nitrite, you are only lengthening the process. Keep doing weekly water changes, keep testing ammonia and nitrite, and stop listening to that LFS, they aren't helping you. I would also recommend trying Fritz turbo start 900, or just adding the remainder of the bottle of Dr. Timms One and Only. With Dr. Timms, you really need to shake it well because the bacteria tends to settle to the bottom and is very difficult to get it suspended in the solution. The Fritz is also a reliable product and will give you a little diversity.

So do you think I should jus let the tank sit and not add anything for now? Should I do more frequent water changes for now or jus let everything run

 

[reefdad]

Keep doing weekly water changes, keep testing ammonia and nitrite, and stop listening to that LFS, they aren't helping you.

Weekly water changes, and some other good info in IslandLifeReef's post [emoji4]

 

[IslandLifeReef]

Just do weekly water changes and keep an eye on ammonia and nitrite levels. The only reason you need to do water changes now is because you have livestock in the tank. If you have any of the Dr Timm's One and Only left, I would add that. You could also check out threads by @Lasse, he cycles tanks with livestock and has a proven method.

 

[Jack684523]

Just do weekly water changes and keep an eye on ammonia and nitrite levels. The only reason you need to do water changes now is because you have livestock in the tank. If you have any of the Dr Timm's One and Only left, I would add that. You could also check out threads by @Lasse, he cycles tanks with livestock and has a proven method.

I ordered the fritz turbo bottle you told me to it comes in tomorrow morning I’m going to try that out. Should I do a 25 percent water change before adding or jus add it and how much do u think I should add for a 10 gallon

 

[IslandLifeReef]

No water change. Just follow the directions on the bottle.

 

[Jack684523]

No water change. Just follow the directions on the bottle.

Thank you appreciate it I’ll keep you updated