Cycling 100g

[rsach]

I started cycling my 100g with dead rock 3 weeks ago. I started off with adding ammonia until it was at 2 ppm and also added a bottle of micobacter start xlm. The ammonia reading right now is 0 ppm, nitrites are at 20ppm and nitrates are at 10ppm. Do I need to keep adding ammonia or should I wait until nitrites are at 0 and then do a water change and then add ammonia to check if both ammonia and nitrites go to 0 within 24hrs? Thanks!

 

[Jekyl]

I started cycling my 100g with dead rock 3 weeks ago. I started off with adding ammonia until it was at 2 ppm and also added a bottle of micobacter start xlm. The ammonia reading right now is 0 ppm, nitrites are at 20ppm and nitrates are at 10ppm. Do I need to keep adding ammonia or should I wait until nitrites are at 0 and then do a water change and then add ammonia to check if both ammonia and nitrites go to 0 within 24hrs? Thanks!

I would say you're good to go. Do a water change and then add a fish or 2. Just because you're cycled don't go crazy adding a bunch of fish and coral. Take it slow.

 

[rsach]

I would say you're good to go. Do a water change and then add a fish or 2. Just because you're cycled don't go crazy adding a bunch of fish and coral. Take it slow.

I am planning to add 2 fishes at a time and then wait for couple of weeks. So, the nitrites level don't have to be at 0?

 

[Jekyl]

I am planning to add 2 fishes at a time and then wait for couple of weeks. So, the nitrites level don't have to be at 0?

Nope

 

[Azedenkae]

I started cycling my 100g with dead rock 3 weeks ago. I started off with adding ammonia until it was at 2 ppm and also added a bottle of micobacter start xlm. The ammonia reading right now is 0 ppm, nitrites are at 20ppm and nitrates are at 10ppm. Do I need to keep adding ammonia or should I wait until nitrites are at 0 and then do a water change and then add ammonia to check if both ammonia and nitrites go to 0 within 24hrs? Thanks!

Not that it necessarily matters, but I am curious - are you sure nitrite is at 20ppm? How much ammonia did you dose in total? What test kit are you using?

 

[rsach]

Not that it necessarily matters, but I am curious - are you sure nitrite is at 20ppm? How much ammonia did you dose in total? What test kit are you using?

Good catch. It's 5 ppm which is the max on the API test kit not 20ppm.

 

[brandon429]

This cycle is 100% done and not 99%

 

[Azedenkae]

Good catch. It's 5 ppm which is the max on the API test kit not 20ppm.

Ah gotcha, that defo makes more sense. My only potential concern is that there does not yet seem to be nitrite-oxidation, or at least significant amounts.

For most intents and purposes, nitrite can be considered non-toxic. However, it needs to be clarified that nitrite can actually be lethal, just needs to be at extremely high levels, like probably 100+ ppm: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-06/rhf/index.php. Though nitrite can cause diseases at lower concentrations, and a study did suggest to keep nitrite below 25ppm for ocellaris clownfish.

With that said, the chance of nitrite reaching high enough levels to even cause harm is low. I mean, you don't really hear such nitrite numbers normally thrown around right?

But anyways, personally I'd wait for nitrite-oxidation capacities to be robust first, but you don't have to. You can kinda ignore nitrite since yeah it probably won't matter. But just figure I'd provide some extra info for context.

 

[brandon429]

I know that sounded terribly generalist lol

the rationale: try and find one single link using your arrangement (its easy, nearly all cycling tanks use this arrangement) and show that tank not able to carry its first bioload + feed. 100% of them succeeded, and nobody posted a tank follow up of dead fish... they all did fine because ammonia control was all we needed to know and even if your tester didnt agree, the other 50% of cycling threads you'll see, you were still cycled because we cant find a single dead fish example


all these fish live because cycles in water are nearly infallibly easy. you met the submersion times required from a common cycling chart, on the ammonia control line and the test happens to confirm, this time. all tanks dosed with bottle bac are ready by week three, regardless of the doses used or the variations in ph/temp/salinity/alk/phosphate and especially nitrite, tank to tank.

if anyone here can find a single example of an incomplete cycle by week three, I'll show you an api post lol but I'll change my assessment here to 99% cycled.

 

[rsach]

I know that sounded terribly generalist lol

the rationale: try and find one single link using your arrangement (its easy, nearly all cycling tanks use this arrangement) and show that tank not able to carry its first bioload + feed. 100% of them succeeded, and nobody posted a tank follow up of dead fish... they all did fine because ammonia control was all we needed to know and even if your tester didnt agree, the other 50% of cycling threads you'll see, you were still cycled because we cant find a single dead fish example


all these fish live because cycles in water are nearly infallibly easy. you met the submersion times required from a common cycling chart, on the ammonia control line and the test happens to confirm, this time. all tanks dosed with bottle bac are ready by week three, regardless of the doses used or the variations in ph/temp/salinity/alk/phosphate and especially nitrite, tank to tank.

if anyone here can find a single example of an incomplete cycle by week three, I'll show you an api post lol but I'll change my assessment here to 99% cycled.

What you're saying makes sense. I got confused as I read in some forums that once both ammonia and nitrites are zero within 24hrs of dosing 2ppm ammonia, you can consider you tank cycled.

 

[brandon429]

agreed that is completely the rules as written

those new rules above are from the bio nerds its also ok to wait for nitrite compliance, no harm there as well. the reason we study advanced reef start dates is to simply allow for better reef designs and complete control in situations where we'd like to be sure a tank can carry a bioload, such as making new emergency tanks to handle breakages or to be able to take reefs apart and take them to a reef convention and set them back up, or move to new homes, without a recycle. all that is linked to safe start date studies. in each case the keeper wanted a specific date of assurance vs waiting indefinitely for a test kit to allow a start, and those are subject to misreading at any given time.

the chemists have pointed out that nitrite is neutral in cycling and we made use of that rule, that's how the rewrites have happened. consider this example, I don't know of a more fitting reef chemist to give perspective on nitrite issues:

Nitrite Toxicity

Hey guys I have an aquarium system that has about 45gallons of water cycling so I Let it cycle for about week and I added seeded marine pure ceramic balls and the bacteria in a bottle. I had no choice but to add my 2 clownfish from my quarantine into the tank.. because I needed to put a sick...

www.reef2reef.com

notice Randy didnt mention a time we would factor nitrite.