Cycling Help

[PGriff]

Im already on 3 weeks! lol

 

[KDG730]

Just an observation. I'm using the same test kit as well and by the picture, you posted it looks like you might have been closer to 4.0 ppm ammonia if so that might take longer?

Yea it was high I think I overdosed to start. I did a small water change to bring it down and then it got moving. Now stuck on the nitrites le sigh

 

[PGriff]

Here is mine this morning?

 

[BeejReef]

Ok. That is a little difficult to read low levels on the API. It's just they way it is. Take some fresh mixed saltwater and test that and note the color.

Exactly! I had the same issue with the Salifert. Was ok to read standing outside on a sunny day, but in a house with mostly yellow and brown walls, not so much. Finally tested some new saltwater for a 0 baseline and slept much better at night.

 

[KDG730]

Here is mine this morning?

Looks good let it sit. Heres where Im at

 

[BeejReef]

I'm here with some sympathy. Man, cycling sucks. Everyone is so helpful, but the first tank/cycle is almost like the first time you really get your heart broken. There's not much anyone can do or say to make it feel better, other than to tell you they've been through it too. I was Dr. Tim w dead shrimp. When mine finally cycled, it moved pretty quick. After a couple of weeks of not doing much, it suddenly kicked into gear and dropped amm and nitrite within two days. I hate to jump on the patience bandwagon, but that's the ticket. Busy your mind with other stuff. Set up your lights, do some par testing. Get your RODI and saltwater mixing station fine tuned. Waiting suc*s!

 

[KDG730]

I'm here with some sympathy. Man, cycling sucks. Everyone is so helpful, but the first tank/cycle is almost like the first time you really get your heart broken. There's not much anyone can do or say to make it feel better, other than to tell you they've been through it too. I was Dr. Tim w dead shrimp. When mine finally cycled, it moved pretty quick. After a couple of weeks of not doing much, it suddenly kicked into gear and dropped amm and nitrite within two days. I hate to jump on the patience bandwagon, but that's the ticket. Busy your mind with other stuff. Set up your lights, do some par testing. Get your RODI and saltwater mixing station fine tuned. Waiting suc*s!

Ha thanks man. Yeah I figured i just have to wait. It is heartbreaking lol I just want my first fish

 

[BeejReef]

Ha thanks man. Yeah I figured i just have to wait. It is heartbreaking lol I just want my first fish

I know, right... lol. I mean, who gets into a hobby to grow rocks or bacteria. I grow them just fine in the vegetable bin of my fridge!!
There really should be a consent form or orientation the LFS has to give you, like the disclosures on a mortgage. "You're buying a fish tank today, but you will only have pet rocks for up to 2 months."
Do you with to proceed w pet rocks?

You have so much to look forward to though, like watching coral grow.... ughh, wait, that happens imperceptibly slowly as well.. lol. Youtube can really spoil you. I know it did me. Watching so many people's monthly updates, you forget it actually took 2 YEARS, not the three evening it took me to binge-watch.

 

[PGriff]

Looks good let it sit. Heres where Im at

By the looks of it, it seems you're close to the finish line? If I had to guess.

 

[Sod Buster]

Let it cook till Thursday. It is also ok to introduce a small amount of another bacteria strain, like bactor from Petco. In the old days, some would use a cup of topsoil from an unpolluted source to seed. Being a farmer, one teaspoon of healthy soil has more bacteria in it than all the humans on earth have in them combined. Amazing what 500 million years will do for a simple organism.

 

[jabberwock]

I don't think you will ever get your water perfect with spiking and seeding and adding dead shrimp or ghost feeding. Once you get close enough, add a fish.

Nothing simulates bioload like bioload...

Go slow though... 1 fish, 2 weeks, next fish 2 weeks, and so on.

 

[KDG730]

I don't think you will ever get your water perfect with spiking and seeding and adding dead shrimp or ghost feeding. Once you get close enough, add a fish.

Nothing simulates bioload like bioload...

Go slow though... 1 fish, 2 weeks, next fish 2 weeks, and so on.

Well im not looking for perfect but obviously im not going to put fish in while my nitrites and nitrates are this high

 

[Crested]

Well im not looking for perfect but obviously im not going to put fish in while my nitrites and nitrates are this high

Just so you know, you won't get an accurate nitrate reading while nitrites are in the water (can't remember the science behind it but it has to do with how the reagents interact, a quick Google search will bring up a couple forum results). So while your nitrates are probably high, they're not as high as the test says.

 

[Sod Buster]

It's almost been 24 hours. Can you get a really accurate test with the water right on that white line on the tube. I know it gets frustrating waiting.

 

[TinCanHero]

I feel your pain, im rolling up to the 8 week mark and my nitrites are still sky high