Cycling with Turbo Start

[Picassoclown]

Hello everyone. I set up a tank 1 week ago on Friday the 13th. I added an ammonia source that was for 215 gallons (my tank is 215 gallons) and half a bottle of Fritz turbo start that is for approx 225 gallons on day 1 (as directed by my LFS). I just added the other half of the bottle on Friday and my ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate are still through the roof. This is a brand new cycle and the fritz was definitely not expired and kept cold at all times. Any idea on how long this should take to stabilize? I am very surprised on how long this is taking. Thanks everyone!

 

[bluecheese]

Hello everyone. I set up a tank 1 week ago on Friday the 13th. I added an ammonia source that was for 215 gallons (my tank is 215 gallons) and half a bottle of Fritz turbo start that is for approx 225 gallons on day 1 (as directed by my LFS). I just added the other half of the bottle on Friday and my ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate are still through the roof. This is a brand new cycle and the fritz was definitely not expired and kept cold at all times. Any idea on how long this should take to stabilize? I am very surprised on how long this is taking. Thanks everyone!

Define "through the roof."

When I cycled my tank it took over 30 days before I read zero ammonia and zero nitrite.

 

[Picassoclown]

Define "through the roof."

When I cycled my tank it took over 30 days before I read zero ammonia and zero nitrite.

Colors are so dark, they are off the charts, literally. Also, protein skimmer is NOT turned on.

 

[LeftyReefer]

Hello everyone. I set up a tank 1 week ago on Friday the 13th. I added an ammonia source that was for 215 gallons (my tank is 215 gallons) and half a bottle of Fritz turbo start that is for approx 225 gallons on day 1 (as directed by my LFS). I just added the other half of the bottle on Friday and my ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate are still through the roof. This is a brand new cycle and the fritz was definitely not expired and kept cold at all times. Any idea on how long this should take to stabilize? I am very surprised on how long this is taking. Thanks everyone!

I'm confused.

You started the tank on friday the 13th.
Today is the monday, the 16th. So this tank has only been running for 3 days and you are surprised it's taking so long?

Your tank is 215 gallons... did you account for sand, rock, etc.. when figuring your total water volume? You may have overdosed the ammonia which will slow the cycle down, but will not hurt anything. just give it a little more time.

 

[Picassoclown]

Define "through the roof."

When I cycled my tank it took over 30 days before I read zero ammonia and zero nitrite.

Oh wow, 30 days and you used fritz as well?

 

[Picassoclown]

I'm confused.

You started the tank on friday the 13th.
Today is the monday, the 16th. So this tank has only been running for 3 days and you are surprised it's taking so long?

Your tank is 215 gallons... did you account for sand, rock, etc.. when figuring your total water volume? You may have overdosed the ammonia which will slow the cycle down, but will not hurt anything. just give it a little more time.

No no, I started the tank 1 week ago on the 13th (tank was set up on the 6th). All of that has been accounted for as well: the rock is totally dry with no life on it, live sand from aragonite, and the ammonia was in a little bottle designed exclusively for 215 gallons. I think it's taking longer due to half the bottle being used the first day and the other half after a week. In addition, my tank is quite massive and might need a little more time to get cycled; 215 show tank and another 65 gallon refugium/sump I will do another parameter test on Friday and see what I get. This is the first time I am using this stuff. I am old school, I like to do cycling with the dead shrimp method, but wanted to use this to see how it goes and get my tank running after a decade of being out of the hobby.

 

[Dan_P]

Hello everyone. I set up a tank 1 week ago on Friday the 13th. I added an ammonia source that was for 215 gallons (my tank is 215 gallons) and half a bottle of Fritz turbo start that is for approx 225 gallons on day 1 (as directed by my LFS). I just added the other half of the bottle on Friday and my ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate are still through the roof. This is a brand new cycle and the fritz was definitely not expired and kept cold at all times. Any idea on how long this should take to stabilize? I am very surprised on how long this is taking. Thanks everyone!

If you followed directions, if the bacteria are alive, and if the test chemistry is working, then ammonia goes to zero within days, nitrite can linger for weeks. Nitrate will form as nitrite declines, but our test kits cannot accurately measure nitrate in the presence in nitrite, so, don’t worry about nitrates until nitrite is zero.

 

[Picassoclown]

If you followed directions, if the bacteria are alive, and if the test chemistry is working, then ammonia goes to zero within days, nitrite can linger for weeks. Nitrate will form as nitrite declines, but our test kits cannot accurately measure nitrate in the presence in nitrite, so, don’t worry about nitrates until nitrite is zero.

Understood. Thank you for the reassurance Dan, much appreciated!

 

[ReefGeezer]

Colors are so dark, they are off the charts, literally. Also, protein skimmer is NOT turned on.

How many ppm is "through the roof"?

 

[bluecheese]

Oh wow, 30 days and you used fritz as well?

I had to double check my tank maintenance log, and just realized that Hurricane Ida messed up my testing schedule, so the amount of time it took for ammonia and nitrite to read zero is unknown. When I started the tank, I used Turbo Start, but I went with a fish cycle instead of using pure ammonia.

Added fish and Turbo Start on 08/02/21
Ammonia showed a reading on 08/05/21, with nitrite showing up on 08/20/21.
The last water test I did before the hurricane was on 08/26/21, reading both ammonia and nitrite.

When we finally got power on 09/15/21, both ammonia and nitrite were zero. So, the cycle could have ended anywhere in between those dates.

 

[Picassoclown]

I had to double check my tank maintenance log, and just realized that Hurricane Ida messed up my testing schedule, so the amount of time it took for ammonia and nitrite to read zero is unknown. When I started the tank, I used Turbo Start, but I went with a fish cycle instead of using pure ammonia.

Added fish and Turbo Start on 08/02/21
Ammonia showed a reading on 08/05/21, with nitrite showing up on 08/20/21.
The last water test I did before the hurricane was on 08/26/21, reading both ammonia and nitrite.

When we finally got power on 09/15/21, both ammonia and nitrite were zero. So, the cycle could have ended anywhere in between those dates.

Thank you for the reply. I appreciate it. I have an idea now on how long it should take to get this tank cycled!

 

[doubleshot00]

I would have added the whole bottle.

My wifes little fluval with TS plus ammonia cycled in 3 days but i used live rock and old media balls.

My 90 cycled in 7 days using TS and ammonia. All dry rock and new media.

Every tank is different i guess

 

[Picassoclown]

I would have added the whole bottle.

My wifes little fluval with TS plus ammonia cycled in 3 days but i used live rock and old media balls.

My 90 cycled in 7 days using TS and ammonia. All dry rock and new media.

Every tank is different i guess

Yup, I should have added the whole thing, but time is on my side. Just gonna wait it out. Thanks for your reply!

 

[Dan_P]

I would have added the whole bottle.

My wifes little fluval with TS plus ammonia cycled in 3 days but i used live rock and old media balls.

My 90 cycled in 7 days using TS and ammonia. All dry rock and new media.

Every tank is different i guess

Maybe every bottle of bacteria is different