Cycling

[Bobothegreat]

so curious how long it takes for the ammonia to build up I dropped in a shrimp 7 days ago sitting at aprox 7.9 ph. 1 ppm ammonia 0 nitrite and nitrate expect 0 nitrite and nitrate. But thought ammonia would be a little higher

 

[Bobothegreat]

Temp is also at 79 Fahrenheit

 

[Bobothegreat]

Did a check and noticed my ph is still rising it looks to be about 8.8

 

[Bobothegreat]

16 hours since my last check it’s gone up .4

 

[Bobothegreat]

Does anyone know what the ph should be when cycling?

 

[Reeferdood]

Did a check and noticed my ph is still rising it looks to be about 8.8

How are you testing for pH??
That seems rather high.

 

[Bobothegreat]

Sadly at the moment all I have is api. I do have a Red Sea kit on the way

 

[lapin]

so curious how long it takes for the ammonia to build up I dropped in a shrimp 7 days ago sitting at aprox 7.9 ph. 1 ppm ammonia 0 nitrite and nitrate expect 0 nitrite and nitrate. But thought ammonia would be a little higher

1 ppm is fine. You dont need more. Ammonia level depends on the water volume and the amount of dead shrimp.

Does anyone know what the ph should be when cycling?

Ph of 8.8 is fine. As long as you are in the middle and are not at either end of the scale. We know bacteria has been found in the most harsh conditions. Here is a chart of ph and some idea of what certain levels are in products.

 

[Bobothegreat]

1 ppm is fine. You dont need more. Ammonia level depends on the water volume and the amount of dead shrimp.


Ph of 8.8 is fine. As long as you are in the middle and are not at either end of the scale. We know bacteria has been found in the most harsh conditions. Here is a chart of ph and some idea of what certain levels are in products.

Awesome thank you for that. Been a long time since I’ve had a tank and first saltwater so trying to make sure I do it right

 

[Jason mack]

Sadly at the moment all I have is api. I do have a Red Sea kit on the way

Hi Bob , firstly don’t worry , your tank still has a way too go for the cycle I would say at a guess 6-8 weeks , have you added any good bacteria too the tank dr Tim’s or something similar, this will be beneficial too the cycle , but sit back and have patience.. use these next few weeks too read , and research as much as you can here a link too start you off
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/cycling-an-aquarium.306554/
Patience and good research are your best friends now , the tank is gonna do its thing anyway ... don’t be afraid to ask questions on here ..
Success
Mack

 

[Reeferdood]

1 ppm is fine. You dont need more. Ammonia level depends on the water volume and the amount of dead shrimp.


Ph of 8.8 is fine. As long as you are in the middle and are not at either end of the scale. We know bacteria has been found in the most harsh conditions. Here is a chart of ph and some idea of what certain levels are in products.

I always thought the pH goes lower during the nitrogen cycle, am I wrong?

 

[Bobothegreat]

I’ve read through the cycling and supreme guide but my tanks threw me off. It said stage 4 I believe is where diatoms show up. I have them during stage 1.

 

[Jason mack]

Ok then a little more info over your tank ,setup ,start up ,
How big , how old ,started with live rock or dry rock , sand ??????photos will also help , my guess is you’ve started with dry rock and sand ... ... but it’s nothing too worry about honestly ..

 

[Bobothegreat]

Ok then a little more info over your tank ,setup ,start up ,
How big , how old ,started with live rock or dry rock , sand ??????photos will also help , my guess is you’ve started with dry rock and sand ... ... but it’s nothing too worry about honestly ..

My camera stopped working this morning so I can’t help with the pics. But it is a 40 breeder. About 10 days in. Live sand and dry rock. Just retested try to do 2 a day. Ammonia dropped to .5 ppm ph is still 8.8. Nitrites and nitrates 0. Started with a large shrimp

 

[Jason mack]

IMO ... you can ease off the testing a bit ... it’s good too practice and get used too using them , but at this stage 2 day is a lot ... nothing good happens fast in a reef ..!!!!!
Your nitrites will take 2-3 weeks to process then another 2-3 weeks for nitrates .. time and patience is what’s needed .. test for nitrites in 2-3 days .. and then in another 2-3 days .. try and do the test at the same time of the day ...
After 6-8 weeks you should be ready ... you can test this by adding ammonia ( bought in supermarket ) add till it reaches 2 ppm ( by testing ) then test after 24 hrs if ammonia is 0 your tank has cycled and you can start adding CLean up crew ... so you see ... long way too go yet ... relax enjoy ... and research research research
Edit ... adding some dr.tims or something similar would be a good idea

 

[Bobothegreat]

I will see what I can find difficult since I’m in japan at the moment hard to read stuff lol

 

[Jason mack]

I will see what I can find difficult since I’m in japan at the moment hard to read stuff lol

Well luckily for you R2R is in English and there’s just about a trillion years worth of experience available at your fingertips .. you can use the search bar above or watch the many many films on YouTube .... the options are endless .. and we are all here too help !!

 

[Bayareareefer18]

I agree with everyone else. I recently just finished cycling my first reef

Ammonia rose and fell quickly but nitrites stayed very high for quite some time. Drove me crazy testing too often. At one point just let it be. It took about 2.5 months for full cycle and nitrite to drop to 0.

 

[Bobothegreat]

Well luckily for you R2R is in English and there’s just about a trillion years worth of experience available at your fingertips .. you can use the search bar above or watch the many many films on YouTube .... the options are endless .. and we are all here too help !!

Very true