Dr Tim’s and instant cycling

Emma_fish · Sep 28, 2020

Kinjirra said:
Dr. Tims sells a fishless cycle kit if your not sure on dropping in a fish right away. I plan on dropping in a fish on day one as they are the ammonia source . Just gotta check your water daily. Of course everyone has their own opinions and im just spouting someone elses experience and advice though they are a professional. Look up some of the BRS vids and the starting series from Saltwater Aquarium.com on youtube.

Oh great thanks do I add fish on day one of just upswing Dr Tim’s one and only if so what fish do you recommend ?

spiraling · Sep 28, 2020

You can get pure ammonia at your hardware store. Just be sure you don't get one with sulficants in it (additives). As posted above its much quicker and easier.
I prefer dry rock becasue I had 2 hitchikers that destroyed my tank and I will not do that again. But it does take longer. If you have freshwater then you already know the waiting game.

spiraling · Sep 28, 2020

Emma_fish said:
Oh great thanks do I add fish on day one of just upswing Dr Tim’s one and only if so what fish do you recommend ?

I also recommend waiting and checking your cycle so you KNOW the bacteria is established enough to consume quite a bit of ammonia with no spike to ammonia or nitirite.

If your tank is truely cycled all but the most delicate fish will work. What kind of fish do you want to put in the tank?

Kinjirra · Sep 28, 2020

Clownfish seem to be the number 1 choice for your first fish from everything I have heard no matter who is speaking. They are tough fishes. Im planning on adding a pair then wait a month before anything else. Like I said look up the BRS vids and SaltwaterAquarium vids on youtube. Tons of good info

Emma_fish · Sep 28, 2020

Kinjirra said:
Clownfish seem to be the number 1 choice for your first fish from everything I have heard no matter who is speaking. They are tough fishes. Im planning on adding a pair then wait a month before anything else. Like I said look up the BRS vids and SaltwaterAquarium vids on youtube. Tons of good info

I think the film Finding nemo had a lot to do with that but to be honest that isn’t why I’m buying the fish I’m getting them because I love the species and I am doing a lot of research waiting a month before adding other fish sounds like a good idea I will do that thank you

Emma_fish · Sep 28, 2020

spiraling said:
I also recommend waiting and checking your cycle so you KNOW the bacteria is established enough to consume quite a bit of ammonia with no spike to ammonia or nitirite.

If your tank is truely cycled all but the most delicate fish will work. What kind of fish do you want to put in the tank?

Do stocking I am hoping to have
2x ocellaris clownfish
1x emerald crab
1x pink tile sea star
Corals
1x Bubble tip anemone
1x dwarf coloured feather duster
What saltwater fish would you say is the hardiest fish to add on day one ?

spiraling · Sep 28, 2020

Emma_fish said:
Do stocking I am hoping to have
2x ocellaris clownfish
1x emerald crab
1x pink tile sea star
Corals
1x Bubble tip anemone
1x dwarf coloured feather duster
What saltwater fish would you say is the hardiest fish to add on day one ?

The pink star is fragile and hard to care for. Read up on those before you get one.
Clownfish are very hardy. I would still wait a few weeks to add them, but they are a good chioce. The anemone needs an established tank and you should wait (6 months?) to get one.

Emma_fish · Sep 28, 2020

spiraling said:
The pink star is fragile and hard to care for. Read up on those before you get one.
Clownfish are very hardy. I would still wait a few weeks to add them, but they are a good chioce. The anemone needs an established tank and you should wait (6 months?) to get one.

Ok I will read further on the star am I wan only planning on adding corals further down the line anyways so what type of fish do I add on day one if I should wait a few weeks for the clownfish ?

Daniel@R2R · Sep 28, 2020

I have seen this happen very quickly, but I always wait on my tank to mature at least a bit before adding livestock. I think it CAN work, but I prefer to give it time just to make sure.

NigelRichardson · Sep 29, 2020

I found myself in exactly the same position as you a few months back - first saltwater tank after "graduating" from fresh... Oh - and completely confused by the 10 people = 12 opinions...

I can only tell you what I did and what worked for me - I used Dr Tims One and Only to start my first reef tank, and have been super happy with the results.

HOWEVER - I followed the recipe EXACTLY 100% to the letter - Ammonia drops as per the recipe below. (Only posting this link since its not super easy to find from the Dr Tims site)

https://store.drtimsaquatics.com/assets/images/pdfs/DrTims-Fishless-Cycling-Recipe-and-Guide-0920.pdf

I have heard 101 opinions on cycling, but worked on the theory that someone with "Dr" (and yes he's a real doctor - its not just a marketing title) in their name, and a professional background in this stuff was worth trusting...

I too have heard that you can use a fish / fish food, but figured a calculated number of drops of Ammonia (Not just any old ammonia - Dr Tims - its cheap stuff and you only ever need one bottle) was more scientific...

Best of luck !

Emma_fish · Sep 30, 2020

NigelRichardson said:
I found myself in exactly the same position as you a few months back - first saltwater tank after "graduating" from fresh... Oh - and completely confused by the 10 people = 12 opinions...

I can only tell you what I did and what worked for me - I used Dr Tims One and Only to start my first reef tank, and have been super happy with the results.

HOWEVER - I followed the recipe EXACTLY 100% to the letter - Ammonia drops as per the recipe below. (Only posting this link since its not super easy to find from the Dr Tims site)

https://store.drtimsaquatics.com/assets/images/pdfs/DrTims-Fishless-Cycling-Recipe-and-Guide-0920.pdf

I have heard 101 opinions on cycling, but worked on the theory that someone with "Dr" (and yes he's a real doctor - its not just a marketing title) in their name, and a professional background in this stuff was worth trusting...

I too have heard that you can use a fish / fish food, but figured a calculated number of drops of Ammonia (Not just any old ammonia - Dr Tims - its cheap stuff and you only ever need one bottle) was more scientific...

Best of luck !

Great thank you this was very very helpful

tc760 · Sep 30, 2020

I used it on my first and second build and it seemed to help. My last build earlier this year was a BB 180g and the cycle took 45ish days. Everything I read says it's great with sand but bare bottom tanks just take a lot longer due to less places for the bacteria to live

Zoe’s Reef · Sep 30, 2020

I'm currently cycling my BioCube 32g with Dr. Tim's One and Only Fishless Cycle kit, which comes with the One and Only nitrifying bacteria, as well as Ammonium Chloride to feed the bacteria. The kit also came with a nice chart to follow along with and it explained everything, like how much, how often, and when to do your first water change. While the chart only goes until Day 14, and implies that you'll be able to add your fish by Day 9, I'm currently on Day 21 and have not added fish just yet. I've started with live sand and dry rock, and I think the dry rock was taking a little longer to cycle. I've been testing every single day and my nitrates were too high even after my first water change, so after a 30% water change yesterday it looks like I'll be able to add fish in a couple more days.
If you're interested in what my cycle has looked like down to the numbers, I've recorded everything in my build thread: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/zoes-reef-coralife-biocube-32g.747987/

92Miata · Sep 30, 2020

From watching threads on this forum - Dr Tims seems to be the one people have the most problems with - as far as it taking longer than expected. I'm not sure if this is a shipping/storage/age/etc issue, or an issue with the product .

I've used BioSpira to do my last 3 tanks. Fish in on day 2-3. Never any registered ammonia.

Dosing ammonia is both unnecessary and counterproductive.

Emma_fish · Sep 30, 2020

92Miata said:
From watching threads on this forum - Dr Tims seems to be the one people have the most problems with - as far as it taking longer than expected. I'm not sure if this is a shipping/storage/age/etc issue, or an issue with the product .

I've used BioSpira to do my last 3 tanks. Fish in on day 2-3. Never any registered ammonia.

Dosing ammonia is both unnecessary and counterproductive.

Oh thank you this sounds a lot better but I will have to do some more research

Scoral · Oct 2, 2020

Cycle your saltwater aquarium. Step 1: A new reefer's guide to ammonia and the nitrogen cycle

This is the first of our two episodes created to show you how to successfully cycle your new reef aquarium. You will not only learn how to make the water safe for fish but also get valuable advice to avoid a slew of challenges new aquarists often run into. We split this up because there are two

www.bulkreefsupply.com

TerraFerma · Oct 2, 2020

Never had an issue using it to set up a same day QT tank. But I wouldn’t use it for the express purpose of trying to get fish into a display as quickly as possible, tempting as it is.

I should add that when I do same day 20 g QT setup I add a sack of micropore ceramic media that is rated for a 200 gallon tank.

TysonH · Oct 2, 2020

I put in dry rock and live sand with Dr Tim's and added a peppermint shrimp. Waited a week and was good to go with fish. Added coral a couple weeks later and nothing has died. Coral is already growing like crazy.