Dr Tim's Cycle delaying of adding first fish

[krayzie]

Hi Everyone

i plan on using the Dr Tim's Method to kick off the cycle in my new tank in a few saturdays which im really excited about!

according to the instructions on day 9 it says to add fish but unfortunatly i wont be able to get to my LFS to get my first fish. If i waited until day 15 to introduce my first fish to the tank, what would happen to my cycle if i delayed the new addition?

thanks

https://www.drtimsaquatics.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/FishlessCycling_prescription_recipe.pdf

 

[saltypepper]

Should be find you can always feed the tank ammonia on day 9 but the big concern is not what the package says but what your test results say for nitirte, ammonia, and nitrate to determine if your tank actually is cycled. If you still have a high spike in ammonia or nitirte in your tank and it is not coming down your tank is not ready.
You are probably excited to get some fish but don’t rush into it. Nothing good comes from rushing. My new tank I have right now I dowsed my tank in August but still now fish but I used a raw shrimp for my Ammon and yes my tank has cycled according to the my Hanna testers but I also cutting my rock (letting the algae go nuts and have pincushion sea urchins clean it and qting my fish).
So there is nothing wrong with not adding fish at day 9 just make sure your tank is actually cycled when you add the fish.

 

[krayzie]

Hi Saltypepper,

im all for waiting, infact it works to my time frame. i was concerned about the chemistry if i did not follow the instructions to a T.

what would happen if i waited longer with out fish? would you have to ghost feed?

also from his instructions:
"When you can add 2 ppm ammonia and BOTH ammonia and nitrite are below 0.2 ppm (NH3-N or NO2-N) the next day your tank is cycled"

 

[brandon429]

@DrTim

Im curious per your instructions what test kits do you think the masses run that allows them to discern .2 ammonia in their cycle? Can you post an example of an API .2 color?


and when you post that, if you post that, what if I show you five examples of a year-old fully stocked reef tank running 1+ppm on api?

why did you create conflicting measures in your cycle rules?

were you aware when writing those rules that nobody has a test kit that discerns those levels reliably, causing mass confusion (and thousands of false stall cycling posts due to the conflicts stated) and eventual sales of multiple bottles of bacteria they didn’t need?

thought I’d ask the man himself. He posts here occasionally, every three years or so

lastly

why do you have a requirement for nitrite to be below .2 for safety when our chemists here know nitrite doesn’t factor at all in a reef tank cycle? Post for us a single example in all of reefing, a link from any site since the inception of the Internet, where any reading for nitrite mattered in someone’s cycle

use web links from a reef forum post as the proof, not one of your studies

 

[saltypepper]

Hi Saltypepper,

im all for waiting, infact it works to my time frame. i was concerned about the chemistry if i did not follow the instructions to a T.

what would happen if i waited longer with out fish? would you have to ghost feed?

also from his instructions:
"When you can add 2 ppm ammonia and BOTH ammonia and nitrite are below 0.2 ppm (NH3-N or NO2-N) the next day your tank is cycled"

If it is a few days not really a week or two just add some fish food to the tank to keep feeding the bacteria.

His instructions are just say that when you add the ammonia and both ammonia and nitrite is below that level there is enough bacteria to convert ammonia to nitirte and bacteria to convert nitirte to nitrate for a few fish.

 

[tzabor10]

I certainly understand wanting to get started quickly. I used many of the same techniques with my 120 gallon. Finally got frustrated and added live rock from another tank. That seeded a great batch of bacteria and quickly cycled the tank. I’m sure other reefers or the lfs has some to buy/share.

 

[mfinn]

Ghost feed the tank

 

[Jedi1199]

If your tank is ready today, fill it today and toss in a cube or 2 of frozen brine shrimp. In a a few Saturdays, your tank will be cycled, and you did not waste any money enriching the bottled snake oil salesmen.