Dr Tims fishless cycle

[Whatnow]

Hey guys the tank has been running for a week now. Dosed with Dr. Tim's one and done solution then the next day dosed a 3ppm ammonia amount. Now at the 3 day mark I checked my levels and my Ammonia was at 1ppm, nitrites .25ppm & nitrates were 0ppm. So according to the instructions since the ammonia & nitrite were below .5ppm I dosed to 3ppm of ammonia. So I let it chill for 2 days then I checked my levels and they were ammonia .5ppm, nitrites 1ppm & nitrates 20ppm. Now for the long drawn out question. I'm not running my protein skimmer while cycling so should I be worried about the nitrate levels or should I do a very small water change. I really don't want to delay the cycle longer by turning on the skimmer or water change. So is it cool to play a wait and see? Also now seem to be seeing some diatoms and brown algae just a tiny amount.

75 gallon ,2 powerheads
Marineland c530 canister, Esshops psk100

 

[melypr1985]

Wait until your ammonia and nitrite are zero. Then do the water change.

Looks good by the way And welcome to R2R

 

[Whatnow]

Well according to their website they say when your ammonia & nitrites are below .5 ppm then redose to 3ppm ammonia utill the nitrites & ammonia are zero the next day then the bacteria are active enough to do the water change then add clean up crew but never says anything about nitrates during the cycling (till the end when you do a water change)

 

[Lenny_S]

Leaving your lights off completely during the whole cycle will help. When an ammonia addition to 3ppm cans be processed to 0 in 24 hours then you're set. At that point you can manage the nitrates with a WC, or carbon dosing or what have you. You can keep the lights off during that time as well.

 

[Whatnow]

okay so not to worry about nitrates until it can handle getting the ammonia to 0 ppm then a WC then add the cleanup crew correct?

 

[jadwv2210]

okay so not to worry about nitrates until it can handle getting the ammonia to 0 ppm then a WC then add the cleanup crew correct?

That's right. I think most people recommend a fairly large water change to bring the nitrates down. Most of your beneficial bacteria lives on surfaces inside your tank so a large water change won't impact your tanks ability to process ammonia.

 

[Lenny_S]

That's right. I think most people recommend a faulty large water change to bring the nitrates down. Most of your beneficial bacteria lives on surfaces inside your tank so a large water change won't impact your tanks ability to process ammonia.

+1 on jadwv2210's post

 

[brandon429]

I have one confounding insert to add here

The tank is done when it can process 3 ish ppm ammonia to zero in 24 hours -after-a large water change before the test dose, see if you catch my drift:

speed cycling takes 2-3 week and not before that time frame to be done right, bacteria simply added to your water column can be digesting that or a large part of that test ammonia and this wont indicate what the substrate can do

The bottled bac itself can digest some ammonia, then you have test kit variance to consider as well, so as long as you are seeing ammonia go up and measurably down over a couple weeks time you know the substrates are cycling

 

[Whatnow]

Well I see my ammonia go up and down but the nitrites are staying up around 3ppm and nitrates around 20ppm seems like the only thing going up and down. I'm waiting for the nitrites to go down to .50 ppm to dose ammonia again..

 

[Jlobes]

Hey guys the tank has been running for a week now. Dosed with Dr. Tim's one and done solution then the next day dosed a 3ppm ammonia amount. Now at the 3 day mark I checked my levels and my Ammonia was at 1ppm, nitrites .25ppm & nitrates were 0ppm. So according to the instructions since the ammonia & nitrite were below .5ppm I dosed to 3ppm of ammonia. So I let it chill for 2 days then I checked my levels and they were ammonia .5ppm, nitrites 1ppm & nitrates 20ppm. Now for the long drawn out question. I'm not running my protein skimmer while cycling so should I be worried about the nitrate levels or should I do a very small water change. I really don't want to delay the cycle longer by turning on the skimmer or water change. So is it cool to play a wait and see? Also now seem to be seeing some diatoms and brown algae just a tiny amount.

Perhaps I missed something, but 1 is greater than 0.5.

You are correct, wait until BOTH ammonia and nitrites are below 0.5, then add ammonia again. Test the next day(after 24 hours), if the test shows both nitrite and ammonia are at zero, youre good to go and can add your first inhabitants.

If not, wait it out. If ammonia is 0-0.5 but nitrites are over 0.5, wait and continue testing daily. when your nitrites and ammonia are both under 0.5, again add ammonia. Continue this process of testing and adding ammonia when necessary until, as already stated, your ammonia and nitrite are zero after 24 hours.

Its very common to have the ammonia process quite quickly, but still have high nitrites for a few days. be patient and good things will come

 

[Whatnow]

Yeah I'm just waiting for the nitrites to come down so I can redose with the ammonia........

 

[Jlobes]

Yeah I'm just waiting for the nitrites to come down so I can redose with the ammonia........

Im in the same boat right now. Been a couple weeks, ammonia goes to almost zero in 24 hours, but nitrites are taking a few days still. Couple days ago, had a serious bacterial bloom, or something, as the tank went super cloudy for a day or so. Back to clear now, and just waiting for the cycle to be finished so I can get some fishes in there

 

[Whatnow]

ammonia goes to almost zero in 24 hours, but nitrites are taking a few days still

yeah my nitrites just hover between 2-3ppm so my substrates not up to par yet. Thinking about going to get about 20pds of live rock to throw in there.?.

 

[brandon429]

That will change your cycle approach in this way:

you wound stop dosing ammonia and rely on seeding from the live rock to finish.

its not that live rock cant take constant ammonia dosing and digest it, it's that we pay higher money for live rock animals and free ammonia kills them

dry substrate cycling is for raw ammonia

live rock is for zero ammonia constant


it is ok to use bottle bac in the blended tank, they will feed off the trace ammonia from respiring micro organisms in/on live rock we didn't kill with direct ammonia addition.

when you mix the two, you er with the live rock, it costs more and brings diversity that must remain alive to justify the purchase, imo

 

[Whatnow]

Okay today my ammonia is .25 ppm, nitrites are almost 5 ppm and nitrates are hovering just a tad above 20 ppm. I can't make it to my LFS till next weekend to get some live rock which I'm really thinking of purchasing. So my nitrites are really high so I'm going to stop dosing ammonia and just wait till next Friday to get about 30 pounds of live rock. Also getting a fair amount of brown algae on the sand and spots on the rock. No outbreak really just patches of it.....

 

[Jlobes]

dont stop testing. once your nitrites drop below .5, add more ammonia. Its not a fast or quick process, establishing a colony of bacteria to reduce waste, takes time. Everything in this hobby takes time and patience, and its usually only bad things that happen fast!

keep at it. I know it seems like forever, but one day, itll just be ready. the bacteria will create a critical mass and the cycle will be complete. I know the struggle, as Im deep in it myself. Everyone who has started a reef tank, knows this wait/struggle/journey of patience. its a great "intro" to tanks and the hobby, because this hobby is full of waiting.

happy weekend and halloween.

 

[Whatnow]

This is my first tank dosing ammonia so I'm a little lost on the progression with my last tank I had all live rock and sand and I saw more fluctuation in the levels and ammonia was always reading more and it was easier to see the progression of the cycle. The ammonia dosing method always have the ammonia reading way low.....even when add a high dose of 3ppm

 

[Whatnow]

Okay its been a little while so todays readings are ammonia 0 ppm, nitrites 2-3 ppm hard to tell really purple but doesn't have that redish hue to it and nitrates are around 20 ppm so really haven't dosed the tank all week cause of the nitrites haven't moved all week. Is it possible for a cycle to stall or should I do nothing and keep checking.....

 

[Jlobes]

stalling is possible, usually when too much ammonia is added or the ph goes down too far. If the nitrites are declining, id wait it out another day or two, see if they cant get it to under .5 Then i would add more ammonia and wait again. My tank was having a nitrite spike as well, added ammonia yesterday, today ammonia is .25 and nitrites just about .8 Not perfect and not cycled yet, but definitely a big improvement from last week. Patience is key, and regular testing.

 

[Whatnow]

ph is about 8.0 down a couple points and nitrites haven't budged at all in a couple days. If it stays the same till Monday should I do a partial water change and add some more starter bacteria?