agreed, you can do it within 3 weeks, 40 days is 100% completion across tanks
most cycling threads are API ammonia, occasionally red sea nowadays, and they're not cross verified. threads that track cycling completion date show massive variance in testing reliance, so we developed known submersion times that cover all 3 common cycles
-live rock moved from tank to tank
-dry rock cycles
-mixed cycles of the two (these three comprise 97% of all cycling threads)
his type of cycle would likely be done before 40 days, but then for sure. this removes the headache of depending on a test.
we also have a way to run a complete dry system cycle at the 15 day mark...without testing, due to known bacterial rates given certain controls.
online calculators show how much AC to add, given the %, to a given volume to get the 1-2 ppm and it works every time due to dilution chemistry.
from that addition, and the timed addition of bottled bac, the system can be ran out to day 15 then fully changed, then oxidation tested, and it will pass. the nitrite and nitrate are both fully known from the amnt of ammonia added, no need to test and verify whats already known. when tests don't back things up, the tester instantly doubts the biology and that's how api has impacted us bigtime.
testing never determines the endpoint of a cycle, submersion time with known boosters determines it, and a portion of cyclers are able to render test kits to back up that claim. If we rely on testing, then ten thousand stuck cycle .25 threads will be the result, though those tanks were cycled long into the supposed pause.
testing of final wastewater is another huge issue, reset the water table if you can to make things easier, after the known sub time. much of the false nitrite stalled cycled threads are wastewater testing after 5x the normal amnts of raw ammonia added... plus they're using Prime which is a known api nitrite test adulterant. but not known to most nitrite testers....so we eliminated nitrite testing altogether in the microbiology of cycling thread.
ammonia and submersion time, so easy, so consistent.
in this particular case, shrimp cycling is so varied that the ammonia amnts could have spiked and troughed at intervals AC measured use would have never done. That there might be weird metabolites going on in this tank above isn't strange, its shrimp cycling. his bacteria likely are close to getting set, a couple weeks seals it tho.
ammonium chloride guided cycling is sleek n fast and predictable as well.
