Endless Cycling since 30th August

[mofebubi]

Hello,
Is it normal to take so long? I am cycling a 250l tank and I add 2 ml bacteria three times per week.
I have NO2 in 0-1, 0,2 and does not drop so far.
Which are the bacteria you use for cycling?
Regards

 

[glb]

Hello,
Is it normal to take so long? I am cycling a 250l tank and I add 2 ml bacteria three times per week.
I have NO2 in 0-1, 0,2 and does not drop so far.
Which are the bacteria you use for cycling?
Regards

What is your ammonia source? What kind of rock do you have? Cycling can take a while but it’s possible that yours is stalled. What are your ammonia and nitrate readings?

 

[wonroc]

Seachem Stability bacteria, once a day for a week then om water changes. You shouldnt get ugly tank syndrome.

 

[mofebubi]

What is your ammonia source? What kind of rock do you have? Cycling can take a while but it’s possible that yours is stalled. What are your ammonia and nitrate readings?

Alive rock and sand.
I do not take amonnia readings m, NO3 readings between 1 and 5

 

[Little c big D]

Alive rock and sand.
I do not take amonnia readings m, NO3 readings between 1 and 5

Amonia test would be helpful during a cycle. However if youre reading nitrates, what makes you think it has stalled or been stuck?

 

[mofebubi]

Amonia test would be helpful during a cycle. However if youre reading nitrates, what makes you think it has stalled or been stuck?

I thought it will take less time, anyway i will check amonia now and post

 

[Timfish]

I use maricultured or wild live rock, it has a lot of stuff that can't be cultured and stuck in a bottle and has sponges and other organisms essential fo ra healthy reef ecossystm. Here's some stuff you might find informative and explains how reef ecosystems work:

Establishing a Healthy Microbiome in a New Aquarium Using Live Rock

Studying the effects of live rock in a newly established aquarium shows that high-quality live rock promotes the rapid establishment of an effective biological filter and a microbial community similar to those found in mature reef tanks.

www.reef2reef.com

"Coral Reefs in the Microbial Seas"

Changing Seas - Mysterious Microbes

Nitrogen cycling in hte coral holobiont

BActeria and Sponges

Maintenance of Coral Reef Health (refferences at the end)

Optical Feedback Loop in Colorful Coral Bleaching

Richard Ross What's up with phosphate"

 

[mofebubi]

Amonia test: 0.
I am not sure if I am dosing the right amount of bacteria. I follow the instrucctions of the product I use but it seems to be very slow or maybe am I wrong?

 

[glb]

Amonia test: 0.
I am not sure if I am dosing the right amount of bacteria. I follow the instrucctions of the product I use but it seems to be very slow or maybe am I wrong?

As long as your nitrates are going up, the cycle is fine. Eventually your nitrites will zero out and you’ll be done. Sometimes cycles are slow. I used Dr. Tim’s bacteria when I cycled my tank and that sped things up.

 

[brandon429]

M

post a clear pic of the rock you used I’ll show you a neat trick for your cycle, if indeed it was live rock when you started

was the rock brought home wet or dry to your tank

 

[mofebubi]

M

post a clear pic of the rock you used I’ll show you a neat trick for your cycle, if indeed it was live rock when you started

was the rock brought home wet or dry to your tank

The rock was dry but I wash it before I put in the tank to clean it.

 

[mofebubi]

What about disconnecting the skimmer to avoid eliminating the waste that feeds bacteria and adding a bit of shrimp to feed bacteria?

 

[Wyvern]

I gave up waiting for the Nitrites to drop, Cycle for me was literally ready in 1 week, but I went 3 waiting for Nirites to drop, and they never did, 4PPM of Ammonia was consumed in 24 hours, so I did a 90% change and plunked in fish, within days Nirite halved and then went to 0 and stayed like that- to note, my Nitrites were off the chart, even after a 90% water change.

IMHO, test for ammonia and niTRATE and only occasionally check Nitrites, also, never overdose Ammonia, too much raw ammonia will kill bacteria.

Also, dosing bacteria constantly is probably counter-productive, without enough food, bacteria will starve or even eat other good bacteria.

A water change is a good idea if you seem to stall out your cycle, the bacteria you want is on rock, sand and glass, not in the water.

 

[brandon429]

M

at day 20 in this arrangement you are done cycling and can begin, see any common cycling chart and thats where your parameters will be / ammonia is controlled by day ten in the arrangement you have made. Your test kits aren’t digital so they are only approximations, the time scaling here is enough. If you were on day three it wouldnt be, but you’re twenty days out and all bottle bac are done by now when tested on digital systems, you’re done cycling it doesn’t matter if you skim or not, begin reefing it’ll handle your early additions just fine.


it will help you to know that on day twenty 100% of all cycles ran on seneye, an accurate digital ammonia meter, are done and show total ammonia control and at no time will a cycle fail to be ready on day twenty in the arrangement you’ve created.


what you see online about stalled cycles is really just a bunch of non seneye panic reports, they’re not really stalled it’s why their fish were eating and doing fine, and only a nine dollar test kit said things were bad. Stuck cycles are a false event, it’s never happened on seneye not once so you’re ok here. That tank you have has plenty of rocks and sand surface area

 

[mofebubi]

Just one thing, I made a mistake about start date. It was on 30th July

 

[brandon429]

new cycling science exists primarily for this exact reason, to decide on start dates that old cycling science leaves totally open ended on purpose, because old cycling science puts 100% value and validation in any stated test parameter from any kit used. New cycling science knows how long surfaces require to take on bacteria because we track out other people's seneye threads and memorize the completion dates per the type of cycle applied, then that works in tanks even if the owner does not have a seneye, even when API or Red sea ammonia doesn't agree. the timing is more reliable than the test kits = new cycling science.

 

[brandon429]

please when you add fish and they've run a while, feeding and acting normally, w you update the thread with pics and I'll link this post to our massive collection of instantly unstuck cycles. we name specific start dates for every reef in that thread, and your specific start date (seneye compliance date even if you don't own a seneye) would be on day ten of the setup, after adding any bacteria, just like a cycle chart shows. good thing we're approaching eighty days ~~ 100% ready to reef. Old cycling science really truly would have made you wait until all nitrite is in perfect compliance too, new cycling science does not ever measure nitrite in a reef tank so we wouldnt care where its at

we ignore nitrite because of Randy's chemistry article on how its completely neutral in reef settings.

**your test kits aren't going to line up like you want, cease testing for the cycle its done because of the number of days you have been setup**

the proof that your cycle is unstuck wouldnt be from the same kits that are misreading, it will be from clear water, happy fish that swim and feed normally day by day. post an update after you've stocked a fed a while, a pic of the tank running with fish. that's final proof not any test kit reading other than seneye. (dont go buy a seneye, you're done and there isn't a need to measure ammonia anymore, am just stating what a seneye would show if you had one)

 

[mofebubi]

Still cycling.
No2: varies between 0,5-1
NO3: 1
Cycling since 30th July.
Now adding bacteria daily: 15ml special blend

 

[brandon429]

done cycling, but using non seneye test kits.

all dosed cycles where you added boosts are done by 20-30 days max. the only way to find anything different is to base the cycle on non digital tests and report nh4 vs nh3.

 

[Tamberav]

No2 isn't toxic in saltwater so I wouldn't worry about it. Your cycle is probably done.

Also I wish places that sold rock would stop calling DRY rock "Live rock" - there is nothing alive on dead dry rock.