fishless cycle - am i doing this right?

[ellfe]

hi friends, wondering if i am doing this correct
redsea 170 42g
brightwell aquatics microbacteria start
dr tim’s ammonium
no filter or skimmer running

i’m on day 4 of my fishless cycle, here’s what i have been doing(i realize i have been adding too much ammonia-oops):
15 capfuls of bacteria start on day 1
130 drops of ammonia
2 capfuls bacteria start on day 2
130 drops of ammonia
2 capfuls bacteria start on day 3
130 drops of ammonia
2 capfuls bacteria start on day 4
130 drops of ammonia

i realize D: now that the ammonia should be halved after day 1- i also don’t know if i should keep adding bacteria but i don’t want them to be dying off- is that ok to do?
but here’s the problem i’m having
i tested today (day 4) after dosing and got these results

hanna checkers are shipped and on their way as of a couple days ago because i can’t tell really with the colors.. shouldn’t the nitrates be high? or is this okay? what else should i be testing right now? sorry for the rookie questions, i want to make sure i have this right

 

[Spare time]

All you have to do is add a couple ppm ammonia, add the bacteria, wait for ammonia to go away, wait for nitrite to go away, test the nitrates, and do a water change. I have no clue what ppm ammonia you have dosed but have you used an ammonia or nitrite kit?

 

[ellfe]

All you have to do is add a couple ppm ammonia, add the bacteria, wait for ammonia to go away, wait for nitrite to go away, test the nitrates, and do a water change. I have no clue what ppm ammonia you have dosed but have you used an ammonia or nitrite kit?

i followed the instructions for dr tim’s for the ppm, factored in rock
i don’t have ammonia or nitrite kits, i should be testing for nitrite instead of nitrate?
what about my current test? i dont know if its what it should be

 

[FUNGI]

dont bother with the nitrites......just test for nitrates in another 2 days.....cycles usually should take 10~14 days using Dr.Tims

 

[ellfe]

dont bother with the nitrites......just test for nitrates in another 2 days.....cycles usually should take 10~14 days using Dr.Tims

thanks what should my levels be in a couple days?

 

[FUNGI]

depends on too many factors......
best word of advice (take it or not) in this hobby is patience.....

 

[ellfe]

depends on too many factors......
best word of advice (take it or not) in this hobby is patience.....

???

 

[vcnt]

i followed the instructions for dr tim’s for the ppm, factored in rock
i don’t have ammonia or nitrite kits, i should be testing for nitrite instead of nitrate?
what about my current test? i dont know if its what it should be

Im on the same boat as you, day 10 of cycle. API nitrate results are thrown off sometimes in my experience. with a high reading because of the presence of nitrite. I was reading dark red (around 80) nitrate and i got my water tested at the LFS and he read 0 nitrate. Just wait it out until there's no ammonia or nitrite.

 

[Spare time]

i followed the instructions for dr tim’s for the ppm, factored in rock
i don’t have ammonia or nitrite kits, i should be testing for nitrite instead of nitrate?
what about my current test? i dont know if its what it should be

The reason its handy to test nitrite is that it can make nitrate appear very high when testing. If you don't have the kit don't worry about it.

 

[ScottJ]

thanks what should my levels be in a couple days?

What Hanna Checker are you getting? Nitrate? If so, good. You will see a nitrate reading after a few days. Unfortunately, there is no 'after X days the nitrate will be X ppm' rules. GENERALLY, if you add 2 ppm ammonia and bottled bacteria, after 10 days or so, you should be able to clear 2 ppm ammonia in 24 hours.

If you can test for ammonia, go ahead just yo make sure it's not crazy high. (you thought you may have added too much?) If you can't, don't worry about it, but don't add any more right now.

Yes handy to test for nitrites, but not really super necessary. Nitrate is what you need to wait for. And yes, PATIENCE is the key to a reef aquarium.

 

[ellfe]

What Hanna Checker are you getting? Nitrate? If so, good. You will see a nitrate reading after a few days. Unfortunately, there is no 'after X days the nitrate will be X ppm' rules. GENERALLY, if you add 2 ppm ammonia and bottled bacteria, after 10 days or so, you should be able to clear 2 ppm ammonia in 24 hours.

If you can test for ammonia, go ahead just yo make sure it's not crazy high. (you thought you may have added too much?) If you can't, don't worry about it, but don't add any more right now.

Yes handy to test for nitrites, but not really super necessary. Nitrate is what you need to wait for. And yes, PATIENCE is the key to a reef aquarium.

i splurged and bought a kit after using the regular ones for so long - https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/h...phate-checker-hc-saltwater-hanna-instruments/

i was more so looking for a range of what it should be to know if i am on the right track

and thanks, i know.. i am patient, all im asking about is testing.. i have a mature tank already, this is my second
if i was impatient, i would probably be doing a fish-in cycle

 

[Cell]

If you have an existing tank, no need to waste money on cycling products. Take some rock from your mature tank or seed some new rock and move it over to skip the cycle.

 

[ellfe]

If you have an existing tank, no need to waste money on cycling products. Take some rock from your mature tank or seed some new rock and move it over to skip the cycle.

yeah, not looking to do that but ty, aiptasia present , don’t want it

 

[ScottJ]

i splurged and bought a kit after using the regular ones for so long - https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/h...phate-checker-hc-saltwater-hanna-instruments/

i was more so looking for a range of what it should be to know if i am on the right track

and thanks, i know.. i am patient, all im asking about is testing.. i have a mature tank already, this is my second
if i was impatient, i would probably be doing a fish-in cycle

I guess you did splurge! Nice!

As far as range, nitrate will start by being above 0 ppm, and you want to should end up between 0 and 20 ppm. BUT it all depends on how much ammonia was there to begin with.

I don't blame you about the aiptasia situation. In my small tank, they pop up on occasion. I kill them with kalk. I haven't seen any in my bigger tank, and, knock on wood, I won't!

 

[ellfe]

I guess you did splurge! Nice!

As far as range, nitrate will start by being above 0 ppm, and you want to should end up between 0 and 20 ppm. BUT it all depends on how much ammonia was there to begin with.

I don't blame you about the aiptasia situation. In my small tank, they pop up on occasion. I kill them with kalk. I haven't seen any in my bigger tank, and, knock on wood, I won't!

thank you
i’m hoping to keep them out.. if it means waiting longer so be it!

 

[vcnt]

I guess you did splurge! Nice!

Ive heard that some hannas are good and some are not so good, are all of these reliable readings?

 

[Lavey29]

I agree with the above posts. Basically all you are looking for is adding ammonia now and if it reads 0 within 24 hours and you have good nitrates production then tour tank is cycling fine. Nitrites are irrelevant in reef aquaria.

 

[Dan_P]

hi friends, wondering if i am doing this correct
redsea 170 42g
brightwell aquatics microbacteria start
dr tim’s ammonium
no filter or skimmer running

i’m on day 4 of my fishless cycle, here’s what i have been doing(i realize i have been adding too much ammonia-oops):
15 capfuls of bacteria start on day 1
130 drops of ammonia
2 capfuls bacteria start on day 2
130 drops of ammonia
2 capfuls bacteria start on day 3
130 drops of ammonia
2 capfuls bacteria start on day 4
130 drops of ammonia

i realize D: now that the ammonia should be halved after day 1- i also don’t know if i should keep adding bacteria but i don’t want them to be dying off- is that ok to do?
but here’s the problem i’m having
i tested today (day 4) after dosing and got these results

hanna checkers are shipped and on their way as of a couple days ago because i can’t tell really with the colors.. shouldn’t the nitrates be high? or is this okay? what else should i be testing right now? sorry for the rookie questions, i want to make sure i have this right

You need to be measuring ammonia to monitor progress. There is a possibility that you have added too much ammonia because the bacteria are slow to start.

Nitrate concentration will not rise until the nitrite increases. It can take weeks for the nitrite consuming bacteria to start doing their job. Also note that the nitrate test gives high readings in the presence of nitrite. Since your nitrate test result appears very low or zero, we can take that to mean the nitrifying bacteria are not growing yet.

You will need to measue the ammonia concentration to ensure it is below 5 ppm. A high ammonia concentration could slow or stop nitrifying bacteria growth.

 

[ScottJ]

Ive heard that some hannas are good and some are not so good, are all of these reliable readings?

I only have the alk checker, so I can't speak to the others. But, they look nice

 

[Cell]

I recommend Alk, HR Nitrate and ULR Phosphate Hanna checkers and Salifert for calcium.