Help with cycling

BitFix · Jun 19, 2019

I've been trying to cycle my quarantine tank, but I think something is wrong. I've been dosing ammonia in my reef tank for about 1 week, the ammonia is about 5% and the quarantine is about 5 gallons (will only house small fish like clownfish and cardinal bangai). I've been dosing about 1,2ml of ammonia accordingly to an online calculator to try and rise the level to 3ppm, but my salifert ammonia test has been showing this cloudy white color, which I assumed as being 0ppm.
What should I do? I was planning on doing a 100% water change and starting all over again, maybe my ammonia is th problem and I should just throw an shrimp in it?
Also I'm dosing Stability from seachem if that helps

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Sashaka · Jun 19, 2019

Cycling a tank takes patience. It will happen. Keep dosing. It takes anywhere from 3 to 6 weeks (average is about 4 weeks) depending on the dosing schedule and any extra dosing of bacteria that is added.

I usually seed my tank with a piece of Marine Pure block from one of my other tanks. A large chunk pretty much cycles the tank within a few days. Adding MicroBacter7 can speed up the process too. I've cycled in about 2-3 weeks using this product before.

I have cycled dosing both ammonia and dropping in several full sized shrimps, but I prefer dosing with ammonia. Once the cycle starts, for me, it goes much quicker with ammonia, and it's much cleaner too. I do about a 30-40% water change when ammonia and nitrites read 0 and nitrates are the only thing registering. After the tank registers 0 nitrite, I recheck every few days to make sure the tank remains stable before adding snails or a fish. Others here will likely have their favorite method of cycling a tank too. As most things in the saltwater hobby, there is not just one way.

I'm not sure about the cloudy white water. That usually means a bacterial bloom of some sort. Are you using RODI water?

bluprntguy · Jun 19, 2019

Have you ever seen any nitrite? It looks like your tank is already processing ammonia into nitrate.

Since you are using bottled bacteria, some carbon either via a small piece of food or small piece of shrimp will help establish the bacteria. I don't think you need to start all over with a water change now.

lapin · Jun 19, 2019

Just need to ask. Is your ammonia, just ammonia or does it have other cleaning products or scent ?
Do you have rock or something for the bacteria to colonize?

W1ngz · Jun 19, 2019

Is that the result of the ammonia test immediately after dosing, after letting it mix in the tank for 10-15 minutes, or after 24+hours?

BitFix · Jun 19, 2019

Sashaka said:
Cycling a tank takes patience. It will happen. Keep dosing. It takes anywhere from 3 to 6 weeks (average is about 4 weeks) depending on the dosing schedule and any extra dosing of bacteria that is added.

I usually seed my tank with a piece of Marine Pure block from one of my other tanks. A large chunk pretty much cycles the tank within a few days. Adding MicroBacter7 can speed up the process too. I've cycled in about 2-3 weeks using this product before.

I have cycled dosing both ammonia and dropping in several full sized shrimps, but I prefer dosing with ammonia. Once the cycle starts, for me, it goes much quicker with ammonia, and it's much cleaner too. I do about a 30-40% water change when ammonia and nitrites read 0 and nitrates are the only thing registering. After the tank registers 0 nitrite, I recheck every few days to make sure the tank remains stable before adding snails or a fish. Others here will likely have their favorite method of cycling a tank too. As most things in the saltwater hobby, there is not just one way.

I'm not sure about the cloudy white water. That usually means a bacterial bloom of some sort. Are you using RODI water?

My issue is not about how cycling works, I'm just worried about my test kit. Is the test result supposed to be cloudy? Is the ammonia just being converted before I test?

BitFix · Jun 19, 2019

lapin said:
Just need to ask. Is your ammonia, just ammonia or does it have other cleaning products or scent ?
Do you have rock or something for the bacteria to colonize?

It's pure Ammonium Hydroxide diluted in water

BitFix · Jun 19, 2019

W1ngz said:
Is that the result of the ammonia test immediately after dosing, after letting it mix in the tank for 10-15 minutes, or after 24+hours?

About 24 hours later, but I tried testing right after and the test water was still cloudy

Style185 · Jun 19, 2019

Seems as if there's a lot of "snake oil" out there. Patience is key just feed the system food and good things come with time!

W1ngz · Jun 19, 2019

If it's still cloudy after it's mixed for a few minutes then either you have bad ammonia or a bad test kit, this isn't a cycle thing at all.
Try 1 drop of ammonia in a large glass of RODI water and run the test after stirring it and letting it sit a couple of minutes. There has to be positive ammonia in that, and I'd bet you get clear/cloudy again.