I cant start my nitrogen cycle

[VSingapore]

Hi fellow reefers.. I proudly bought my first marine aquarium and cant wait to dive deeper into the joys of fish and coral keeping. Its been 6 days since my aquarium was set-up and I don't see any elevation in Amonia, Nitrite, Nitrate.. argh.. (testing with API test kit and Seachen Ammonia Alert)!! Have I used the wrong product to start the cycle? I was recommended to buy Tropic Marin Nitribiotic which I dosed as prescribed on the first day.. nothing is happening! For the bacteria I used Dr Tims One and Only, Microbacter, Caribsea live sand and Aquaforest Life Bio Fit for biological filter. Please help.. am I just being inpatient? or did I do something wrong?

 

[KrisReef]

Nothing shows up unless you put in an ammonia source to get things started. Is one of those an ammonia product, or are they all just bacteria? Add a dead shrimp, or some fish food, even cat food that can rot and feed the bacteria. Don't add much, just something.
Gl

 

[Suohhen]

Nitribiotic is bacteria, you have to add food or ammonia to start the cycle although with live sand and all the bacteria your adding you likely won't have much of a cycle at all.

 

[VSingapore]

Argh.. I thought that the Tropic Marin product I was given would start the cycle.. So how much fish food to put into a system of 160 litres? Maybe I have "too much" bacteria product so I need to add a fair bit of fish or cat food?

 

[KrisReef]

Argh.. I thought that the Tropic Marin product I was given would start the cycle.. So how much fish food to put into a system of 160 litres? Maybe I have "too much" bacteria product so I need to add a fair bit of fish or cat food?

A pinch or two to start, or look into purchasing a product like Dr. Tim Ammonia product and follow those directions?
Here is another thread that talks about both ghost feeding and Ammonia Chloride.

Ghost Feeding for cycling

After some research I decided I'm going to try ghost feeding to cycle my tank. So far I used Dr. Tim's one and only and ran for 48 hours before putting filter media in and now I am ready to start ghost feeding to get some ammonia in there. How much should I be feeding the tank, any suggestions...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[KrisReef]

I've always just used live rock, never worried about cycling, just was careful to allow time for bacteria to grow and added new fish slowly, less than 1/month. The bacteria and other micro fauna that marine life needs to have in an artificial system to thrive and be healthy takes time to culture. hth

 

[VSingapore]

Oh thank you everyone! Just bought and dosed Dr Tim Ammonium Chloride.. haha.. feeling a bit stupid. Thank you again!!

 

[KrisReef]

Oh thank you everyone! Just bought and dosed Dr Tim Ammonium Chloride.. haha.. feeling a bit stupid. Thank you again!!

Cool. You are on your way. These positive interactions are what the forum is supposed to provide a platform for and it seems to be working fine for this instance. Glad you asked so we could feel helpful!

 

[Rmckoy]

Throw a raw shrimp in a mesh bag or nylon with a knot tied in it .
throw it in and let it rot .
that’s plenty of ammonia to kick start a healthy biological filter

in the passed , I didn’t use the mesh bag ,
And as it rotted , it would eventually disappear