is my cycle stalled?

dkosdros · May 19, 2016

For filter I'm just using dry rock and aragonite sand, I haven't used filter socks yet,

I use RO/DI water that reads 0 with the TDS meter.

My bio load is very small. Just the two cardinals. And I light feed once a day less than 1 mil of food.

I did only one 25-30gal water change. At that time I scraped the glass, siphoned the sand, scrubbed the rocks, and cleaned the sump as well.

What puzzles me is I've had nitrates since early on and they got higher and higher and have stayed there. So I'm assuming it was part of the cycle because I didn't have fish, I wasn't feeding, and I used to/di from the beginning reading o TDS.

You can see what's been going on here http://reef2reef.com/threads/dkosdross-75-gal-reef-build.162305/page-2#post-2908527

Kirch899 · May 19, 2016

Try some instant nitrate remover. By instant ocean. Some people swear by it.

Kirch899 · May 19, 2016

http://m.drsfostersmith.com/product...RqgEFkVdjvg-0cRekMjbsgmbPuEJbykuamBoCxa7w_wcB

brandon429 · May 19, 2016

Post a pic

The number one thing to consider is that the test readings are not definitive so don't take action yet. Always hold course until verified change is voted

we aren't dealing with the true numbers posted, so the game changes. If you have access to test readings from new salifert kits, am taking notes. If not, our time frames are more reliable and biological assessments are reliable.

This is a way to speed cycle aquariums, with fish.

Didn't say if it's ethical or not, not my call says a guy who only reefs in a vase.

It's a bacterial fact that to cure in the presence of fish speeds the rate at which bacteria deposit onto formerly dry substrates (they are avid importers of bacteria and obvious feeders by association)

since were dealing with that, your time frames aren't the same, they've been sped up.

If you used wet live sand to begin, there's a bio filter in addition. Lastly, if your fish were getting ammonia burned they couldn't breathe, would lop over sideways water milky.

Smelly, true .25 is bad smell humans easily beat Api there. Show pics I bet it's cycled, and nitrite still doesn't matter due to links in my thread above from RHF

You could literally never use the nitrite kit again in reefing and all tanks would be just fine. Known timeframes are quite handy for cycling reference, and using items like live sand already conveys the ability to support a full reef bioload anyway, they're massive surface area even for the restricted zones our aerobes of choice grow in

brandon429 · May 19, 2016

I believe though many would claim you added fish fast, the dilutions at hand and any pre seeded materials used make for a seamless quick cycle as they simply have no inherent tolerance for true sustained free ammonia

They are not major waste out putters, and if were breathing correctly the whole time it worked out. Skip cycling ranges from using all cured live rock like we do to begin our reefs, down to ultra pushing it but still no direct ammonia burning to fish used as initial seeds. You were probably aware of the stigma when building it lol two fish in a decent tank with good rock and sand surface area are likely fine though non quarantine fish inclusion creates another set of challenges.

dkosdros · May 20, 2016

I will post a pic of the tank tomarrow when the lights are on full.

dkosdros · May 21, 2016

Here is a pic of the tank from today.

dkosdros · May 21, 2016

side glass of different color algaes

brandon429 · May 21, 2016

That's a nice clean tank. The algae are common cyano and hitchhiked in...you've been cycling with some nutrients in the water, feeds bac and cyano, these rocks and power heads can simply be cleaned off outside the tank and guided until it's all plated with coralline

This is a perfect looking cycle pic. It's easy to just siphon clean and hand guide it off the upper substrate layer as well, all part of hand guiding, a mag scraper for the glass.

dkosdros · May 21, 2016

Thanks Brandon.

I try to keep it clean. The snails have been going to town on the algae on the rocks and glass. I honestly think in a week maybe two they will have gotten it all gone and then hopefully will be able to keep up on it. I don't want the CUC to starve by cleaning it all from them.

The fish look so healthy. Tomorrow I pick up a coral my buddy has been holding for me. So it will be interesting to see how that does. I added my Apex unit today. Got it all set up so it's nice to be able to see and chart the tanks progress and see if anything is haywire at any time.