I ordered a tank that will be hear in about 3 to 4 weeks, i bought my dry rock and put it in a trash can with Dr Tim's one and only about 10 days ago and now when i dose ammonia 2 PPM i am getting 0 24 hours latter. I was not expecting this to happen so quickly as i do not have my tank yet. by no means am i saying i am cycled yet i know i need to check the nitrite and watch for that to drop but i am sure on my way to being cycled way sooner than i expected. With that being said do i need to keep dosing the ammonia (if so i need way more then i have) or can i just throw some fish flake in, but how much and how often? Is there anything else i should be doing in this time.
keeping rock cycled
- Thread starter Trevor203
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https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-microbiology-of-reef-tank-cycling.214618/
That w help, no nitrite testing is needed only 30 days underwater using the booster you added
Your water digests ammonia due to what's been added to the water and is in suspension so in a way it's a false positive
You need to let the time elapse (30days) for the bac to move onto surfaces. If you did a complete water change now and tested ammonia digestion in clean water it would fail, wouldn't digest any. But if you did that in 30 days, even the refill tank will pass the digestion test due to active surfaces
To keep a cycled tank cycled you only have to keep the tank wet, no food is needed as bac get their own food naturally just fine. Aquarists will demand you add feed to keep bacteria alive, but it's not required. It's adding algae food to the tank
The only thing that will retroscale bacteria measurably in a reef tank is true drying, massive temp changes we don't see even in mistake settings or medication events. They get food on their own, these aren't aquarium bacteria they're nature bacteria that were getting feed long before aquarists provided it
That w help, no nitrite testing is needed only 30 days underwater using the booster you added
Your water digests ammonia due to what's been added to the water and is in suspension so in a way it's a false positive
You need to let the time elapse (30days) for the bac to move onto surfaces. If you did a complete water change now and tested ammonia digestion in clean water it would fail, wouldn't digest any. But if you did that in 30 days, even the refill tank will pass the digestion test due to active surfaces
To keep a cycled tank cycled you only have to keep the tank wet, no food is needed as bac get their own food naturally just fine. Aquarists will demand you add feed to keep bacteria alive, but it's not required. It's adding algae food to the tank
The only thing that will retroscale bacteria measurably in a reef tank is true drying, massive temp changes we don't see even in mistake settings or medication events. They get food on their own, these aren't aquarium bacteria they're nature bacteria that were getting feed long before aquarists provided it
Last edited:
Brew12
Electrical Gru
I would add small amounts of ammonia every few days just to keep your bacteria population growing. You could add flake instead if you want as your ammonia source. The only real downside to doing this is that you will build up nitrates. As long as you fill the aquarium with fresh saltwater and don't use the water the rocks are in, this won't be an issue.
You don't even need to rush when moving the rocks. Just don't let them dry out.
I would save enough ammonia to dose your new tank back to 2ppm once it is fully set up. That way you can verify your bio filtration is still where you need it.
