Need help with fish-in cycling

[brandon429]

You added ammonia to a tank with fish?

listen to post #5 we are at post #18 and not much disease discussion

 

[Dcloser12]

The fact that you say this shows that you don't actually know how the testing works. Yes, it absolutely is supposed to change color over time. That is precisely how the reactions work. That's why it species in the instructions - wait five minutes, then make the reading then and there. Not one minute. Not ten. Definitely not half an hour. Five minutes.

I'm not saying wait longer or less than directed. I'm saying api kits are prone to errors. You take what I'm saying as api bashing. It's a starter kit at most. The silk screened lines are rarely ever at 5ml which the test requires to be accurate. The solutions need shaken for 15 seconds before use. The result charts are vague. If the op is looking for specific results and I think an api kit isn't the answer.

 

[Dcloser12]

You added ammonia to a tank with fish?

listen to post #5 we are at post #18 and not much disease discussion

God no. I always added it to start a tank cycle. Adding fish to a new tank rarely goes well for the fish lol

 

[brandon429]

I’ve never seen a gray api test, not ever but it won’t make a difference anyway here

opposing cycling methods have been randomly chosen, the op should not sample for ideas and then pick a blend. Op should choose one persons cycling mode, adhere to it, and don’t blend any more completely opposite approaches. I thought I read he’d already added ammonia into the tank today, with the fish there

 

[Dcloser12]

This we agree on. I've came to learn that in one post you will get 500 solutions and you have to bite the bullet and chose one. Everyone has a personal choice that comes with the methods they use. You can't do them all. Pick one and go with it.

 

[Spare time]

Api tests are junk. I can test the same test on 4 vials and have 4 different results. I added ammonia right from the bottle to my tanks to start cycling. Drop in a few pieces of raw shrimp, some turbo start, bacter 7 and and about 1ml of ammonia per 30gal. You'll see your nitrates rise and spike within a week.

No he has a fish in the tank currently

 

[Spare time]

I disagree. I’ve been using them for close to 20 years and I’ve always been able to depend on them to cycle my tanks. I never lost any fish to cycling.

Sure, they’re not the most precise in the world, but if you use them the right way, always the same way, then you get consistent testing.

I have used them hundred of times if not more for years working part time at an lfs. They really are not as bad as people make them out to be. They are just difficult to read and the caps can be wonky.

 

[sturdy]

I thought I read he’d already added ammonia into the tank today, with the fish there

No I’m using the clown for ammonia and I put a bottle of fritz turbo start 900 in there people told me that’s the best way to go

 

[Azedenkae]

No I’m using the clown for ammonia and I put a bottle of fritz turbo start 900 in there people told me that’s the best way to go

Yeah that works. It's a way to do a fish-in cycle.

 

[melonheadorion]

im not going to speak bad about any test kit out there, but i will say, as i said previously, the one you had is doing something funky. it should have some sort of color, wether ammonia is present or not.
i will also not say that the kits are accurate, nor will i say that they are innacurate. lately, it seems that they are all over the place for me, and i will explain how.
i personally have two kits. a red sea kit, and an API kit. if i want a quick test, i use API, but if i really want to confirm something, i use my red sea kit. here is why. i have found, by process of using the LFS to test my water with their API kit, that my nitrite test doesnt reflect the same as theirs. i dont trust the API nitrite kit i have, because i know its wrong (per matching results from my red sea kit and the LFS kit). i also know that my API ammonia kit tests .5 higher than the LFS and my red sea kit as well.
on the other hand, before i needed a refill, my API results were pretty accurate, minus the .25 that my ammonia part always showed, but is not surprising.
i trust, to a point, what my API kit shows. right now, i only trust the nitrate test for it, because the other 2 are proven to be wrong, but in the instance of yours, i would be hard pressed to say i trust the ammonia reading simply because its giving you no color whatsoever, it seems.

 

[sturdy]

im not going to speak bad about any test kit out there, but i will say, as i said previously, the one you had is doing something funky. it should have some sort of color, wether ammonia is present or not.
i will also not say that the kits are accurate, nor will i say that they are innacurate. lately, it seems that they are all over the place for me, and i will explain how.
i personally have two kits. a red sea kit, and an API kit. if i want a quick test, i use API, but if i really want to confirm something, i use my red sea kit. here is why. i have found, by process of using the LFS to test my water with their API kit, that my nitrite test doesnt reflect the same as theirs. i dont trust the API nitrite kit i have, because i know its wrong (per matching results from my red sea kit and the LFS kit). i also know that my API ammonia kit tests .5 higher than the LFS and my red sea kit as well.
on the other hand, before i needed a refill, my API results were pretty accurate, minus the .25 that my ammonia part always showed, but is not surprising.
i trust, to a point, what my API kit shows. right now, i only trust the nitrate test for it, because the other 2 are proven to be wrong, but in the instance of yours, i would be hard pressed to say i trust the ammonia reading simply because its giving you no color whatsoever, it seems.

Thinking about getting a digital ammonia tester idk if that’s a good purchase or not

 

[melonheadorion]

Thinking about getting a digital ammonia tester idk if that’s a good purchase or not

ive thought about it too, but i just dont know if the price is worth the amount i would really use it. im still on the fence myself. accuracy wise, they are as accurate as youre going to get.

 

[Zoa_Fanatic]

I’m new to reefing and just added fritz turbo start 900 plus a clown fish to start the nitrogen cycle I would like to know when should I test for ammonia and when should I feed my clownfish I have seachem’s prime just in case things get out of hand I tested for ammonia a hour after putting the clownfish in the tank with the api testing kit and the water is very clear with a hint of green I’m not sure if that is indicating no ammonia or 0.50

Why did you add a fish to an uncycled tank? That’s super cruel and the hobby has moved WAY past this.

 

[sturdy]

Why did you add a fish to an uncycled tank? That’s super cruel and the hobby has moved WAY past this.

A YouTuber I watched did it plus a reef store owner recommended me the fritz turbo and told me I can put a fish in with it also Frits says to put a fish in with it

 

[Nazar]

A YouTuber I watched did it plus a reef store owner recommended me the fritz turbo and told me I can put a fish in with it also Frits says to put a fish in with it

After pouring Fritz turbo 900 how long did you wait before adding fish or did you add it before pouring turbo start? Just got it and planning on cycling with my blue damselfish. I was cycling the same tank before with drtims for already 2 month it seems having problems in lowering nitrite so got this says it helps

 

[Nazar]

After pouring Fritz turbo 900 how long did you wait before adding fish or did you add it before pouring turbo start? Just got it and planning on cycling with my blue damselfish. I was cycling the same tank before with drtims for already 2 month it seems having problems in lowering nitrite so got this says it helps

And when can I do my first water change after adding Fritz turbo start?