Newbie cycle, where did I get an ammonia source?

[jscliffo]

Im a total beginner with the saltwater side so thank you in advance for the advice. I just set up my first saltwater tank a couple weeks ago (Waterbox 50.3), I used AragAlive sand and some CarabSea LifeRock. The local fish store had me add Dr. Tim's and told me to wait a week then come back for a couple of clown fish to do a fish-in cycle with a second bottle of Dr. Tims. When I had my water tested the Ammonia and Nitrites were too high to get my first fish. How did I start the cycle when I didnt add an ammonia source? My understanding is that the liferock and AragAlive dont have an ammonia source.

Its really no big deal, I want to wait and be successful with my first fish; scientifically im just a bit confused.

 

[SlugSnorter]

Im a total beginner with the saltwater side so thank you in advance for the advice. I just set up my first saltwater tank a couple weeks ago (Waterbox 50.3), I used AragAlive sand and some CarabSea LifeRock. The local fish store had me add Dr. Tim's and told me to wait a week then come back for a couple of clown fish to do a fish-in cycle with a second bottle of Dr. Tims. When I had my water tested the Ammonia and Nitrites were too high to get my first fish. How did I start the cycle when I didnt add an ammonia source? My understanding is that the liferock and AragAlive dont have an ammonia source.

Its really no big deal, I want to wait and be successful with my first fish; scientifically im just a bit confused.

use another lfs i think, nobody with good intention will say to do fish in cycle. You can

A): use bottled ammonia

B): "feed" some fish food every few days, or boil a chunk of shrimp from the super market for 60 seconds and place it in a mesh filter media bag. then put into the tank.

 

[jscliffo]

use another lfs i think, nobody with good intention will say to do fish in cycle. You can

A): use bottled ammonia

B): "feed" some fish food every few days, or boil a chunk of shrimp from the super market for 60 seconds and place it in a mesh filter media bag. then put into the tank.

Thanks I appreciate it! I dont need to do a fish in cycle Im totally willing to be patient, I want long term success. Unfortunately, this lfs is the better of the two near me. I am still confused how I got the initial ammonia in the tank, I didnt add any. My only guess is that the dry liferock they sold me had previously been in a tank somewhere or the AragAlive is not bacteria only as advertised.

 

[The0wn4g3]

Im a total beginner with the saltwater side so thank you in advance for the advice. I just set up my first saltwater tank a couple weeks ago (Waterbox 50.3), I used AragAlive sand and some CarabSea LifeRock. The local fish store had me add Dr. Tim's and told me to wait a week then come back for a couple of clown fish to do a fish-in cycle with a second bottle of Dr. Tims. When I had my water tested the Ammonia and Nitrites were too high to get my first fish. How did I start the cycle when I didnt add an ammonia source? My understanding is that the liferock and AragAlive dont have an ammonia source.

Its really no big deal, I want to wait and be successful with my first fish; scientifically im just a bit confused.

Dr. Tim's Ammonium Chloride

Miss reading your post, I thought you were asking where to get ammonia to cycle. My bad.

 

[SlugSnorter]

Thanks I appreciate it! I dont need to do a fish in cycle Im totally willing to be patient, I want long term success. Unfortunately, this lfs is the better of the two near me. I am still confused how I got the initial ammonia in the tank, I didnt add any. My only guess is that the dry liferock they sold me had previously been in a tank somewhere or the AragAlive is not bacteria only as advertised.

doing a fish in cycle is not faster. Ammonia can be from anything dying, including bacteria if they have no food. also API is not super reliable. Liferock is not liverock, its just rock with paint basically.

 

[AnotherReefHobbyist]

I am going to guess the ammonia came from the live sand. Some bacteria in that sand wont make it, and will turn into a waste source for the other bacteria to process.

 

[jscliffo]

I am going to guess the ammonia came from the live sand. Some bacteria in that sand wont make it, and will turn into a waste source for the other bacteria to process.

I appreciate it, if my tank is already starting to cycle great! I just expected I would have to add an ammonia source. My other guess was that the rock they sold me had been previously used in one of their tanks or returned and dried out. It wasnt boxed up or anything just sitting in a big pile on their shelves.

 

[SlugSnorter]

I appreciate it, if my tank is already starting to cycle great! I just expected I would have to add an ammonia source. My other guess was that the rock they sold me had been previously used in one of their tanks or returned and dried out. It wasnt boxed up or anything just sitting in a big pile on their shelves.

bacteria is dying, rotting, and then becoming food for other bacteria, and now the tank has food, its not cycling I think, just eating the bacteria that died. the point of a cycle is not to reach 0 ammonia, its to reach 0 ammonia while ammonia is being actively produced (rotting material) or added (bottled ammonia)

 

[rocky reef]

i used to api start up kit and put some food flakes in there once a day for about a week, a natural cycle takes about 6-8 weeks but with the api start up, i waited a week till i added livestock in and everything turned out perfectly

 

[jscliffo]

Thanks all, I hopped online and bought another bottle of Dr. Tims, a test kit, and ammonia source. Im just going to monitor this myself, learn from it, and if it takes a couple weeks longer than it had to at least Im trusting myself instead of the lfs.