No way... cycled already?!?!

[AZMSGT]

Ok.. quick background, I was a marine fish guy back in 89-91. It took 6-8 weeks to cycle a tank.

Fast forward to a week and a half ago. I put water in my tank (red sea 625), added Dr Tims one and only, also put in Microbactor 7. The following day I added ammonia from Dr Tims. Got my sump up and running a couple days later. Tested water a couple days later ammonia flagged but not high. Also had some nitrite but zero nitrate.

Yesterday, I tested ammonia and it was zero. So, I added some more Dr Tims Ammonia. Today I ran all the tests. Zero, zero, zero.. this tells me it’s cycled but zero Nitrates kind makes me nervous. Based off my very limited experiences I have never seen a cycle this fast. I honestly am concerned something is wrong.

Thoughts?

 

[Snookin]

You may not be adding enough ammonia to kickstart a quality cycle. Dose ammonia again to 2ppm and it should be gone inside 24hrs. If so, and you start to get some nitrates then the cycle is basically complete. Add a fish or 2 and watch parameters.

 

[Ruben's Reef]

It can happens. Just do a 10% w/c and do another test. What test kit are you using?

 

[McFly]

Bacteria in a bottle definitely speeds up the process. Zero nitrates is kind of odd, however checking out your build the media blocks could be converting the Nitrate into Nitrogen gas.

Snookin has a great suggestion, or you could always throw in a frozen shrimp and let nature run its course for a week.

Looks like a great build, congrats!

 

[UNCFAN]

I finished cycling my tank with the same method. Dr Tim's Bacteria and Ammonia. It took several weeks to end the cycle but now I have Nitrates in excess of 180ppm using API - yes I know but I used these kits just to verify the presents of the Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate. I've never had Nitrate measurement that high before so I am not sure why now. There is nothing in the tank but water, rock and sand.

 

[Ruben's Reef]

I finished cycling my tank with the same method. Dr Tim's Bacteria and Ammonia. It took several weeks to end the cycle but now I have Nitrates in excess of 180ppm using API - yes I know but I used these kits just to verify the presents of the Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate. I've never had Nitrate measurement that high before so I am not sure why now. There is nothing in the tank but water, rock and sand.

Try Salifert kit. API for Nitrites and Nitrates usually give false readings.

 

[AZMSGT]

It can happens. Just do a 10% w/c and do another test. What test kit are you using?

Salifert

 

[AZMSGT]

It can happens. Just do a 10% w/c and do another test. What test kit are you using?

Salifert on all 3

Bacteria in a bottle definitely speeds up the process. Zero nitrates is kind of odd, however checking out your build the media blocks could be converting the Nitrate into Nitrogen gas.

Snookin has a great suggestion, or you could always throw in a frozen shrimp and let nature run its course for a week.

Looks like a great build, congrats!

Further on in the photos on my build you can see the shrimp in my filter socks. There is one each in the two forward socks. They have been in there since I got the sump running.

Try Salifert kit. API for Nitrites and Nitrates usually give false readings.

Using Salifert already.

 

[Ruben's Reef]

Salifert on all 3



Further on in the photos on my build you can see the shrimp in my filter socks. There is one each in the two forward socks. They have been in there since I got the sump running.

Using Salifert already.

Yeah, Salifert is pretty accurate.

 

[IslandLifeReef]

How many drops of ammonia are you using?

I would use either Dr Timms ammonium chloride or use the shrimp method, but not both. The problem with the shrimp method is you don't know how much ammonia you have added to the system, so if you are going with that method, you need to wait for an ammonia spike and then zero ammonia. If you never get that spike with the shrimp, you at least need to have 0 ammonia and NO2 with a reading on NO3.

I prefer the ammonium chloride method, but either will work. If you don't have any NO3, my guess is you didn't add enough ammonium chloride.

 

[jeffww]

If you had live rock it may have cycled that fast. Mine finished in a week. But, I tested by adding fish food every day in the amount I would feed normally and seeing that I was at 0 ammonia and accumulating nitrates.

 

[AZMSGT]

How many drops of ammonia are you using?

I'm way past using drops. My total water volume is 160G that would be 640 drops.. Yea not going to count that out. However... 40 Drops equals 1ML so by adding 16ML of ammonia.. I'm good. ;Pompus and that's what I put in.

Going to do a 25% water change and then the ammonia again.

The one take away from this, I'm NOT in a hurry. As a matter of fact I want the cycle to be 4-7 weeks.

 

[vangvace]

If it is cycled. You can keep using the shrimp method or ghost feeding to keep the bacteria going.

 

[AZMSGT]

If it is cycled. You can keep using the shrimp method or ghost feeding to keep the bacteria going.

Yup... Not going to stop putting shrimp in it. I got a bag full in the freezer LOL

 

[adrianr514]

Pull out the shrimp and Dose 4 ppm of ammonium chloride. Measure your levels again in 24 hours. If after 24 hours you’re reading zero ammonia and zero nitrites then your good. Keeping the shrimp in will skew your results. If Nitrates also read zero then your X-Port blocks are also breaking down those nitrates.