Odd Cycling Question

[Juka087]

I have a nuvo 10. The media basket in the first chamber is filled with 250 ml of Seachem Matrix bio media. This by the instructions is supposed to be enough for a 50 gallon tank. I have been cycling the tank for one month. To begin. I added a entire bottle of bio spira, and then I dose the tank with ammonium chloride to 3 ppm. I wait for the ammonium to process completely to nitrites, and then nitrates. I then repeated that 3 more times. Then I began to dose the tank with 1 cap of seachem stability everyday. I would add 2-3 ppm ammonium. After it processed I would add more. Now at about the one month point. The tank will process 2-3 ppm ammonium fully in 24 hours. The whole time I have kept the tank covered totally so as not to grow any algae. When I tested my nitrates the other day with my nyos test kit. The nitrate level came up as 30. I tested again to be sure. I have let the tank rest for a few days, and I tested the nitrates again today. Oddly the test came back as 7. I double checked just to be sure. It was 7 again. Is this really possible in such a short time? I have been dosing a entire cap of stability every single day, and I seem to have a large quantity of matrix. It is said that matrix can grow anaerobic bacteria. However I have never seen it actually work before. I am just totally stunned about this. Any insight in to the matter would be great.

Thanks guys

 

[brandon429]

nitrate testing is rife with misreads, cross reads and affects from dosers like prime etc. To factor in nitrite and nitrate into a cycle is old school, updated cycling science can cycle every tank by using a certain# of days underwater + the stated boosters you've used and the ammonia performance solely

we've kicked out nitrate assessment along with nitrite simply because cycling charts always show nitrite tied to ammonia at day 25, so no need to ever test for it, and nitrate might be getting used in denitrification etc/or test drift, it simply doesnt matter. only ammonia + submersion time matters, and you've met both. you are cycled. even if you didnt test, your ammonia would still behave by day 30 considering the details at hand, this is how we got into fully testless reef cycling. Those never stall

it is not possible to have an aquarium reduce ammonia as you've stated (no plants) and it not wind up as nitrate, it always does. whether we test for it accurately/doesnt matter. nitrate is for algae and color tuning it doesnt factor in a cycle.

source: the microbiology of cycling thread/all google search returns for cycling chart
*that people report wild numbers interim doesnt matter either, your tank will behave like those charts if you changed out all the wastewater and re tested ammonia on day 30

 

[Juka087]

nitrate testing is rife with misreads, cross reads and affects from dosers like prime etc. To factor in nitrite and nitrate into a cycle is old school, updated cycling science can cycle every tank by using a certain# of days underwater + the stated boosters you've used and the ammonia performance solely

we've kicked out nitrate assessment along with nitrite simply because cycling charts always show nitrite tied to ammonia at day 25, so no need to ever test for it, and nitrate might be getting used in denitrification etc/or test drift, it simply doesnt matter. only ammonia + submersion time matters, and you've met both. you are cycled. even if you didnt test, your ammonia would still behave by day 30 considering the details at hand, this is how we got into fully testless reef cycling. Those never stall

it is not possible to have an aquarium reduce ammonia as you've stated (no plants) and it not wind up as nitrate, it always does. whether we test for it accurately/doesnt matter. nitrate is for algae and color tuning it doesnt factor in a cycle.

source: the microbiology of cycling thread/all google search returns for cycling chart
*that people report wild numbers interim doesnt matter either, your tank will behave like those charts if you changed out all the wastewater and re tested ammonia on day 30

I am talking about the tank processing nitrates. Nothing about ammonia or nitrate.

 

[brandon429]

nitrates are subject to being used in denitrification, we can't track if that happens, there can be misreads and also you can have beginning algae you can't see taking up some, hard to say. The only important part is it doesn't remark upon your cycle at all. your nitrate is going up and down like a full running reef/dynamic unlike ammonia and nitrite which are known zero now, even if testers didn't agree.

 

[Juka087]

nitrates are subject to being used in denitrification, we can't track if that happens, there can be misreads and also you can have beginning algae you can't see taking up some, hard to say. The only important part is it doesn't remark upon your cycle at all. your nitrate is going up and down like a full running reef/dynamic unlike ammonia and nitrite which are known zero now, even if testers didn't agree.

Alright. Well is there a way to avoid the algae/cyano of my new tank once i uncover it, and turn on the lights?

 

[brandon429]

for sure, you have to manually remove it if you want to win. you cant get a consistent answer no matter who you ask cuz its all custom approaches from here on out. I spend my days knee deep in invasion threads where old and new reef tanks are trying to get clean again, so people enjoy etc. and dont lose all their money.

what those tankers wish they did, in the beginning, was: lift up a rock with algae on it and either burn if off outside the tank or practice cleaning it off, do anything but leave it and subscribe to the uglies phase, where we purposefully wreck tanks and see if they ever, ever undo (some dont/invasion threads)
in my cycling threads we're willing to take the tank apart, blast rinse all the sand anytime its needed, clear off rocks externally, and we guide back into shape over time by not leaving things in place, but calculated surgery. we permit no invasions from the start, though theyll come.

we never alter params around invasions, params are set to grow coral

*starting with white base rock= years of hand guiding potentially.

*staring w purple full coralline real live rock= hardly any. coralline regulates your work

 

[ScottR]

I am talking about the tank processing nitrates. Nothing about ammonia or nitrate.

I don’t use stability but I believe it’s a mix of bacteria that is used in emergency situations when ammonia, nitrites and nitrates get out of control once your tank goes live. It’s doing the job of removing them. I wouldn’t use it any further for cycling. I’d assume that by now your tank is ready. Like Brandon said, the science has changed on this. And some people say you can cycle in a day with all the great bottled bacteria we have available now.