Question on cycling with AF products

[OrangeHunter458]

Hi guys. I have a question about cycling, particularly about these Aquaforest products: Bio S, Life Bio Fil, and Bio Sand.

Now I think already know the basics of fishless cycling, the 2ppm ammonia, the nitrite spike, nitrate spike etc etc.

My question is: is the 2nd bottle (B) inside the Bio Sand an ammonia source? It says nourishment but idk if it’s ammonia or some other food source instead. Do I have everything I need or do I still need ammonia source? We don’t really get Dr Tim’s, Fritz, or even Brightwell products in my country so I can’t buy something like Quikcycl or Turbo Start.

 

[CocoReef]

Im willing to guess you are right that it's some kind of ammonia source to feed the bacteria.
"Ghost feeding" also works as a source of ammonia if you are worried about it

 

[OrangeHunter458]

Im willing to guess you are right that it's some kind of ammonia source to feed the bacteria.
"Ghost feeding" also works as a source of ammonia if you are worried about it

I have 3 bags of sand so I have 3 of each bottle. Hope 30ml of that “nourishment” is enough to reach 2ppm ammonia in a 120g. My lfs gave me some free fish food, I might use that too if it’s not enough.

 

[CocoReef]

Ghost feeding the food you got wouldnt hurt. You dont need to worry too much about getting exactly 2ppm ammonia you just need enough to feed the bacteria and not starve it out.
I like to make sure I can process ~1 ppm ammonia within 24 hours before adding livestock. By then you can support a decent bioload.
Also keep an eye on your nitrates. If you let them get too high they can stall your cycle. Easy to fix with some water changes.

Good luck and remember patience is key. Looking forward to seeing you fill your tank!

 

[OrangeHunter458]

Ghost feeding the food you got wouldnt hurt. You dont need to worry too much about getting exactly 2ppm ammonia you just need enough to feed the bacteria and not starve it out.
I like to make sure I can process ~1 ppm ammonia within 24 hours before adding livestock. By then you can support a decent bioload.
Also keep an eye on your nitrates. If you let them get too high they can stall your cycle. Easy to fix with some water changes.

Good luck and remember patience is key. Looking forward to seeing you fill your tank!

I see. Tank isn’t even wet and I’m already chasing numbers haha

After the ammonia & nitrite bottoms out and nitrates start to accumulate, that’s when I should dose again to see how it processes ammonia, right?

 

[CocoReef]

I see. Tank isn’t even wet and I’m already chasing numbers haha

After the ammonia & nitrite bottoms out and nitrates start to accumulate, that’s when I should dose again to see how it processes ammonia, right?

Id let it cycle for at least 2 weeks with constant dosing/light feeding and then check how fast ammonia and nitrite bottom out.

Personally Ive cycled all my tanks for at least a month. You will run into the "uglies" and will probably get some diatoms or cyanobacteria but they typically pass on their own

 

[GARRIGA]

Seems like that bottle just ammonium but here's what taught me something and I thought I already knew everything about fishless cycling. It's been around since the 80s or 90s but we didn't have bacteria in a bottle then. Just ammonium and store bought frozen shrimp.

 

[hers0109]

If you can, throw in a couple pieces of live rock from an established tank and that’ll really help with biodiversity. That and corals! Just my opinion.

 

[OrangeHunter458]

J

Seems like that bottle just ammonium but here's what taught me something and I thought I already knew everything about fishless cycling. It's been around since the 80s or 90s but we didn't have bacteria in a bottle then. Just ammonium and store bought frozen shrimp.

Just watched this a few days ago too! Great talk.

 

[OrangeHunter458]

If you can, throw in a couple pieces of live rock from an established tank and that’ll really help with biodiversity. That and corals! Just my opinion.

Very few reefers here in my country haha I’m new so maybe I just need to join some FB groups or something. Really want established rock to hide in the sump area. I can get it from some fish stores here but they look… doodoo brown lol idk if it’s good or bad algae on them.

And yeah, I want corals someday but for now I want a butterfly fowlr.

 

[hers0109]

Very few reefers here in my country haha I’m new so maybe I just need to join some FB groups or something. Really want established rock to hide in the sump area. I can get it from some fish stores here but they look… doodoo brown lol idk if it’s good or bad algae on them.

And yeah, I want corals someday but for now I want a butterfly fowlr.

Ahh yes if you are going fowlr then corals don’t make sense there. Getting live rock from a trusted source is important, I agree.