Reef aquarium not cycling 10 days after adding Dr Tim's

[Shiva]

Hi everyone, I'm currently attempting to cycle my RSR250, but the process doesn't seem like it's going to start. I used RO/DI water with Red Sea Coral Pro salt, and I've got a chiller maintaining the temperature. I'm doing a fishless cycle, so I dosed the ammonia to 0.5ppm (based on the recommended dosage on the quikcycl bottle), and added Dr Tim's. It's been about 10 days, and my ammonia is still at 0.5ppm and my nitrites are at 0ppm. Any ideas on what I could do? Thanks!

 

[lapin]

As I read the instructions it says to add drops until you reach 2ppm
Did you add a bottle of the One and Only bacteria?
Do you have rock and sand in the tank?

https://store.drtimsaquatics.com/assets/images/pdfs/DrTims-Fishless-Cycling-Recipe-and-Guide-0920.pdf

 

[lapin]

Oh and Welcome

 

[brandon429]

Do you have any nitrates or are those zero

 

[Shiva]

As I read the instructions it says to add drops until you reach 2ppm
Did you add a bottle of the One and Only bacteria?
Do you have rock and sand in the tank?

https://store.drtimsaquatics.com/assets/images/pdfs/DrTims-Fishless-Cycling-Recipe-and-Guide-0920.pdf

Thanks! Yea, I have caribsea 'life' rocks (they're basically seeded dry rock) and live sand. I added the recommended dose of 4 drops per gallon, but that got me to 0.5 ppm, and I was afraid to push it beyond that. Then I added one 8oz bottle of Dr Tim's One and Only. I figured it might take awhile before I start to see some change, but its been 10 days, and no change whatsoever.

 

[Shiva]

Do you have any nitrates or are those zero

I'm afraid my nitrates are zero too. I tried salifert and API test kits, just to be safe, and they're all consistent

 

[schuby]

What was your ammonia source? You said you added 4 drops per gallon.

 

[lapin]

Up your ammonia and see if that gets the bacteria's attention. Thats where I would start. With life rock and a bottle of bacteria you should see some nitrite and nitrate soon.

 

[Shiva]

What was your ammonia source? You said you added 4 drops per gallon.

Brightwell Quikcycl

 

[One Reefing Boi]

tbh when I started my tank (15gal) I threw in a piece of organic shrimp from the store for about 12 hours (frozen) and added pretty much any starter bacteria I could get my hands on. Prob had enough 'bacteria' to seed a 300gal tank.

Waste of money for all those bacteria starters -- up for debate.. My tank did cycle in about a week and I started with 2 clowns and this was about 5-6 months ago. Same thing, CarribSea Fiji Pink live sand and dry life rock.

Now I have way too many corals (about 20 frags) and 2 clowns, YMG/Pistol pair, a bunch of snails, and a fire red and skunk cleaner shrimp.

All are super happy and growing. My female clown is getting pretty thiqqq

Once I move to the new house they will go into a 50gal Waterbox and this will become the QT tank

When I get this 50gal, I will again just throw in a frozen shrimp from the grocery store for a bit and seed with some various bacteria bottles from different locations incase storage of them was an issue or a bad batch

 

[Shiva]

Up your ammonia and see if that gets the bacteria's attention. Thats where I would start. With life rock and a bottle of bacteria you should see some nitrite and nitrate soon.

Thanks, I’ll try adding more of the ammonia solution to get it up to 1ppm and see if that kick starts the cycle

 

[lion king]

Thanks, I’ll try adding more of the ammonia solution to get it up to 1ppm and see if that kick starts the cycle

If you are already getting an ammonia reading but no nitrite or nitrate, it isn't your ammonia dosing at fault. You can cycle your tank with .5 ammonia, but 2ppm will just produce a larger colony of beneficial bacteria. The problem appears to be the presence of bacteria to begin with, sometimes you can get a dead bottle of bacteria. but it does seem like the liferock would have kicked in some. While dosing up the ammonia is a good idea, I would also suggest giving another dose of bacteria. Give Biospira a try.

 

[Shiva]

If you are already getting an ammonia reading but no nitrite or nitrate, it isn't your ammonia dosing at fault. You can cycle your tank with .5 ammonia, but 2ppm will just produce a larger colony of beneficial bacteria. The problem appears to be the presence of bacteria to begin with, sometimes you can get a dead bottle of bacteria. but it does seem like the liferock would have kicked in some. While dosing up the ammonia is a good idea, I would also suggest giving another dose of bacteria. Give Biospira a try.

I’ll probably try that. Unfortunately its pretty difficult to find Biospira in Singapore, do you think I could use Microbacter Start XLM? I’m not sure if me mixing different nitrifying bacteria will affect the process negatively

 

[One Reefing Boi]

I’ll probably try that. Unfortunately its pretty difficult to find Biospira in Singapore, do you think I could use Microbacter Start XLM? I’m not sure if me mixing different nitrifying bacteria will affect the process negatively

it won't. I did it and it worked in about a week. Besides, different brands have different strains so the diversity it offers might be beneficial anyways

 

[lion king]

I’ll probably try that. Unfortunately its pretty difficult to find Biospira in Singapore, do you think I could use Microbacter Start XLM? I’m not sure if me mixing different nitrifying bacteria will affect the process negatively

There's no problem mixing bacteria, they are all ultimately the same thing. You could even try a different bottle of Dr Tims, its usually good but sometimes any of them can be dead. Who knows how old or how these things were stored. I've just had exceptional results with Biospira

 

[DrTim]

As I read the instructions it says to add drops until you reach 2ppm
Did you add a bottle of the One and Only bacteria?
Do you have rock and sand in the tank?

https://store.drtimsaquatics.com/assets/images/pdfs/DrTims-Fishless-Cycling-Recipe-and-Guide-0920.pdf

D not add ammonia until you reach 2 ppm. If using DrTim's ammonia add maximum 4 drops per gallon or 1 drop per liter. We are clarifying the instructions to make that clearer.
No idea what the Brightwell concentration is so can't say the max drops to add.
Also the live sand can be a source of ammonia and a reason why there seems to be a constant ammonia value. Add more ammonia, try 4 drops, measure after 1 hour. Then again after 24 hours. This will give you an idea of ammonia consumption.

 

[DrTim]

I'm afraid my nitrates are zero too. I tried salifert and API test kits, just to be safe, and they're all consistent

Your nitrate is 0 because none of those test kits read low nitrate (below about 20 ) very well. Save your reagents and don't bother measuring nitrate right now.

 

[lapin]

D not add ammonia until you reach 2 ppm. If using DrTim's ammonia add maximum 4 drops per gallon or 1 drop per liter. We are clarifying the instructions to make that clearer.
No idea what the Brightwell concentration is so can't say the max drops to add.
Also the live sand can be a source of ammonia and a reason why there seems to be a constant ammonia value. Add more ammonia, try 4 drops, measure after 1 hour. Then again after 24 hours. This will give you an idea of ammonia consumption.

New instructions. Maybe I should read them *-*

 

[piranhaman00]

Biospira is the best bacteria in a bottle imo

 

[lapin]

Fritz Turbo Start 900 is the best imo *_#