Tank Cycle w/ Dr. Tim's

[IslandLifeReef]

I agree with lapin. I would change 50%-75% of the water, wait a few hours and then test your ammonia. If it is between 2-4ppm, then I would add your bacteria and wait until the ammonia drops to below .5ppm and nitrites spike before adding any more ammonia. You may be fine by just riding it out, but you probably added way to much ammonia and have stalled your cycle.

 

[Deinonych]

I agree with lapin. I would change 50%-75% of the water, wait a few hours and then test your ammonia. If it is between 2-4ppm, then I would add your bacteria and wait until the ammonia drops to below .5ppm and nitrites spike before adding any more ammonia. You may be fine by just riding it out, but you probably added way to much ammonia and have stalled your cycle.

I agree. I've cycled using Dr. Tim's and the key is to keep ammonia below 4.0ppm. When I cycled my tank a long time ago, I would gradually add ammonia to ~3ppm, then let the bacteria do their thing. Once ammonia read 0ppm, I'd ramp it back up to 3ppm and repeat. I knew my tank was cycled when it would process both ammonia and nitrite to 0ppm in 24 hours. Takes anywhere from 4-6 weeks using dry rock.

 

[Cnidoblast]

water change and then turn off skimmer and uv and dump bottle of biospira in

 

[Forsaken77]

I would add Biospira instead of Stability for cycling. Biospira is meant more for cycling, while Stability (ime) is more for maintenance. Biospira is also very cheap. I also didn't have good results with Stability.

 

[Cnidoblast]

biospira is a really good product - gonna need to dose some soon cause I had to do an erythromycin treatment (I hate doing those) for a nasty bacterial bloom

 

[cccharliecc]

Where do you get biospira

 

[Cnidoblast]

A good LFS will stock it - can get it here too https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/instant-ocean-bio-spira.html

 

[cccharliecc]

ok, thanks.
I did a small water change yesterday, tested ammonia and its still up around 6-8
I added a little of the Seachem in the evening.
I'm going to test ammonia again this morning, then I will go do LFS and pickup some biospira if they have it.

 

[cccharliecc]

Just tested Ammonia and its between 2 and 4...so 3ish.
That looks promising hopefully!!!
I will test again this evening and tomorrow 2 times as well.

 

[cccharliecc]

I just picked up some bio Spira.
Since my ammonia wind down a little bit, do you still think I should add it?

 

[Forsaken77]

I just picked up some bio Spira.
Since my ammonia wind down a little bit, do you still think I should add it?

If your ammonia is over 2, I would add it. They sell it at Petco or almost any local spot for future reference.

 

[cccharliecc]

Even though I have a whole bottle of Dr. Tim’s in there already and a little bit of the Seachem?

 

[PSXerholic]

This is my tank at day 7 after initial fill.

You may find useful info for cycling a tank here in my built thread. Good luck Sir with your tank!!!!
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/a...n-sps-reeftank-up-within-a-week.339591/page-9

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I'd just wait and watch.

 

[cccharliecc]

Ok, so it looks like finally after 7 days my ammonia which was at almost 8 for many days, has gone down to.25 and nitrites are up to 4-5.
Couple more questions....
1. Should I add some more ammonia tomorrow up to 2 and see if it goes down in a day or two?
2. What happens if I don't add a fish right now and wait....is the cycle still good....will it be ok waiting another week or so to add a fish? or do I need to feed the bacteria with something in the meantime....?

 

[lapin]

Ok, so it looks like finally after 7 days my ammonia which was at almost 8 for many days, has gone down to.25 and nitrites are up to 4-5.
Couple more questions....
1. Should I add some more ammonia tomorrow up to 2 and see if it goes down in a day or two? Yes
2. What happens if I don't add a fish right now and wait....is the cycle still good....will it be ok waiting another week or so to add a fish? or do I need to feed the bacteria with something in the meantime....?

It has been 3 days since we decided to wait for the ammonia to drop. I see it has. I would dose tomorrow, Tuesday to bring it up to 2. On Wed if it is .25 or lower your cycle should be done. Do a 75% or more water change, to get rid of nitrates and you should be good to go. You might want to test for nitrate and phosphate after the water change. Just to see where you are at. No hurry on the fish. The bacteria will be fine without them for a month. You should plan on stocking fish a few at a time. This allows the bacteria to make adjustments for the increased bio-load.

 

[cccharliecc]

Cool!
At what point do I turn on my skimmer and UV Sterilizer?
UV Sterilizer is for algae control initially, I can adjust flow for parasites as well...I have a FS-50 on it so I can dial it in.

 

[lapin]

There is no need to run your skimmer yet except to brake it in If you want. There is nothing to skim out. I would wait a week before using the UV. I will take weeks before you see any algae.

 

[cccharliecc]

Another quick question....
When do I start with my lights? For DT and sump/fuge?

 

[lapin]

Another quick question....
When do I start with my lights? For DT and sump/fuge?

I would start up everything the day before you add livestock and clean up krew. No use wasting power.