TTM / ammonia question

[Biff0rz]

Alright, so, I've done a ton of TTM, about 15 fish have gone through it successfully. But now it's also been a year since I've done it and I'm adding my last fish, an Achilles tang. I've had the tang in ttm for 7 days now and will soon be heading into the 72hr cycles. The fish is vigorously eating, even with prazi dosed. He's barely past the juv stage (about 3.5", orange spot started) so I'm really encouraged by all of this. I'm not so worried about ammonia in the 72hr cycles, I'm more worried about the two weeks of observation in the final tank. I've had a 20g tank set up for about a year with a small piece of live rock and matrix in the hob. The tank has a ton of algea and even pods in it, bare bottom. I have not been feeding it bacteria nor have I been feeding the tank nor have fish been in it. When I move the Achilles to it, will it cycle? I have some time to add some bacteria now, but, curious if I should just dose prime to be super safe.

Thoughts?

 

[JumboShrimp]

If putting Prime in the 20-gallon will throw off your “true” ammonia readings, I wouldn’t use it in your scenario. For the two weeks I’d want to keep checking my actual ammonia levels every few days, because a water change will be a quick and effective way to fix any ammonia problem. My 2-cents.

 

[Biff0rz]

If putting Prime in the 20-gallon will throw off your “true” ammonia readings, I wouldn’t use it in your scenario. For the two weeks I’d want to keep checking my actual ammonia levels every few days, because a water change will be a quick and effective way to fix any ammonia problem. My 2-cents.

ok thanks, sounds good, I'll do that!