What Is Wrong With My Tank Cycle?

[reeftankdude]

Made some fresh Instant Ocean salt water and tested using the same API Ammonia Test Kit. The results was the same as when testing the water from the reef tank and that is zero. Thanks all

 

[CrimsonTide]

Made some fresh Instant Ocean salt water using the same API Ammonia Test Kit. The results was the same as when testing the water from the reef tank and that is zero. Thanks all

Well did you get a nitrite or nitrate reading yet? It does sound like either the tests are completely shot and not good or you don't have any ammonia in the tank anymore. You can always add some more ammonia see how long it takes for it to go back down to zero to know you're finished cycling.

 

[reeftankdude]

Well did you get a nitrite or nitrate reading yet? It does sound like either the tests are completely shot and not good or you don't have any ammonia in the tank anymore. You can always add some more ammonia see how long it takes for it to go back down to zero to know you're finished cycling.

There is no ammonia in the tank. The nitrate and nitrite test are negative. The water is still cloudy as if the bacteria bloom in still in action.

 

[CrimsonTide]

There is no ammonia in the tank. The nitrate and nitrite test are negative. The water is still cloudy as if the bacteria bloom in still in action. What if I add some ammonia, it clears in 24 hours, but the tank is still cloudy with no other nutrients showing?

You're going to Essentially do a 100% waterchange when your cycle is done. Water cloudiness isn't really an issue yet. Plus the ammonia might not go away in 24hrs.

 

[reeftankdude]

You're going to Essentially do a 100% waterchange when your cycle is done. Water cloudiness isn't really an issue yet. Plus the ammonia might not go away in 24hrs.

cool and thanks

 

[reeftankdude]

Able to bring 2mm of ammonia down to zero in 24 hours. However, water still cloudy and no nitrates. I guest it is time for a water change. How many inches of fish can I add with 2pmm ammonia showing negative after 24 hours? Thanks all

 

[CrimsonTide]

Able to bring 2mm of ammonia down to zero in 24 hours. However, water still cloudy and no nitrates. I guest it is time for a water change. How many inches of fish can I add with 2pmm ammonia showing negative after 24 hours? Thanks all

I would start with the most peaceful fish first. If you want a pair of clowns start there and wait a week or two and make sure the bioload holds then go to something else.

 

[CrimsonTide]

You don't want to overload the system all at once and you'll want to let peaceful fish setup their area so when you have anything more aggressive it won't try to take their desired spot

 

[131696]

Stop using prime ,leave tank alone

 

[reeftankdude]

Stop using prime ,leave tank alone

The ammonia is zero. Leave the tank alone until? Thanks

 

[131696]

Be patient no hurry leave it alone or I'm in a little hurry add bacteria little by little give it 2 weeks then test ,there's no hurry in this hobby first lesson to learn

 

[polyppal]

Where the heck is @brandon429 ???

 

[brandon429]

I thought David Calgary and Crimson did a nice troubleshoot


regarding deposition times for bacteria check out this assemblage


Dr Reef shows the top five or eight brands are implanted onto surfaces mostly in under five days, with Fritz so fast as to be 1-2 days. In the heart of his experiment you can see his proof mechanism to assess bacterial attachment was a 100% water change in the test vessel to remove any suspended bacteria, leaving only what was on surfaces. Many people have different definitions of cycled - all three params in compliance is the normal mode, I’ve chosen to kick out nitrite like GGoadbridge mentioned because of Randy’s article stating it’s neutral alongside the hundreds of reefs we cycle up here without ever factoring it


the reason I dont track nitrate is because early positive nitrite clouds the kit, and who has accurate nitrate kits anyway even after the nitrite phase...lastly, full running reefs on this site show zero nitrate and are fully cycled so I just omit it’s measure as well- one less stumbling block. Ammonia control is where it’s at.

my favorite definition of cycled is when a 100% water change as many as you want to run doesn’t change the ammonia neutralization ability of the system. I like that basic maintenance can begin and never undo the cycle at that point:

Bacteria in a bottle, Myth or Fact

Call me old school, back in the day we placed a deli shrimp in a tank to kick start the cycle. When tank reached 1.5-2 ppm ammonia we pulled it out and waited sometimes weeks to months for bacteria to colonize and drop ammonia and nitrites down to 0 to make tank safe for livestock. With recent...

www.reef2reef.com

the thread is a doozy, 100 or so pages lol because we yap about lots of things there.
Dr Tim himself posts back and forth in the early stages.

regarding removing filtration during a cycle- leave it in so that surface area activates. It doesn’t block bacteria mixing around, these aren’t one micron pass filters they’re Grand Canyon sized channels compared to bacteria. I know online instructions from Dr. Tim says to remove them, I don’t know why he said that. Leave in the filters during bottle bac cycles so your functional surface area gets primed. Turn skimmers off if you want to.

 

[CrimsonTide]

I thought David Calgary and Crimson did a nice troubleshoot


regarding deposition times for bacteria check out this assemblage


Dr Reef shows the top five or eight brands are implanted onto surfaces mostly in under five days, with Fritz so fast as to be 1-2 days. In the heart of his experiment you can see his proof mechanism to assess bacterial attachment was a 100% water change in the test vessel to remove any suspended bacteria, leaving only what was on surfaces. Many people have different definitions of cycled - all three params in compliance is the normal mode, I’ve chosen to kick out nitrite like GGoadbridge mentioned because of Randy’s article stating it’s neutral alongside the hundreds of reefs we cycle up here without ever factoring it


the reason I dont track nitrate is because early positive nitrite clouds the kit, and who has accurate nitrate kits anyway even after the nitrite phase...lastly, full running reefs on this site show zero nitrate and are fully cycled so I just omit it’s measure as well- one less stumbling block. Ammonia control is where it’s at.

my favorite definition of cycled is when a 100% water change as many as you want to run doesn’t change the ammonia neutralization ability of the system. I like that basic maintenance can begin and never undo the cycle at that point:

Bacteria in a bottle, Myth or Fact

Call me old school, back in the day we placed a deli shrimp in a tank to kick start the cycle. When tank reached 1.5-2 ppm ammonia we pulled it out and waited sometimes weeks to months for bacteria to colonize and drop ammonia and nitrites down to 0 to make tank safe for livestock. With recent...

www.reef2reef.com

the thread is a doozy, 100 or so pages lol because we yap about lots of things there.
Dr Tim himself posts back and forth in the early stages.

regarding removing filtration during a cycle- leave it in so that surface area activates. It doesn’t block bacteria mixing around, these aren’t one micron pass filters they’re Grand Canyon sized channels compared to bacteria. I know online instructions from Dr. Tim says to remove them, I don’t know why he said that. Leave in the filters during bottle bac cycles so your functional surface area gets primed. Turn skimmers off if you want to.

I thought so too! Haha. This is a test kit issue of some sort bc its not showing nitrite or nitrate but ammonia gone after 24hrs. Theres cloudiness in the tank but no need to address that until a waterchange to see if that is fixed.

 

[reeftankdude]

oops.

 

[CrimsonTide]

oops.

Yes......?

 

[Dan_P]

I added the fishless ammonia fual and quick start bacteria yesterday. I did an ammonia test right after adding the fish fuel. There was ammonia in the tank according to my test. This morning test showed the ammonia gone, but no nitrite and no nitrate. What is going on? I did add some Prime, because I did not do a good job in rinsing the rocks with purified water. So a little chlorine showed up. The prime took care of the chlorine and I did a fifty percent water change. Afterwards all test came back good for me to add the fishless fual and bacteria after the tempature was right. Is it possible that the little Prime left in the water is masking my nitrite and nitrate test? I have a 20 gallon high tank with 5 gallons of rock and 15 gallons of water. I removed all filters so the bacteria will get in the rock and I am pumping 527 gallons per hour. Thanks all and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Prime interferes with the test chemistry, making it look like there is no ammonia or nitrate. In a sense adding Prime or any chlorine neutralizer “blinds the test chemistry”.

 

[reeftankdude]

Prime interferes with the test chemistry, making it look like there is no ammonia or nitrate. In a sense adding Prime or any chlorine neutralizer “blinds the test chemistry”.

How long does that Seachem Prime interference last? The test showed zero ammonia at one time. I added some more ammonia fishless fuel to see if I could zero out in 24 hours. Currently stuck at 1ppm ammonia and water still cloudy. thanks for any help

 

[Dan_P]

How long does that Seachem Prime interference last? The test showed zero ammonia at one time. I added some more ammonia fishless fuel to see if I could zero out in 24 hours. Currently stuck at 1ppm ammonia and water still cloudy. thanks for any help

I looked but did not see what starter bacteria you used. A dud bottle is possible. You might consider that possibility. What did you use?

 

[reeftankdude]

I looked but did not see what starter bacteria you used. A dud bottle is possible. You might consider that possibility. What did you use?

API Quick Start. I doubt that it is a dud bottle because ammonia did zero out. Just cant do it again and stuck at 1ppm ammonia. Thanks