Where's my cycle at?

[seanarino]

Used the RedSea Marine Care multi test kit. Levels came out to as such:

pH - 7.6 (tested at night ~8:30 - 9:30 PM. Imagine it may be higher in the day or I may have slightly misread the test.)
Alkalinity - 6.5 - 7 dkH (Needs to be slightly higher, I think.)
Nitrate - 50 (normal test) ppm - 100 (high range test) ppm
Nitrites - 1+
Ammonia - ~0.2

Where am I at in my cycle, and where should I go from here? This is "new cycle day 04", from moving the 10 gallon to the 20 gallon and adding extra RO/DI saltwater.

 

[seanarino]

(I would have tested with some others but I bruised and scraped my hands all up when I was trying to shove the stuff back in the box and they wouldn't fit in the little round holes... Not to mention I don't have anything else to test with except the garbage NYOS nitrate kit and a couple others that test for irrelevant stuff to the cycle...)

 

[Propane]

Did you use any product such as dr tims or fritz

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Used the RedSea Marine Care multi test kit. Levels came out to as such:

pH - 7.6 (tested at night ~8:30 - 9:30 PM. Imagine it may be higher in the day or I may have slightly misread the test.)
Alkalinity - 6.5 - 7 dkH (Needs to be slightly higher, I think.)
Nitrate - 50 (normal test) ppm - 100 (high range test) ppm
Nitrites - 1+
Ammonia - ~0.2

Where am I at in my cycle, and where should I go from here? This is "new cycle day 04", from moving the 10 gallon to the 20 gallon and adding extra RO/DI saltwater.

First, you only need to test ammonia and nitrate right now.
Did you start with any bottled bacteria? What did you use/are you using as an ammonia source, and how high was ammo initially?

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Cycling an Aquarium

Cycling a new aquarium. One of the earliest topics a new aquarium hobbyist needs to learn is how to properly cycle their aquarium. There is a ton of information on this process and many different methods on how to accomplish it. There are many different chemical and biological cycles our tank...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[seanarino]

Did you use any product such as dr tims or fritz

I did use Aquatop Forza Origin.

 

[seanarino]

First, you only need to test ammonia and nitrate right now.
Did you start with any bottled bacteria? What did you use/are you using as an ammonia source, and how high was ammo initially?

I wasn't able to tell ammonia initially because I thought I had something to test it laying around but realized I didn't for a while. There were roughly 9 days of incomplete testing, when the tank was still a 10 gallon, because of this while I waited for the full test kit to come in. There were 3 days of incomplete / no testing in the 20 gallon for this same reason. A total of 12 days I wasn't able to test (because I misread the other kit I ordered, which was mostly for reef-specific stuff that would require dosing to fix.) I used Aquatop's Forza Origin nitrifying bacteria (2 oz). The other ammonia source is an occasional sprinkle of Ocean Nutrition Prime Reef Flakes (bought for this reason). I also have bristleworms in the tank as an extra source of something living.

(I apologize for the mega-late response, I fell asleep.)

 

[Dbichler]

If this it’s just an upgrade and you move everything from old tank no cycle needed

 

[seanarino]

If this it’s just an upgrade and you move everything from old tank no cycle needed

Not an upgrade - it was a brand new 10 gallon tank cycling and then I noticed the back had cracked so all the stuff was moved to a 20 gallon.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

If you have living inverts (bristleworms), then the ammonia isn't at a highly toxic level.

Here's what I would do... Do a large (up to 50%) water change to lower nitrates, and then add a decent amount of flakes to the tank (like you had 3-4 fish to feed). Test ammonia a few hours after adding the food, and then test again in 24 hours. You want the initial test to read 1-2 , and you want the second test to be below 0.25*. This way, you will know that the tank has a large enough nitrifying bacteria to handle the bioload of your first fish.

*Red Sea's ammonia test measures total ammonia (free ammonia which can be harmful, and ammonium which is not). If your Red Sea test results is below 0.25, you can safely say that the free ammonia is not at a toxic level.

I suspect you're already cycled since your ammo is low and nitrates are being produced, but the process I explained above can reassure you that you're ready to add a fish.

 

[seanarino]

If you have living inverts (bristleworms), then the ammonia isn't at a highly toxic level.

Here's what I would do... Do a large (up to 50%) water change to lower nitrates, and then add a decent amount of flakes to the tank (like you had 3-4 fish to feed). Test ammonia a few hours after adding the food, and then test again in 24 hours. You want the initial test to read 1-2 , and you want the second test to be below 0.25*. This way, you will know that the tank has a large enough nitrifying bacteria to handle the bioload of your first fish.

*Red Sea's ammonia test measures total ammonia (free ammonia which can be harmful, and ammonium which is not). If your Red Sea test results is below 0.25, you can safely say that the free ammonia is not at a toxic level.

I suspect you're already cycled since your ammo is low and nitrates are being produced, but the process I explained above can reassure you that you're ready to add a fish.

Thank you! I think maybe I'll have to break this down from a 50% change (10 gallons) into a few smaller changes because (despite being 21... x.O) i have a bad back and still am kinda sore from having to drag the tank in and clean it / etc. - Or, it'd be helpful if I knew how many inches high on a 20 gallon would be 10 gallons... probably halfway up, right?

I had to modify my intake for my filter because it was on a smaller tank at first. I might need to do the smaller changes specifically because the output tube is kind of high.

Also, I wanted to ask... is a 480 GPH powerhead too much...? I ordered two Hydor Pico Evolution (the 70gph each) for the 10 gallon but then one was dead out of the box... They say you should always do 20-40x your tank's volume for a powerhead's GPH, right?

 

[Propane]

GPH numbers are a reference point in my opinion. Your flow patterns are more important than turnover rate.

 

[seanarino]

GPH numbers are a reference point in my opinion. Your flow patterns are more important than turnover rate.

I can't turn it down or change it / make it change at all because it's just plug in and go.

 

[Propane]

I can't turn it down or change it / make it change at all because it's just plug in and go.

In that case you could point it in different directions until it looks right. Just gotta play with it.

 

[seanarino]

In that case you could point it in different directions until it looks right. Just gotta play with it.

Hmmm... should I point it opposite of the filter input (i.e. pointing at it)?

(Maybe one of these days I can get a sump plumbed and not have to worry about this stupid filter...)

 

[Propane]

That would be good starting point for sure. But there are a ton of factors to consider. Just gotta feel out the tank. Try off setting them a bit and see where you are at.

 

[seanarino]

That would be good starting point for sure. But there are a ton of factors to consider. Just gotta feel out the tank. Try off setting them a bit and see where you are at.

Offsetting? Is that meaning to point it opposite but also on the opposite side (front instead of back)?

 

[Propane]

Make the streams partially collide is what I meant. Post a pic of the tank and then I’ll let you know what I would do. Not gonna claim it would be right just how I would proceed.

 

[seanarino]

Make the streams partially collide is what I meant. Post a pic of the tank and then I’ll let you know what I would do. Not gonna claim it would be right just how I would proceed.

I may or may not have taken a short nap, lol-
Here's my tank so far (yes, I'm aware of the brown stuff.)
The setup's sorta funky and looks cobbled together... but once I get that little pump out it'll probably be different (it makes a sort of strange squeaky noise?)
I plan on making a sump eventually... I even bought a 10g sump baffle kit. I think a sump would be a lot easier for me to maintain versus a canister filter that doesn't want to stay together and I have to stomp the lid closed every time I want to get in it.
The top rocks are "somewhat" balanced - I tried to get them to stick with cyanoacrylate but I don't think it worked.

Note that I'm really insecure showing my tank because of the fact that I can't afford all the cool stuff and all the expensive equipment or have pre-drilled tanks and pre-built sumps and all those cool monitors, shut off valves and auto top offs and cool lights and stuff... I feel like my tank's a failure, basically, and it's not even close to being fully done yet....

 

[keithmeseroll]

Used the RedSea Marine Care multi test kit. Levels came out to as such:

pH - 7.6 (tested at night ~8:30 - 9:30 PM. Imagine it may be higher in the day or I may have slightly misread the test.)
Alkalinity - 6.5 - 7 dkH (Needs to be slightly higher, I think.)
Nitrate - 50 (normal test) ppm - 100 (high range test) ppm
Nitrites - 1+
Ammonia - ~0.2

Where am I at in my cycle, and where should I go from here? This is "new cycle day 04", from moving the 10 gallon to the 20 gallon and adding extra RO/DI saltwater.

In my tank when it started to change it took a week for the nitrifying bacteria to fully colonize after nitrite stared up but just give it some time and test.shouldnt take much longer