So im on day 6 of my fishless cycle. Directions state to add ammonia on day 6** unless ammonia is above 5ppm... my question, am i following day 6 instructions based off of day 5 results? Or should i test my ammonia levels for day 6 then follow instructions accodingly?
Dr. Tims cycle question....
- Thread starter reeferpat137
- Start date
You have to test the ammonia level and then decide if the ammonia concentration has declined since you added ammonia or it is just sitting there. A day here or there won’t matter.
So i should check my levels today then
Yes, check then make determination if ammonia is needed
Yea, just checked it. Ammonia is still at 8ppm per API test kit
4 drops per gallon. 20L aqueon= about 18gal. 76 drops
This is a bare bottom. With ceramic media. Im guessing the lack of surface area is a contributing factor to the levels
Bottle of ammonia or bacteria. Is it possible that the Dr. Tims bacteria was bad as it was cold when it was delivered
Last edited:
Bacteria. The ammonia isn’t bad since your test is showing ammonia present. A different bottle of bacteria is a good idea anyways since when it comes to beneficial bacteria, diversity is good.
Did you start with any rock or sand, if so live or dry?
Dry rock, ceramic media
Bacteria. I know that dr tims, and I believe fritz turbo both suffer issues from being shipped in extremely cold or hot temperatures. I'd add some biospira or wahtever marine cycling bacteria they have at a store near you if possible (like api quick start marine)
I have started with dry rock and ceramic media some live sand. I have added ammonia until 2ppm my cycle was literally done in 10 days maybe your bacteria was bad I had cloudy water for 3 days after dumping in the bottle
Counterpoint: Dr Tim's dosing instructions is known to give overshoots on ammonia.
If it's anywhere around 8ppm or over you won't be able to tell it's working by tracking ammonia at first: 6 looks like 8 looks like 10. they are all super dark. You might have had ammonia drop from 8 to 7 and you'd never detect it.
Look for nitrite NO2 instead. There will be zero when you start and a test can clearly show a color change at production of just 0.1-0.2 ppm. It's a far better marker for whether cycling is starting.
(Just yesterday I was checking for start of nitrification in some samples and I could detect ~0.05 ppm NO2 produced more than the control without bacteria. I'd never have been able to detect that drop in ammonia from 2ppm.)
If there's no NO2 by day 6, your bottle got frozen or something and you need another bacteria source.
If it's anywhere around 8ppm or over you won't be able to tell it's working by tracking ammonia at first: 6 looks like 8 looks like 10. they are all super dark. You might have had ammonia drop from 8 to 7 and you'd never detect it.
Look for nitrite NO2 instead. There will be zero when you start and a test can clearly show a color change at production of just 0.1-0.2 ppm. It's a far better marker for whether cycling is starting.
(Just yesterday I was checking for start of nitrification in some samples and I could detect ~0.05 ppm NO2 produced more than the control without bacteria. I'd never have been able to detect that drop in ammonia from 2ppm.)
If there's no NO2 by day 6, your bottle got frozen or something and you need another bacteria source.
Similar threads
