Help, i think there is something wrong with my cycle..

[Matthewaterboi]

Hi, im currently into my 9th day of cycling by marine aquarium, and my parameters has stayed consistent at around 6.0 ammonia (tested using API kit) nitrites at 2.0 and nitrates slowly rising (nitrite and nitrates are tested using the salifert saltwater test kits).

My PH has been stable at 8.0 pH (using salifert kit), however my KH has dropped to about 4.8 (Salifert kit).

I have only dosed 2 ppm of ammonia (Dr Tim's ammonium chloride) on the first day. I am cycling my tank with Dr Tim's One and Only.

Can some advice me on what to do? is my cycle doing fine or is there something wrong? I just need a piece of mind as i am getting anxious that all my bacteria has died off.

edit *main reason im getting anxious is also because ive seen a few youtube videos of people cycling with Dr Tim's and got different parameters for each day, but however im getting a constant reading for about 6 days already.

attached is my tests:

 

[JZ199]

It seems to be going fine. Every cycle is different and has no set time on how long it will take to complete. Some tanks my ammonia spiked and dropped within 14 days, some took a week or a little longer, and my 150 gallon took over a month to cycle. You just have to be patient and keep monitoring.

 

[Idoc]

I think you are on the right track. Your ammonia does seem to have gotten stuck a bit but API test kits can be a little suspicious for results, so I wouldn't put a lot of faith in that number right now. The good thing is that your nitrates are slowly increasing...this shows that your bacteria are working and doing their job. I'd say just give it some more time. If too much ammonia is introduced (which it doesn't sound like what you did), a cycle has been known to stall...but I don't think that is the case here.

If you are still nervous, you can always toss in some BioSpira bacteria as well...which is probably the same stuff as Dr. Tim's stuff.

 

[Matthewaterboi]

I think you are on the right track. Your ammonia does seem to have gotten stuck a bit but API test kits can be a little suspicious for results, so I wouldn't put a lot of faith in that number right now. The good thing is that your nitrates are slowly increasing...this shows that your bacteria are working and doing their job. I'd say just give it some more time. If too much ammonia is introduced (which it doesn't sound like what you did), a cycle has been known to stall...but I don't think that is the case here.

If you are still nervous, you can always toss in some BioSpira bacteria as well...which is probably the same stuff as Dr. Tim's stuff.

could you recommend some ammonia test kits which are reliable? thanks in advance

 

[Cell]

Don't waste money on more bottled bac. Stay the course for now and finish up the manufacturers protocol. You have nitrite, which means ammonia is being processed. If you are sure you dosed the ammonia correctly, then I wouldn't sweat the API results too much just yet. Seems like you may have overdosed ammonia after day 3 though. Stop testing nitrate, you cannot accurately measure nitrate when nitrite is present.

 

[Sophie"s mom]

could you recommend some ammonia test kits which are reliable? thanks in advance

I would recommend Salifert test kits, they are in expensive, and much more accurate than API.

 

[Timfish]

Regarding test kits, check my post and the study comparing different test kits

PSA: Ditch your API test kit

Isn't that what has been debated this entire thread though, with a large group saying all these hobby grade tests are as accurate or inaccurate as we make them? I feel I can perform a test and interpret the numbers pretty well, I have used API before. But that was a much different scenario. My...

www.reef2reef.com

Also check out this article by Thales and Aquabiomics

2657円まるいち 博多辛子明太子(無着色) 「博多の華」 (ギフト用) 180g Z6572海産物イクラ,タラコ,魚卵 Qoo10]　「博　まるいち　博多辛子明太子(無着色) | therichross.com

2657円まるいち 博多辛子明太子(無着色) 「博多の華」 (ギフト用) 180g Z6572海産物イクラ,タラコ,魚卵 Qoo10]　「博　まるいち　博多辛子明太子(無着色) | therichross.com

therichross.com

Establishing a Healthy Microbiome in a New Aquarium Using Live Rock

Studying the effects of live rock in a newly established aquarium shows that high-quality live rock promotes the rapid establishment of an effective biological filter and a microbial community similar to those found in mature reef tanks.

www.reef2reef.com

And FWIW, I never test for nitrites, rarely test for ammonia and only occasionally test for nitrates when setting up a tank. It's all going to happen.

 

[brandon429]

My recommend would be ditch testing altogether and make this a testless cycle where it's done by counting a number of days vs guessing at a color chart for a kit known to misread a lot

Grind up one pinch of fish food any type and put in the tank, add nothing else. Wait until December 8th then do a large water change, and you're done if you had a typical reef rock setup in the mix this whole time. Don't run any tests, it can't fail, tests will only make you doubt something already underway in the forty page testless cycling thread.

Your cycle would likely be fine right now after a water change but there's no rush
Eight more days with carbon supplied fixes any worst case scenario and even better it gives you a week to read the disease forum on what happens if you skip fallow and quarantine preps, the cycle isn't your concern it's disease that'll get the fish

 

[drolmaeye]

I did a fishless cycle, adding ammonium chloride and bottled bacteria (although I did not use Dr. Tim's brand). I also used the API test kits (for ammonia and nitrite). I cannot see my daily test plots here at work, but I know I had measurable ammonia well beyond the 9-day mark, and I think I had measurable nitrite beyond 30 days (I did not bother with measuring nitrate). In my experience, the API kits were reliable enough to get a good feel of how the cycle was going.

My suggestion is to stay the course (do not add any more ammonium chloride, do not do any water changes), continue to measure (every day is fine, but could also go to every second or third day) for another 7-10 days, and see if the ammonia level drops. I do not think it would hurt to add more bottled bacteria, but I do not think it is necessary. If you are not on a tight schedule (needing to get a fish in) then again, maybe just give more time for the cycle to happen.

 

[mizimmer90]

I cycled some rocks recently that took a month! Growing microbes is like growing anything else: we provide the best for them and wait patiently lol

When they reach the right numbers, your ammonia will plummet!

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

and my parameters has stayed consistent at around 6.0 ammonia

Or

I have only dosed 2 ppm of ammonia

Which is it?? If you actually added enough ammonia to get to 6ppm, do a water change to bring it down to 2ppm. 6ppm is way too much and can make the time until the tank can support livestock take a lot longer.

 

[Idoc]

could you recommend some ammonia test kits which are reliable? thanks in advance

I've used the Salifert and the Red Sea ammonia (NH4) test kits with good success. It will be extremely rare for the need to test for ammonia after the cycle completes.

I still use ammonia testing occasionally when setting up a fast quarantine tank, though.