How to unstick any seemingly stuck cycle
- Thread starter brandon429
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This is where I may have messed up having too many options. Thought I'd add a variety... no food or ammonia added.
OP
OP
Nice. We love to collect and decode all cycling variations here. That won't hurt anything. We can still name the date your tank will carry fish without burning them with ammonia.
**your tank presents a rare glimpse into potential mis testing. Can you post today's ammonia reading pic just ammonia by itself
Make sure to wait the required set time before taking the pic we want to see if your test is misreading right off the bat
You're saying you didn't add food nor liquid ammonia?
Can you post your pH levels too off the kit you have
**your tank presents a rare glimpse into potential mis testing. Can you post today's ammonia reading pic just ammonia by itself
Make sure to wait the required set time before taking the pic we want to see if your test is misreading right off the bat
You're saying you didn't add food nor liquid ammonia?
Can you post your pH levels too off the kit you have
The test the day before was dark blue which cued me that it was a mis testing. I'll take another test this evening when home.
I haven't added anything other than what is on that spreadsheet.
OP
OP
Very nice. I w google those to see what % ammonia may be in them as feed, some of those sources are likely to be feed + bacteria mixes and we can at least see if the inputs have justification for the test reading.
Dr. Reefs thread shows fritz when fed and from an active bottle to fully implant onto surfaces within three days. For sure it would work, and I don't believe the fritz is unable to handle the nominal loading of feed from nitrocycle.
The reason this thread differs from other cycling threads is because when given a choice to explain a seemingly stuck cycle i never believe bottle bacteria given ten days feeding to adjust are dead, i believe the non digital test kit is wrong. The only thing keeping us afloat is the animals keep living and the two seneye audits we had passed
Going off raw pattern i feel after a water change it'll reef now. What we need to prove that it isn't pH propping us up this whole time are more seneye readings
Dr. Reefs thread shows fritz when fed and from an active bottle to fully implant onto surfaces within three days. For sure it would work, and I don't believe the fritz is unable to handle the nominal loading of feed from nitrocycle.
The reason this thread differs from other cycling threads is because when given a choice to explain a seemingly stuck cycle i never believe bottle bacteria given ten days feeding to adjust are dead, i believe the non digital test kit is wrong. The only thing keeping us afloat is the animals keep living and the two seneye audits we had passed
Going off raw pattern i feel after a water change it'll reef now. What we need to prove that it isn't pH propping us up this whole time are more seneye readings
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I'll provide more test results this evening. Pre water change.
OP
OP
That’s perfect. Side note just to help: there are several reasons I would not dose vibrant as part of a recurring doser, recommend not to use it at all. Its not antibiotic/going to harm the cycle but it’s a form of algaecide we don’t want as a recurring low dose habituation chemical applied daily
it cannot assist you in any measurable way, it’s only utility is killing valonia algae if it gets in due to stocking of the tank
it cannot assist you in any measurable way, it’s only utility is killing valonia algae if it gets in due to stocking of the tank
UPDATE - I was going to attempt to add critters today, however I’ve noticed a change with the testing. I’ve tested today and it seems ammonia has finally fully dropped off but an increase in nitrite and nitrate.
current test reading is as follows;
Ammonia - 0.0
Nitrite - 0.50
Nitrate 5.0
Phosphate 0.1
Is this still cycling and coming towards the end? Shall I do a water change? Any suggestions?
OP
OP
We don't use testing in this thread per post #1
We are sure you're ready due to number of days your tank has waited in prep factored against the type of cycle you used. Nitrite is no longer factored in cycling that's one of our big change ups to cycling so we can focus the time on disease preps instead.
We are sure you're ready due to number of days your tank has waited in prep factored against the type of cycle you used. Nitrite is no longer factored in cycling that's one of our big change ups to cycling so we can focus the time on disease preps instead.
Ok so I’m going to put things to the test. Just been out and purchased a cleaner shrimp. 1x Mexican turbo snail and two hermit crabs
OP
OP
Cleaner shrimp are the single best test animal we can have here. They're not held at low salinity at the pet store like fish, and they're the weakest motile organism i know of: they will not tolerate any form of bad water parameters whatsoever, they'll keel right over and if they live/ excellent test. Can't wait to see outcome thank you for posting!
That's a perfect organism to test the neutrality of nitrite in new reef tank cycles.
and if they live/ excellent test. Can't wait to see outcome thank you for posting!That's a perfect organism to test the neutrality of nitrite in new reef tank cycles.
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One question for you in that case. What’s best to feed the shrimp and keep the feeding low? I was thinking for the crabs I will lay 1 small piece of nori seaweed on a clip on the sand bed. For the shrimp in the past they have taken bits of pellets and shrimp from my fish feeding aswell as feeding of the fish, however, as this is currently a fish less tank, and the rock is the new style love rock there is nothing really in the tank to feed off. Any advice is appreciatedCleaner shrimp are the single best test animal we can have here. They're not held at low salinity at the pet store like fish, and they're the weakest motile organism i know of: they will not tolerate any form of bad water parameters whatsoever, they'll keel right over
That's a perfect organism to test the neutrality of nitrite in new reef tank cycles.
OP
OP
A single food pellet is ok that’s a huge meal for a shrimp make sure not to leave uneaten food in the tank, he will likely pick at the nori clip too
OP
OP
Isnt is strange that we go for three years and forty pages here with no tank wipeout losses by un factoring ammonia and nitrite (after day ten of any common cycle setup) and instead focus on disease preps
we never dose any cycle to 2 ppm ammonia here
we stopped using non digital kits as the guide, we use fish disease and acclimation preps to guide fish addition (many skip preps here but at least they read about it, and won’t attribute losses well after startup to ammonia from a broken cycle)
when I look at the mess old cycling threads turn out by comparison it’s shocking to me, the reverse is in effect. The posters worry and react to ammonia stalling for several weeks, they ignore all disease preps and acclimation modes, they get fish losses and continue blaming the cycle and the umpires guiding the thread keep them on this track. no acclimation nor disease preps the entire time, even when they get new fish the same procedure repeats and they manage the tank solely off what non digital kits say even if they’re dumping in lots of prime known to alter the test kit readouts.
going off sheer results alone I wouldn’t choose the other way. What a mess for their fish.
we go solely on results of bioload carry ability here vs test kit readings, its the sole mechanism keeping this thread from descending into total argument like other cycle troubleshoot threads. When fish and animals are alive here, in pattern, we accept that as the proof and it’s stopped all arguments and it’s stopped all worry about stalled cycles.
eventually we will have a fish die, or a snail dies, that happens in reefing but we now have forty pages to pattern any losses against. It’s not possible to align forty pages of reef tanks using bad cycling science.
we never dose any cycle to 2 ppm ammonia here
we stopped using non digital kits as the guide, we use fish disease and acclimation preps to guide fish addition (many skip preps here but at least they read about it, and won’t attribute losses well after startup to ammonia from a broken cycle)
when I look at the mess old cycling threads turn out by comparison it’s shocking to me, the reverse is in effect. The posters worry and react to ammonia stalling for several weeks, they ignore all disease preps and acclimation modes, they get fish losses and continue blaming the cycle and the umpires guiding the thread keep them on this track. no acclimation nor disease preps the entire time, even when they get new fish the same procedure repeats and they manage the tank solely off what non digital kits say even if they’re dumping in lots of prime known to alter the test kit readouts.
going off sheer results alone I wouldn’t choose the other way. What a mess for their fish.
we go solely on results of bioload carry ability here vs test kit readings, its the sole mechanism keeping this thread from descending into total argument like other cycle troubleshoot threads. When fish and animals are alive here, in pattern, we accept that as the proof and it’s stopped all arguments and it’s stopped all worry about stalled cycles.
eventually we will have a fish die, or a snail dies, that happens in reefing but we now have forty pages to pattern any losses against. It’s not possible to align forty pages of reef tanks using bad cycling science.
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Day 3 the Shrimp, crabs and snail all still alive and moving well. The shrimp is always hiding but I know they tend to do this for a while in a new tank.Cleaner shrimp are the single best test animal we can have here. They're not held at low salinity at the pet store like fish, and they're the weakest motile organism i know of: they will not tolerate any form of bad water parameters whatsoever, they'll keel right over
That's a perfect organism to test the neutrality of nitrite in new reef tank cycles.
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