Is my cycle stalled?

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

... Where's Brandon, he's usually all over these threads... like, immediately.

Please don't invoke the troll!

 

[exnisstech]

Where's

Please don't invoke the troll!

Dangit I need to learn to type faster I was just typing that reply The one asking about Brandon that is I didn't quote it correctly. We could do surgery on this tank and get it all squared away.

 

[ryshark]

I ended up buying salifert ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate test kits and turns out my ammonia and nitrite are 0 while my nitrate is 100 (the highest).

I tested multiple times to make sure, my API still reads my nitrite as really high and ammonia as 0.25, but my salifert test kit says that it's 0 for both ammonia and nitrite while nitrate is really high. Does this mean that API is the problem and my cycle is done and all I need to do is a water change?

Wow, I'd trust the Salifert. Sounds like your cycle is done then. Time for a water change and then a fish to two.

 

[StatelineReefer]

Please don't invoke the troll!

 

[exnisstech]

 

[CLYRIC]

Wow, I'd trust the Salifert. Sounds like your cycle is done then. Time for a water change and then a fish to two.

Should I raise the ammonia to 2 ppm once again and see if it goes down within a day and then do a water change? or am I just overthinking and everything is good?

 

[ryshark]

Should I raise the ammonia to 2 ppm once again and see if it goes down within a day and then do a water change? or am I just overthinking and everything is good?

What did you use to dose ammonia and how much per how many gallons?

 

[CLYRIC]

What did you use to dose ammonia and how much per how many gallons?

I have fritz fishless fuel (ammonia) and I follow the directions with 4 drops per gallon (My tank is 55 gallons)

 

[vetteguy53081]

I raised my ammonia too high to 4 ppm before adding fritz turbostart 900. After 3 days, my ammonia has gone down to 0.25 ppm (I'm using an API test kit, so I know that I won't get a 0 ppm reading, but this is the lowest on the chart). My nitrite has spiked a lot (+5 ppm, the highest reading), probably around the 2nd day after I've added fritz turbostart. As of writing, this is the 5th day (almost 6th) and the ammonia is still the same (0.25 ppm), but the nitrite hasn't gone down one bit, did I do something wrong or is this normal and I should just wait?

I'm just confused since the decrease of ammonia showed tremendous progress in 1-3 days, but the nitrite has spiked to +5ppm (the highest reading), but it still hasn't changed at all after 3 days, so I'm just wondering if this is normal or not? Did my nitrite spike too high, that it will take longer than usual for it to go down or did I do something wrong to "stall" the cycle?

I will be getting salifert testing kits for more accurate testing, but they will be arriving in 3 days time.

Thanks for any advice!

Api is not the most reliable to work with. To confirm where tank level is at, Take a water sample to a trusted LFS that does NOT use Api anything and see what readings they come up with and to compare with yours.
When your ammonia is steady at zero for 5 days and Nitrate is steady at 20 or below- You are cycled. Ignore nitrIte Unless sky high
The tank will go through two phases in which ammonia will rise then fall and nitrate will rise and fall which is normal. When fish are added, the bacteria population will increase with the new bio load, converting waste to nitrate.
Overloading tank with too many fish up front will exceed what the bacteria can handle which is why its best to stock fish slowly over the next few months so that the bacterial levels can adapt to the new loads

 

[Garf]

I ended up buying salifert ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate test kits and turns out my ammonia and nitrite are 0 while my nitrate is 100 (the highest).

I tested multiple times to make sure, my API still reads my nitrite as really high and ammonia as 0.25, but my salifert test kit says that it's 0 for both ammonia and nitrite while nitrate is really high. Does this mean that API is the problem and my cycle is done and all I need to do is a water change?

Your nitrate can't be 100 if you've only added 4ppm ammonia. 1ppm ammonia turns into 3.6ppm nitrate.

 

[brandon429]

I watch sometimes just to see how peers troubleshoot

just watching for trends in cycle assessment is fun, but not as fun as total domination soapboxing essays on the matter. I already advised clyric on another thread, I don’t blame them for getting a second opinion considering the degree of stuck cycle training out there vs our niche methods.

 

[CLYRIC]

Your nitrate can't be 100 if you've only added 4ppm ammonia. 1ppm ammonia turns into 3.6ppm nitrate.

I just re-test again to make sure and the results are still the same

I did measure the 4 ppm ammonia using the API testing kit so maybe that's why it's "off"? I'm not sure either

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I just re-test again to make sure and the results are still the same

I did measure the 4 ppm ammonia using the API testing kit so maybe that's why it's "off"? I'm not sure either

How large of a water change did you do?

 

[CLYRIC]

How large of a water change did you do?

Oh, I haven't done the water change yet. At the beginning of the thread, I used API to test my waters and got wacky results for my ammonia/nitrite/nitrate. I bought salifert test kits and turns out my ammonia and nitrite are 0 while my nitrate is 100. Garf finds it weird that I had 100 in nitrates when I only added 4ppm ammonia, so I was just showing a picture of the test results.

I am planning to do a 50% water change tomorrow though.

 

[LiamPM]

Far too much going on here.

Simple - Make a fresh batch of salted water - Ideally 50% of the volume of your display tank (Youll need it for a large water change after the cycle is confirmed anyway). When you have this water - Use your new salifert test kits to test it to ensure they are perfectly working and reporting back zero ammonia and nitrATE - Once confirmed, test your actual tank - If you still have ZERO ammonia & 100 nitrATES then change 50% of the water with that fresh stuff you just made up - This should half the NitrATE reading.

Then enjoy your prepared tank and go fish shopping! Just gets too confusing when looking too much into things.

NitrITE = irrelevant
Ammona - Must be zero
NitrATEs - Debatable....Must have a reading though.
Then ready.

 

[brandon429]

Ive noticed in reefing that cycling hasn't been allowed to evolve at all among forum peers for thirty years running

Cycle umps won't agree bottle bac works faster than we think until they own digital test kits for ammonia.







Given 30 years of Google search returns on api ammonia, if someone using an api test kit says their cycle is stalled, we buy that without question still today?

Right there is where evolution in best practices stops and stalls

It would be neat to see work threads that study the matter in 200 cycled reefs. I wonder why cycle umps don't reference those, or ever make some to produce their own updated rule set...

It's easier just to simply ignore any new findings. Forum cyclers will never allow cycling rules to progress until digital ammonia tools are used in 95% of cycling posts.

As of today, they're 1% so I can't blame the enduring skepticism.

 

[brandon429]

2023 means:

Don't test for any ammonia if it's not digital. Basing a cycle on tests known to misread invites cycling doubt

Add fish food to your mix here, wait ten days

Be reading Jay's disease forum links for ten days because on that date you can carry fish but need to not infect your new tank with them.

Stop concerning over ammonia, completely. Sub in instead total concern and study over fish about to be added to a dry rock tank, brightly lit, likely with no acclimation per recent threads, fed on retail store junk food=disease preps is where it's at

By day ten after fish food and bottle bac and a water change, your cycle is fine.

No, api isn't going to agree but seneye sure does 100% of the time. You don't need seneye to cycle a display reef, they're just handy for ending disputes among cycle umps

The only thing you need to cycle a reef display is bottle bac, fish food and ten days reading in Jay's forum

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Far too much going on here.

Simple - Make a fresh batch of salted water - Ideally 50% of the volume of your display tank (Youll need it for a large water change after the cycle is confirmed anyway). When you have this water - Use your new salifert test kits to test it to ensure they are perfectly working and reporting back zero ammonia and nitrATE - Once confirmed, test your actual tank - If you still have ZERO ammonia & 100 nitrATES then change 50% of the water with that fresh stuff you just made up - This should half the NitrATE reading.

Then enjoy your prepared tank and go fish shopping! Just gets too confusing when looking too much into things.

NitrITE = irrelevant
Ammona - Must be zero
NitrATEs - Debatable....Must have a reading though.
Then ready.

Couldn't have said it better myself!

 

[CLYRIC]

Far too much going on here.

Simple - Make a fresh batch of salted water - Ideally 50% of the volume of your display tank (Youll need it for a large water change after the cycle is confirmed anyway). When you have this water - Use your new salifert test kits to test it to ensure they are perfectly working and reporting back zero ammonia and nitrATE - Once confirmed, test your actual tank - If you still have ZERO ammonia & 100 nitrATES then change 50% of the water with that fresh stuff you just made up - This should half the NitrATE reading.

Then enjoy your prepared tank and go fish shopping! Just gets too confusing when looking too much into things.

NitrITE = irrelevant
Ammona - Must be zero
NitrATEs - Debatable....Must have a reading though.
Then ready.

I made the new saltwater and it did read 0 ammonia and nitrate. I am currently doing water changes and the display tank is at 50 nitrates currently and I'll be doing more water changes until it reaches 10-20 nitrate at the very least. Thanks for the advice!

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I made the new saltwater and it did read 0 ammonia and nitrate. I am currently doing water changes and the display tank is at 50 nitrates currently and I'll be doing more water changes until it reaches 10-20 nitrate at the very least. Thanks for the advice!

Once you reach 30 you should be fine.

Happy reefing!