Tank Cycling

[Petey Pirate]

Good day all,

I set up my 12G tank this past weekend with 2lbs of dry sand, 10lbs of live Caribsea sand so I would not have any leftover sand, most of my rock is caribsea live dry rock and some incorporation of white rock. Salinity was 1.026SG on Sunday 9/29 I gave it another day which was Monday 10/30 and took another reading of the salinity and did not change. So I added the beneficial bacteria and ammonia in the morning and waited a few hours to check my readings. The test kit used API Saltwater (PH, Ammonia, NO2 & NO3). Everything tested as expected with Ammonia being high and NO2 & NO3 at 0. I tested again today and the readings were the same but the only thing is different salinity has spiked up to 1.027/1.028SG. I have been topping off my water when I see it low. Is this normal and ride it out for the next reading in a couple of days? Thanks in advance!

 

[Idech]

Cycling takes at least 3 weeks and up to 6. Find a way to automatically top off your water and follow the instructions for ammonia dosing.

 

[Petey Pirate]

Cycling takes at least 3 weeks and up to 6. Find a way to automatically top off your water and follow the instructions for ammonia dosing.

So let the cycle marinate for the next 4+ weeks regardless of the salinity inconsistency?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

You are topping off with rodi water right, not salt water? If you are adding salt water, thats why the salinity is increasing..... water evaporates but not salt, so you don't need to add more salt, only water.

 

[Petey Pirate]

You are topping off with rodi water right, not salt water? If you are adding salt water, thats why the salinity is increasing..... water evaporates but not salt, so you don't need to add more salt, only water.

No fresh water, also does it matter when testing when temp maybe off a degree or two?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

No fresh water

Good. Are you using tap water or rodi water or distilled water? Avoid tap water.

Although now you still have a mystery of why the salinity is increasing...

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

No fresh water, also does it matter when testing when temp maybe off a degree or two?

What kind of tool are you using to test your salinity? A hydrometer, a refractometer, or a digital reader?

 

[Idech]

So let the cycle marinate for the next 4+ weeks regardless of the salinity inconsistency?

You need to test and add ammonia at one point, there is a method to this. Look up Dr Tim’s way.

As I said about salinity, find a way to automatically top off. There are cheap inverted bottles on Amazon, until you get an ATO. Or maybe the bottle will be just fine.

 

[Petey Pirate]

Good. Are you using tap water or rodi water or distilled water? Avoid tap water.

Although now you still have a mystery of why the salinity is increasing...

I have been using distilled 0-TDS from the start of the setup and top-off. I received my 150GPD 6-stage RODI system today from the BRS sale. Hopefully, I can set it up this weekend but I do have to check my water pressure for my home before installing it.

 

[Petey Pirate]

What kind of tool are you using to test your salinity? A hydrometer, a refractometer, or a digital reader?

Refractometer, also made sure it was calibrated.

 

[Petey Pirate]

Cycling update: Closing out 2nd week - Salinity has been stable from my last post at 35ppt and finally got my ATO today. As of today I notice since 10/5/2024 that my ammonia has been steady at 2ppm, Nitrites gradually creeping up to 2ppm and nitrates is at 10ppm. Cycling process is going as planned and crossing fingers no stalls.

 

[Petey Pirate]

Cycling update: Closing out 3rd week - Salinity stable. Ammonia hit zero as of today's testing. Nitrate still at 2ppm and Nitrates at 20ppm. Great to see progress and almost there! The only issue I notice PH is at 7.8, but possibly the pending on time of day or my return pump is not providing enough oxygen. The recent changed has been to a dual-flow random generator on the pump since last week.

 

[PharmrJohn]

You know when you've cycled when 2ppm ammonia goes to zero in 24 hours. Sounds like you're there. But I'd ditch the API test kits. Salifert is a good middle of the road set of kits.

 

[Petey Pirate]

You know when you've cycled when 2ppm ammonia goes to zero in 24 hours. Sounds like you're there. But I'd ditch the API test kits. Salifert is a good middle of the road set of kits.

Really? I decide to do a water testing today since I noticed the Seachem Ammonia badge showed it was in the safe zone and I tested two days ago it was .025ppm. Would it be safe to wait another week? I thought Nitrites need to be 0ppm as well since my cycling is 22 days old.

I did not use Dr. Tim’s nor Fritz method of cycling. I used the given dosage of Ammonia Chloride and Beneficial Bacteria that was supplied in my ReefCasa kit and let it run its course till now. Unless other additional assist factors helped. (Live Caribsea Sand, some Dried Caribsea Life Rock)

Believe me I was getting a bit frustrated with the API kit during my tests over the past week or two with color accuracy (or me not being patient). Out of this experience doing a saltwater cycle and reading posts on here I will not do use API test kit again and keeping Salifert testing for the next upgrade tank in the future. As of now I know I have made a couple of mistakes a long the way of not being diligent on research and patience with going with a small tank. Sorry for the rant.

 

[PharmrJohn]

It's ALWAYS safe to wait. To give you an idea of how I'm gonna handle my cycle, I'm gonna add fritz and ghost feed for two months. Lights off. No fish. After 2 months, I'll start adding fish slowly, about one a week. Lights will go on at the 3 month mark. By that time, I'll have a few utilitarian fish (to handle algae) and CUC to handle the rest. Also, that'll give the bacteria time to colonize as much of my rock and sand surfaces as possible, thus minimizing (or avoiding) the ugly stage. Cycling is really a personal thing and there are SO many ways of doing it. And Nitrites are really of no concern in a SW tank. It's just about how long it takes for the ammonia at 2ppm to go to zero.

 

[Petey Pirate]

I want to make sure I am ready or not to get fish now since I received some news in my other post: My 12G ReefCasa Build. I know my ammonia has been 0ppm from the last post and my nitrites has stayed the same today at 2ppm. Today I decided to check my nitrates with my Hanna Checker HR this time and the read-out was 22ppm. Also would it be best to do a water change by how much (10%, 15% or more?) from today’s reading of nitrates. If I move forward getting fish in my tank.