No spikes during cycle ?

Camps23 · 04/05/2013, 04:43 PM

Hello, Im cycling the new 50g cube using the Dr Tims fishless method.
Im 17 days into the cycle as of today. Im using Marco Rock in my display and about 10lbs of live rock in my sump.
I also mixed a cup of sand from a friends well established tank with my new sand when it was added.
I started out by adding pure ammonia chloride to bring ammonia to 2ppm and added a bottle of Dr. Tims. After 10 days the ammonia was at 0ppm and the nitrides were at .5ppm. As directed I added more ammonia to bring it back to 2ppm. After three days ammonia again was at 0ppm and nitrides were 0ppm. Last night I added ammonia again to bring it to 2ppm. When I tested today ammonia was at .25ppm , nitrides at 0ppm, and nitrates were at 0ppm. Things seem to be going ok but from everything I have been reading I thought I would see more spikes in my nitrides ...which in turn would cause my nitrates to spike as well.
Havent seen that but my tank seems to be processing the ammonia very quickly now. Is this normal ? Do I need to see those spikes ? According to this method as soon as your tank can process out 2ppm of ammonia in 24hrs your good to go.... ?
Help !

Camps23 · 04/05/2013, 05:29 PM

Correction...
I just redid the nitrate test as I didnt shake it properly. My Nitrate reading is 10ppm

Camps23 · 04/06/2013, 05:17 AM

Anyone ?

hoganrj1 · 04/06/2013, 08:13 AM

Camps,
I have cycled two tanks now and while I am very inexperienced compared to some on the forums here My first tank which is still running cycled 5 years ago. While you might not see every level spike you are getting them. If you are seeing ammonia and Nitrates, you are getting the nitrites. I have never used any chemicals to cycle, just fish food. I would urge you to keep doing what you are doing and if your Nitrates are at 10ppm start doing water changes once it starts to get above that it can be difficult to get it down. Also it is a good rule of thumb to wait a good 6-8 weeks before adding any livestock. The beginning is the hardest part. But hang in there and you will be fine!

cap032 · 04/06/2013, 09:38 AM

I just cycled a 125 with Dr Tims and dry rock. "Do Not" do a water change to lower nitrates.........until you are done cycling!!!! Mine were well over 100ppm by the end of the cycle......its not a problem. You will do a very large water change at the end of the cycle to lower nitrates. You should only do a water change during the cycle if your nitrites go over 5ppm........and stay there for a few days (this means your cycle has stalled) The way you are doing things is correct, and you are controlling the amt of ammonia entering your system........which means you are also controlling the amt of nitrites you will see at a given time. In otherwords, you will not have an insane nitrite spike.......because you are controlling that spike with your dosing. If your ammonia and nitrite are both near 0ppm when you dose your ammonia, the largest spike you should see in your nitrite would be around 2-3ppm. When both ammonia and nitrite are 0ppm within 24hrs of dosing ammonia to 2ppm..........your cycle is complete. If Nitrates are high (and they likely will be) do a large water change and your done......(but dont disturb the sand bed as you have a lot of bacteria there right now). If you have a lot of diatoms or algae go ahead and add a clean up crew.........if not........go ahead and add a couple of fish and hold off on the clean up crew until there is enough algae in the tank to support them.

Shaun v · 04/06/2013, 09:42 AM

I have cycled 2 tanks. My DT and my QT. in my QT I did add liquid ammonia and a piece of live rock with no live sand but I did have an aqua clear filter with pad. It took about 4 weeks to cycle. My DT never showed any ammonia. I had added 30 lbs of live sand and 22 lbs of live rock and tested daily. I added some fish food (not ammonia) and CUC and my readings were always undetectable. I still waited about 6 weeks before adding any livestock but it seemed like my tank never went through a big cycle. I was told by my LFS when I first started the tank that with all the LR and LS I would not get a big spike but I was also told on forums that my tank wasn't ready. Well, I added livestock and corals and have never had any problems or spikes. I do agree that being patient and waiting it out is the best way to go to ensure the health of your livestock. However, if your tank is processing the ammonia into nitrates then you are probably good to go.

Camps23 · 04/06/2013, 12:02 PM

Thanks guys
I tested water again this morning and my reading were 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrides and still 10ppm nitrates. My tank cycled the 2ppm ammonia in 24hrs. Im going to do a water change and add a fish this weekend.

cap032 · 04/06/2013, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Camps23

Thanks guys
I tested water again this morning and my reading were 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrides and still 10ppm nitrates. My tank cycled the 2ppm ammonia in 24hrs. Im going to do a water change and add a fish this weekend.

Did your tank also convet nitrites to 0? If not, you are getting close but not quite finished. The ammonia consuming bacteria grow quickly but the nitrite consuming bacteria take a little longer.

04/05/2013, 04:43 PM	#1
Camps23 Registered Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Canada Posts: 185	No spikes during cycle ? Hello, Im cycling the new 50g cube using the Dr Tims fishless method. Im 17 days into the cycle as of today. Im using Marco Rock in my display and about 10lbs of live rock in my sump. I also mixed a cup of sand from a friends well established tank with my new sand when it was added. I started out by adding pure ammonia chloride to bring ammonia to 2ppm and added a bottle of Dr. Tims. After 10 days the ammonia was at 0ppm and the nitrides were at .5ppm. As directed I added more ammonia to bring it back to 2ppm. After three days ammonia again was at 0ppm and nitrides were 0ppm. Last night I added ammonia again to bring it to 2ppm. When I tested today ammonia was at .25ppm , nitrides at 0ppm, and nitrates were at 0ppm. Things seem to be going ok but from everything I have been reading I thought I would see more spikes in my nitrides ...which in turn would cause my nitrates to spike as well. Havent seen that but my tank seems to be processing the ammonia very quickly now. Is this normal ? Do I need to see those spikes ? According to this method as soon as your tank can process out 2ppm of ammonia in 24hrs your good to go.... ? Help ! __________________ Custom 60G cube, Vertex Omega 150 skimmer, Vectra S1 return pump, 2x Nero 3's, 2x AI Sol Blue, Reef Keeper Previous: 140G Custom Miracles 52x26x23 w/C2C Overflow

04/05/2013, 05:29 PM	#2
Camps23 Registered Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Canada Posts: 185	Correction... I just redid the nitrate test as I didnt shake it properly. My Nitrate reading is 10ppm __________________ Custom 60G cube, Vertex Omega 150 skimmer, Vectra S1 return pump, 2x Nero 3's, 2x AI Sol Blue, Reef Keeper Previous: 140G Custom Miracles 52x26x23 w/C2C Overflow

04/06/2013, 05:17 AM	#3
Camps23 Registered Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Canada Posts: 185	Anyone ? __________________ Custom 60G cube, Vertex Omega 150 skimmer, Vectra S1 return pump, 2x Nero 3's, 2x AI Sol Blue, Reef Keeper Previous: 140G Custom Miracles 52x26x23 w/C2C Overflow

04/06/2013, 09:42 AM	#6
Shaun v Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Bailey, Colorado Posts: 207	I have cycled 2 tanks. My DT and my QT. in my QT I did add liquid ammonia and a piece of live rock with no live sand but I did have an aqua clear filter with pad. It took about 4 weeks to cycle. My DT never showed any ammonia. I had added 30 lbs of live sand and 22 lbs of live rock and tested daily. I added some fish food (not ammonia) and CUC and my readings were always undetectable. I still waited about 6 weeks before adding any livestock but it seemed like my tank never went through a big cycle. I was told by my LFS when I first started the tank that with all the LR and LS I would not get a big spike but I was also told on forums that my tank wasn't ready. Well, I added livestock and corals and have never had any problems or spikes. I do agree that being patient and waiting it out is the best way to go to ensure the health of your livestock. However, if your tank is processing the ammonia into nitrates then you are probably good to go. __________________ "The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever." ~Jacques Yves Cousteau Current Tank Info: 16.75 gallon rimless star fire glass tank. 3 koralia 425 power heads, 30lbs LS, 22lbs LR. Kessil Tuna Blue 350w light. No sump, no filter, no refugium. Started on March 3, 2012

04/06/2013, 12:02 PM	#7
Camps23 Registered Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Canada Posts: 185	Thanks guys I tested water again this morning and my reading were 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrides and still 10ppm nitrates. My tank cycled the 2ppm ammonia in 24hrs. Im going to do a water change and add a fish this weekend. __________________ Custom 60G cube, Vertex Omega 150 skimmer, Vectra S1 return pump, 2x Nero 3's, 2x AI Sol Blue, Reef Keeper Previous: 140G Custom Miracles 52x26x23 w/C2C Overflow

04/06/2013, 08:13 AM	#4
hoganrj1 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 113	Camps, I have cycled two tanks now and while I am very inexperienced compared to some on the forums here My first tank which is still running cycled 5 years ago. While you might not see every level spike you are getting them. If you are seeing ammonia and Nitrates, you are getting the nitrites. I have never used any chemicals to cycle, just fish food. I would urge you to keep doing what you are doing and if your Nitrates are at 10ppm start doing water changes once it starts to get above that it can be difficult to get it down. Also it is a good rule of thumb to wait a good 6-8 weeks before adding any livestock. The beginning is the hardest part. But hang in there and you will be fine!

04/06/2013, 09:38 AM	#5
cap032 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Alabama Posts: 611	I just cycled a 125 with Dr Tims and dry rock. "Do Not" do a water change to lower nitrates.........until you are done cycling!!!! Mine were well over 100ppm by the end of the cycle......its not a problem. You will do a very large water change at the end of the cycle to lower nitrates. You should only do a water change during the cycle if your nitrites go over 5ppm........and stay there for a few days (this means your cycle has stalled) The way you are doing things is correct, and you are controlling the amt of ammonia entering your system........which means you are also controlling the amt of nitrites you will see at a given time. In otherwords, you will not have an insane nitrite spike.......because you are controlling that spike with your dosing. If your ammonia and nitrite are both near 0ppm when you dose your ammonia, the largest spike you should see in your nitrite would be around 2-3ppm. When both ammonia and nitrite are 0ppm within 24hrs of dosing ammonia to 2ppm..........your cycle is complete. If Nitrates are high (and they likely will be) do a large water change and your done......(but dont disturb the sand bed as you have a lot of bacteria there right now). If you have a lot of diatoms or algae go ahead and add a clean up crew.........if not........go ahead and add a couple of fish and hold off on the clean up crew until there is enough algae in the tank to support them.