Safe to add livestock??

Nathans_Dad · 07/30/2011, 06:29 PM

Ok, I hope (pray) I am nearing the end of my cycle. I have been fishlessly cycling my 29 gallon for about 3 weeks now. I have been adding ammonia every other day to get the ammonia up to 1 ppm after I add it. I did this for 2.5 weeks and the tank has sat with just the pumps on for the last 5 days because I was on vacation.

So, I got back today and added another dose of ammonia.

Current readings are:

Ammonia 1 PPM (again just added a dose of ammonia about 2 hours ago).
Nitrite 0.5 ppm
Nitrate 20 ppm.

Given that I have been dosing to pretty high levels of ammonia artificially, do you think it is safe to do a 75% water change and add two small perculas? I am thinking that there is enough bacteria to support that small amount of bioload by now. I am planning to add the CUC in a week or two, I cycled with just some LED moonlights on so I really don't have much algae to speak of right now and I'm afraid they'll starve. I set up all the lights to run when I got back from vacation today so I am thinking the algae will be coming soon. I do have some small areas of brown algae on the rocks but that's it.

Oh, the tank has dead rock in it from reef cleaners and a small piece of seeder live rock with coralline on it.

Opinions??

192clark · 07/30/2011, 06:33 PM

I have never herd of dosing ammonia. You really need to start out with live rock. The die off from the live rock will cause you to have an ammonia spike. That is how you cycle a tank to prepare for wildlife!!!

192clark · 07/30/2011, 06:34 PM

The stickies on this forum will help you a great deal.

Nathans_Dad · 07/30/2011, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 192clark

I have never herd of dosing ammonia. You really need to start out with live rock. The die off from the live rock will cause you to have an ammonia spike. That is how you cycle a tank to prepare for wildlife!!!

You've never heard of cycling with ammonia??

Basically if you cycle with live rock then the die off from the live rock provides the ammonia which feeds the bacteria. Cycles are often faster with live rock because the needed bacteria are already present on the rock and just need a food source to populate the tank.

I decided to go with dead rock so in that case you can do the dead shrimp method to provide the ammonia or just dose the ammonia yourself. The only trick is you have to get PURE ammonia without any surfactants or scents in it. The stuff from Ace Hardware meets the criteria.

And while I have found several posts about the timing of adding a CUC, I thought there were some specific issues with my setup that warranted a specific post. Thanks for your help though!

FearTheTerps · 07/30/2011, 06:45 PM

Stop dosing and see that your levels are after a day or 2. Do not add anything until your ammonia and nitrite are both at zero.

192clark · 07/30/2011, 07:04 PM

I did not say i had not heard of cycling with ammonia. It is the dosing of ammonia that I have a problem with, but I am just trying to help . The ammonia is actually what you want the tank to produce to foster the growth of beneficial bacteria. The die off produces ammonia, nittrite ..... When the beneficial bacteria is at appropriate ammounts your ammonia, nitrate and nitrite come into balance. A healthy tank that breaks down organics is what you are after here. Just trying to help. If you have not, chck out the stickies.

Nathans_Dad · 07/30/2011, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearTheTerps

Stop dosing and see that your levels are after a day or 2. Do not add anything until your ammonia and nitrite are both at zero.

Ok thanks, that helps. I'll check it in a couple days.

Nathans_Dad · 07/30/2011, 08:52 PM

One other question.

Would it be best to wait for the algae to grow up some before adding the CUC or will it bloom fast enough for them to survive if I order them now with the perculas (assuming the numbers look good Monday)?

07/30/2011, 06:29 PM	#1
Nathans_Dad Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 29	Safe to add livestock?? Ok, I hope (pray) I am nearing the end of my cycle. I have been fishlessly cycling my 29 gallon for about 3 weeks now. I have been adding ammonia every other day to get the ammonia up to 1 ppm after I add it. I did this for 2.5 weeks and the tank has sat with just the pumps on for the last 5 days because I was on vacation. So, I got back today and added another dose of ammonia. Current readings are: Ammonia 1 PPM (again just added a dose of ammonia about 2 hours ago). Nitrite 0.5 ppm Nitrate 20 ppm. Given that I have been dosing to pretty high levels of ammonia artificially, do you think it is safe to do a 75% water change and add two small perculas? I am thinking that there is enough bacteria to support that small amount of bioload by now. I am planning to add the CUC in a week or two, I cycled with just some LED moonlights on so I really don't have much algae to speak of right now and I'm afraid they'll starve. I set up all the lights to run when I got back from vacation today so I am thinking the algae will be coming soon. I do have some small areas of brown algae on the rocks but that's it. Oh, the tank has dead rock in it from reef cleaners and a small piece of seeder live rock with coralline on it. Opinions??

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07/30/2011, 06:33 PM	#2
192clark Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Summerville, SC Posts: 635	I have never herd of dosing ammonia. You really need to start out with live rock. The die off from the live rock will cause you to have an ammonia spike. That is how you cycle a tank to prepare for wildlife!!!

07/30/2011, 06:34 PM	#3
192clark Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Summerville, SC Posts: 635	The stickies on this forum will help you a great deal.

07/30/2011, 06:45 PM	#5
FearTheTerps Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Hagerstown, Maryland Posts: 87	Stop dosing and see that your levels are after a day or 2. Do not add anything until your ammonia and nitrite are both at zero.

07/30/2011, 07:04 PM	#6
192clark Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Summerville, SC Posts: 635	I did not say i had not heard of cycling with ammonia. It is the dosing of ammonia that I have a problem with, but I am just trying to help . The ammonia is actually what you want the tank to produce to foster the growth of beneficial bacteria. The die off produces ammonia, nittrite ..... When the beneficial bacteria is at appropriate ammounts your ammonia, nitrate and nitrite come into balance. A healthy tank that breaks down organics is what you are after here. Just trying to help. If you have not, chck out the stickies.

07/30/2011, 08:52 PM	#8
Nathans_Dad Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 29	One other question. Would it be best to wait for the algae to grow up some before adding the CUC or will it bloom fast enough for them to survive if I order them now with the perculas (assuming the numbers look good Monday)?