Week 2 of cycle - water test results

[KathyC]

I was under the impression that I could cycle withiut the food or shrimp. It may take a bit longer but it would still work? I also figured since i have nitrites present, that it was because ammonia was there first. The rock had some life on it that i assumed died causing the nitrites. Am i wrong in my assumptions? Should i have some shrimp coctail and save one for the tank?

The life that died on the rock did originally raise your ammonia level (at least a little) which is why you have nitrites now BUT you also have to keep the bacteria you are creating (the point in cycling) alive - so you need to feed it

A pinch of pellets or small amount of flake food every few days will keep the bacteria fed (and alive)during the rest of the cycle. I would not add a raw shrimp at this point, it would be overkill 2-3 weeks in.
Once the tank has livestock in it the excess food and waste from the fish & CUC is what will feed the bacteria.
It is all a delicate balance

 

[jnrandall]

Ok, any particular brand? Hopefully i can use itlater too!

 

[KathyC]

Ok, any particular brand? Hopefully i can use itlater too!

Buy one you can use later on..The Ocean Nutrition Pellets (One or Two..those are types, not amounts), or a good Marine flake food.

 

[jnrandall]

Thanks!

 

[jnrandall]

Ok, so on Monday morning when I originally posted my test results, the ammonia tested at 0. This morning, it tested as .25. Now I did turn my lights back on for 6-8hrs a day starting on Monday. I had previously been running them for 12+ hours a day and developed some brown algae. Sometime last week Thursday or Friday, I turned them off, killed the brown stuff and then turned them back on Monday morning. This is when I took the first test and posted the results. I am wondering if the rise in ammonia is due to the lights coming back on and now my interrupted cycle is now continuing. Agree? Disagree? Another theory?

I will be patient.

 

[KathyC]

Ok, so on Monday morning when I originally posted my test results, the ammonia tested at 0. This morning, it tested as .25. Now I did turn my lights back on for 6-8hrs a day starting on Monday. I had previously been running them for 12+ hours a day and developed some brown algae. Sometime last week Thursday or Friday, I turned them off, killed the brown stuff and then turned them back on Monday morning. This is when I took the first test and posted the results. I am wondering if the rise in ammonia is due to the lights coming back on and now my interrupted cycle is now continuing. Agree? Disagree? Another theory?

I will be patient.

Could be a number of things..something could have died in the tank...even some bacteria (since we figured out you aren't feeding it..)

Bottom line, the lights should not be on until after you finish your cycle, all it will do for you is grow algae Not what you want to be doing at this point

 

[Jzhou]

In theory, having your lights off and boosting the temp to the 82 range during the cycling period is also better for the cycle. This is because of how bacteria prefers living in dark and warm condition. One thing about the raw shrimp, be careful not to use one that has a lot of preservatives. I've been seeing a lot of those lately while food for my arowanas and sting rays.

 

[jnrandall]

Thanks again guys!

 

[jnrandall]

This is just a quick update since my last post. The tank successfully cycled. A few weeks after posting to this thread, I noticed that there were no changes to my chemistry. My ammonia, nitrate and nitrite levels remained unchanged. I found that hard to chew so I changed my test kit. I stopped using the Red Sea Master kit and picked up the Mardel test strips. The results were different from the RSM kit but I had difficulty in translating the results. I then switched to the Salifert kits. What a difference! Took all the guess work out of the testing. Ultimately the kit read 0 for Nitrites and Ammonia and low Nitrates.


Here's a list of the changes that occurred since my last post and the completed cycle;

• changed R2 moonlight and installed/configured the ReefKeeper moonlights
• added more live rock
• removed the floor from chambers 1 & 2
• removed the tab between chambers 1 & 2 to allow more flow
• removed the sponge from chamber 3
• added a media basket from Intank, includes filter floss, purigen and chemi-pure elite
• added clean up crew, hermits and snails
• added 2 blue-green chromis

The tanks water parameters have been near perfect for the past 2 weeks. The Nitrates are near 0 after the small water changes. I am going on vacation at the end of next month for 2 weeks, so I probably won't be adding anymore livestock to the tank until I return. I will be getting an auto feeder at some point. Any recommendations? Eheim?

Many thanks to this forum and those who've helped me directly and indirectly!

Tank preview:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ASiL-PJM_n0