Follow my cycle!

[BillKVT]

Finally! After years of wanting to join the hobby I have finally pulled the trigger and given in. I put together a little 40 breeder setup with a 20 gallon sump and 2X PP8 powerheads.

I'm extremely hopeful of the journey ahead and cannot wait to see what this hobby has to offer.

I built a little cabinet, added a curve 5 skimmer and have started my cycle. As of now my skimmer is breaking in and I have it overflowing back into the sump. I have no lights running, no fuge, no filtration.

Dry rock and dry sand is being used - I am not seeding as this first build will be as "fresh" as possible

I thought I'd start a thread and have you all join me on my cycling journey which will perhaps help someone in the future! ok, ok, maybe benefit me as well

So let's begin!

Day 0:
Added 2ppm Ammonia
Added Stability
No tests

Day 1:
Ammonia: 2ppm
Nitrite: .05 ppm
Nitrate: not tested
Added stability
No ammonia added

Day 2:
Ammonia: 1.2 to 2 ppm
Nitrite: 0.2 ppm
Nitrate: 2ppm
Added stability
No ammonia added

Day 3:
Will update

I won't be adding ammonia until I go under 1.2 indefinitely on the red sea tests. A constant 2.0 ammonia level until a Nitrite spike is what I am aiming for and from there I will fine tune.

Any suggestions are welcomed. Thank you all in advance!!

[allendehl]

Hi, I did not sweat the ammonia. I just threw in a frozen shrimp and had ammonia the following day, then nitrates then nitrates then all started to disappear.
I am not familiar with the amounts of ammonia to add or the frequency but the shrimp is much easier for sure. Be careful with the type of ammonia you add, It cannot have detergent.
Don't mind much the numbers, as long as they start coming down you're good.

Good luck!

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[homer1475]

Only add ammonia once. never again, it's not needed. Once the bacteria populate the rock/sand it will take a very long time(over a year) to die out.

Only thing you'll do by adding more ammonia is have extremely high nitrates when the cycle finishes. Besides if you keep adding, how do you know when the cycle ends?

FYI, not that anything is wrong with posting in this section, there is a tank build and journals section just a bit down the page.

[Civicman86]

Originally Posted by homer1475

Only add ammonia once. never again, it's not needed. Once the bacteria populate the rock/sand it will take a very long time(over a year) to die out.

Only thing you'll do by adding more ammonia is have extremely high nitrates when the cycle finishes. Besides if you keep adding, how do you know when the cycle ends?

FYI, not that anything is wrong with posting in this section, there is a tank build and journals section just a bit down the page.

Interesting. I added a second dose of ammonia after I felt the cycle was done just to ensure. I dosed and in 12 hrs it was gone.

[homer1475]

Originally Posted by Civicman86

Interesting. I added a second dose of ammonia after I felt the cycle was done just to ensure. I dosed and in 12 hrs it was gone.

That is fine and exactly what I do, just to ensure the tank is fully cycled.

But adding it continually is just asking for a longer cycle and a very high nitrate in the end.

[BillKVT]

Thank you all for the replies! My understanding was to try and keep my ammonia at 2 ppm to get a Nitrite spike. I don't understand why it would take a year for the ammonia to drop to 0?

Once I get my Nitrite spike I'm letting the tank be and waiting for ammonia and nitrites to drop to 0.

Lastly I was planning on getting the tank to 2ppm ammonia again through one final dose and if it goes to 0 the next day that would signal a complete cycle.

Is my thought process wrong?

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[Nick30G]

I did the same thing you did and it cycled my tank in two weeks. Once i belived my tank was cycled I add 2ppm of ammonia is be sure and see how fast the bacteria converted the Ammonia to Nitrate.

Added 2ppm Ammonia and whole bottle of Bio Spira:
Day 1: Ammonia - 2.0 ppm
2: Ammonia - 1-1.5 ppm, Nitrite 1 ppm
3: Ammonia - 0.5 ppm, Nitrite 2 ppm
4: Ammonia - 0.25 ppm, Nitrite 2 ppm, Nitrate - 20-40 ppm
5: Ammonia - 0 ppm, Nitrite - 2 ppm, Nitrate 20-40 ppm
6-8: Ammonia- 0, Nitrite 2 ppm, Nitrate 20-40 ppm
9: Ammonia- 0, Nitrite 0.5 ppm, Nitrate 40ppm
10: Ammonia- 0, Nitrite- 0 ppm, Nitrate 40 ppm (I again dosed 2ppm Ammonia to see how fast it converts the ammonia to Nitrate)
11: Ammonia- 0.25-0.50 ppm, Nitrite 1-1.5 ppm
12: Ammonia- 0 ppm, Nitrite-1ppm
13: Ammonia- 0 ppm, Nitrite- 0 ppm, Nitrate 50-60ppm (converted Ammonia to nitrite to nitrate in about 2 days)
14: Ammonia- 0 ppm, Nitrite 0 ppm, Nitrate 60-80ppm
15: Ammonia- 0 ppm, Nitrite 0 ppm, Nitrate 60-80ppm

[BillKVT]

Originally Posted by Nick30G

I did the same thing you did and it cycled my tank in two weeks. Once i belived my tank was cycled I add 2ppm of ammonia is be sure and see how fast the bacteria converted the Ammonia to Nitrate.

Added 2ppm Ammonia and whole bottle of Bio Spira:
Day 1: Ammonia - 2.0 ppm
2: Ammonia - 1-1.5 ppm, Nitrite 1 ppm
3: Ammonia - 0.5 ppm, Nitrite 2 ppm
4: Ammonia - 0.25 ppm, Nitrite 2 ppm, Nitrate - 20-40 ppm
5: Ammonia - 0 ppm, Nitrite - 2 ppm, Nitrate 20-40 ppm
6-8: Ammonia- 0, Nitrite 2 ppm, Nitrate 20-40 ppm
9: Ammonia- 0, Nitrite 0.5 ppm, Nitrate 40ppm
10: Ammonia- 0, Nitrite- 0 ppm, Nitrate 40 ppm (I again dosed 2ppm Ammonia to see how fast it converts the ammonia to Nitrate)
11: Ammonia- 0.25-0.50 ppm, Nitrite 1-1.5 ppm
12: Ammonia- 0 ppm, Nitrite-1ppm
13: Ammonia- 0 ppm, Nitrite- 0 ppm, Nitrate 50-60ppm (converted Ammonia to nitrite to nitrate in about 2 days)
14: Ammonia- 0 ppm, Nitrite 0 ppm, Nitrate 60-80ppm
15: Ammonia- 0 ppm, Nitrite 0 ppm, Nitrate 60-80ppm

Thanks Nick! How big of a water change did you do at the end?

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[Nick30G]

Originally Posted by BillKVT

Thanks Nick! How big of a water change did you do at the end?

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50% water change