YeetPopper Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Alright quick question: I have 50 lbs. of live rock in my 65 gallon reef, and I'm trying to fishless cycle my tank. After a week, little to no ammonia was being produced in my tank at <.25ppm. I added a piece of dead shrimp and it went up to around .50 ppm. I let it stay at that level for another week, and my levels stayed unchanged. So about 28 hours ago or so, I added bio-spira (instant ocean's nitrifying bacteria) and my ammonia is the same, and my nitrites is at 0. Even though it has only been a day, I am getting a bit concerned. Do I need more ammonia in my tank? And if so how do you recommend I add it in. There are hitchhickers in my sand and rock, so should I let them die to start the cycle or add something. Thanks ahead of time and I'll try to be patient through out the week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeetPopper Posted January 19, 2015 Author Share Posted January 19, 2015 And also, should I increase the temperature of my tank to about 80 degrees Fahrenheit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 I am guessing that the dead shrimp is still in there producing ammonia at a steady rate and that the cycle to nitrate is happening pretty quick if its already live rock? Did you try measuring nitrates? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeetPopper Posted January 19, 2015 Author Share Posted January 19, 2015 I am guessing that the dead shrimp is still in there producing ammonia at a steady rate and that the cycle to nitrate is happening pretty quick if its already live rock? Did you try measuring nitrates? I believe my brittle star and other hitchhikers ate the shrimp. There is <5ppm of nitrate, so not much if any. Thanks for the reply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neon Reefer Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 If the live rock was clean and had little die off and no other substrate was added, there was little to cause the tank to cycle. And if after adding the dead shrimp the ammonia went up only slightly then iam guessing the live rock is doing its job although only very weakly. I you want you can add pure ammonia to a point of 5 ppm and measure x2 daily to see how fast it comes down. If it comes down rapidly within a 24 hour period then your rock is already cycles. If not then you have successfully started the cycle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Maybe your cycle is already pretty far along. If true I think you should now see ammonia go down and nitrates go up and you would not be able to measure any nitrite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neon Reefer Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 As I was typing I see you added another statement saying you have already added CUC> In that case then do not add any pure ammonia. Just continue to ghost feed for a couple weeks and let the tank and rock do its thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeetPopper Posted January 19, 2015 Author Share Posted January 19, 2015 As I was typing I see you added another statement saying you have already added CUC> In that case then do not add any pure ammonia. Just continue to ghost feed for a couple weeks and let the tank and rock do its thing No I do not have a cuc yet, the brittle star and flat worms and other hitchhikers came in the rock and sand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeetPopper Posted January 19, 2015 Author Share Posted January 19, 2015 Maybe your cycle is already pretty far along. If true I think you should now see ammonia go down and nitrates go up and you would not be able to measure any nitrite. I hope that is the case, but I barely have any nitrates if any. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 What they said. You did a pretty good job kick starting your tank with the live rock. Personally if the ammonia is 0 I would start adding hardy animals and polyps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeetPopper Posted January 19, 2015 Author Share Posted January 19, 2015 What they said. You did a pretty good job kick starting your tank with the live rock. Personally if the ammonia is 0 I would start adding hardy animals and polyps. Ok, I'm just wondering why my ammonia is not being converted. :S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Double check your test kit with another or preferably several kits. If you are only seeing .5,your ammonia is being converted, if not you would see much higher. Ammonia is very bioreactive, it's a food source for a lot of "stuff" and after this length of time and especially with live rock you got stuff eating it. There are also bugs that will convert nitrite back to ammonia but there's no way to test that and it would just be a wild guess to say that's what's happening here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeetPopper Posted January 20, 2015 Author Share Posted January 20, 2015 Double check your test kit with another or preferably several kits. If you are only seeing .5,your ammonia is being converted, if not you would see much higher. Ammonia is very bioreactive, it's a food source for a lot of "stuff" and after this length of time and especially with live rock you got stuff eating it. There are also bugs that will convert nitrite back to ammonia but there's no way to test that and it would just be a wild guess to say that's what's happening here. Do you think that it is possible that it is cycling through the nitrite stage faster than I am measuring it? There does seem to be a small amount of nitrate, more than nitrite. I just found out that my rock is pre-cured, and there was little die off, like neon reefer mentioned. The piece of shrimp may have been the only thing that spiked the ammonia, but the level is staying the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nvrEnuf Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 yes, that is exactly what the previous posts are saying. You are completing the cycle; but not at a high rate. The next step would be to add something that produces a more consitant deposit of amonia. This could be a larger piece of shrimp, regular feeding, or a fish. depending on your secondary filtration system you may or may not see a bloom when consistant bioload is presented. All of this is perfectly normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeetPopper Posted January 20, 2015 Author Share Posted January 20, 2015 yes, that is exactly what the previous posts are saying. You are completing the cycle; but not at a high rate. The next step would be to add something that produces a more consitant deposit of amonia. This could be a larger piece of shrimp, regular feeding, or a fish. depending on your secondary filtration system you may or may not see a bloom when consistant bioload is presented. All of this is perfectly normal. Okay thanks, I added 5 more pieces of jumbo shrimp so that should get my ammonia spiked up high enough! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manny Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 The best step you can take is the easiest yet the hardest step of all: do nothing. Be patient and let the cycle finish. And when it's finished, let it finish some more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Bingo. Once ammonia is gone, the cycle is done, but that's just the nitrifying bacteria cycle. There are a lot more unmeasurable phases to the maturation of a reef tank beyond nitrification. The longer you go, with appropriate husbandry, your ability to keep livestock should get easier and easier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeetPopper Posted January 21, 2015 Author Share Posted January 21, 2015 Bingo. Once ammonia is gone, the cycle is done, but that's just the nitrifying bacteria cycle. There are a lot more unmeasurable phases to the maturation of a reef tank beyond nitrification. The longer you go, with appropriate husbandry, your ability to keep livestock should get easier and easier Yulp, my ammonia spiked for a split second and now it is at the nitrite stage. Since the shrimp is still decaying, more ammonia is being turned into nitrite. What a relief. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Try not to hum it. "Oh what a relief it is" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Mystery solved! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manny Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Had to edit my response. I meant the easiest step and yet the hardest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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