After Cycled Tank

[valentib]

Hi RC! My tank has recently cycled but to continue to keep the bacteria alive I am still adding in ammonia. Anywhere between 2 and 4 ppm. My question is what is the average hours a tank should be ammonia and nitrite free after dosing? Get this is a moot point once fish are added but just trying to get an understanding of where I am at with the beneficial bacteria ("œBB").

Thank you!

 

[Sk8r]

Just drop in some few flakes of flake food and add a few snails and/or mini-hermit crabs, but do NOT add ammonia: test to be sure your tank is ammonia free before you add the snails or crabs. Ammonia, even a trace of it, will kill marine critters. Build up your biolife slowly, and the bacteria in rock and sand will increase in numbers as the life in your tank increases in complexity.

 

[Oldreeferman]

Hi RC! My tank has recently cycled but to continue to keep the bacteria alive I am still adding in ammonia. Anywhere between 2 and 4 ppm. My question is what is the average hours a tank should be ammonia and nitrite free after dosing? Get this is a moot point once fish are added but just trying to get an understanding of where I am at with the beneficial bacteria ("œBB").

Thank you!

I was doing the same thing building up bacteria on live rock so that no cycle would restart when adding it and the time period from ammonia intro at 4PPM to ammonia reading zero was 24hrs.

You can keep adding ammonia this way daily if you do not have the time or desire for any type live stock or CUC immediately, but at least do a daily ammonia test strip test or better yet a reg ammonia test kit to be sure of not over dosing ever.

Once you add fish and CUC no ammonia necessary obviously just be certain by testing that no residual ammonia is left before adding anything alive to it.

 

[Cool tangs]

The easy answer is check your ammonia levels before adding fish, dont over complicate it with a time frame. Im old school so I cycle with fish vs ammonia. If you dose to much you can slow down the cycle period. Im not an expert but if you levels are 0 you good to go

 

[Cool tangs]

Just want to add that ammonia can kill fish over time at high levels, dont stress yourself out if they rise when you add a new fish or fishes or after you feed. You tank will also cycle when you add more bioload the bacteria just needs to catch up, hence why you should stock slowly or add filtration to counter bioloads, skimmer, reactors, etc

 

[valentib]

Thanks everyone! I have been adding the ammonia and in 24 hours ammonia and nitrites are 0. However, I am have nitrates well over 100 ppm. Started a refugium with some chaeto. Lights are one of those old T8 fixtures with a 6500k bulb. Protein skimmer and lights are turned off. No algea seems to be forming. But outside of doing a massive water change do I just let it build up and hope for the denitrifying bacteria to build up?

 

[Sk8r]

Skimmer efficiency bears on nitrate. If you google 'lower nitrate in saltwater aquarium' you will find some preparations for that purpose. Water change, yes.

 

[thegrun]

Your bacteria will live for at least a year without food, adding ammonia will only increase your nitrates.