Cycling tank question

I've used bio-spira on my last 2 set ups. One at 75 Gal and now on my 90 Gal, both times worked great, Didn't go straight to adding live stock though... But once the 2 week mark was up and test results were worthy of adding life, I don't see any any type of Ammonia, Nirtrite, or Nitrate spikes in my system. But I think the live rock and deep sand bed helps with that too.
 
niladride said:
Nitrifying bacteria can stay alive without food for more than a year. I have always found seachem stability a good product. And these products do have expiry dates. So definitely not "for ever" product.
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What is your source for that information?
 
75 gallon with a 30 sump. Not sure how much I added. How much should I add? I guess more is better.
 
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Tested this morning and have around 1ppm ammonia, zero nitrites. Need to test nitrates too but i doubt there are any. I will probably add a few bigger pieces of live rock from my other tank today to help with even more bacteria.
 
niladride said:
^

Well I will google for you.

:)

I myself posted this thread some time back:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=24422228#post24422228

I have got another article:

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co....ow-filter-bacteria-dream-on?rq=nitrifying bac
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Nothing in either of those links provided any evidence that the bacteria will survive up to a year. One of your "sources" was a comment from another user that can be paraphrased as "not sure, but I've heard up to a year." Your other source says up to 150 hours (~6 days) if kept in ideal conditions.

If it works for some, great, I am not saying that people shouldn't try it if they want to give it a shot, but I'm going to stick to the tried and true method of just adding live rock.
 
I am not using Marinepure because i read a lot of sources stating it leaching aluminum into the water. However i am using Seachem Matrix. I wish i could find something to tell me otherwise about the marine pure though because i would really like to run a block of it. Have any sources?
 
I went threw the same issue a couple months ago , i did fishless cycle with dry rock and dr. Tims. it did work in the long run but it took almost 5 weeks, not 5 day i have about 2 ppm ammonia and n nothing else for about 4 weeks and one day , bam! zero ammonia and nitrites started showing. be patient i promise Dr. tims will work it just takes time.
 
Is it possible for me to not even have a cycle? I moved live rock and cured dry rock, dry sand into the tank. Added ammonia and it's coming down but no nitrites or nitrates are showing. I added a few hermits and anything living on the live rock is still kicking.
 
I have looked into many of the above products under microscope. Most products state they live without food or refrigerated which is true but not 100% bacteria survive the dormant stage. Turbo start fritz comes refrigerated and you can actually see the bacteria moving. If you want more info on test let me know.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Vadafallon said:
Is it possible for me to not even have a cycle? I moved live rock and cured dry rock, dry sand into the tank. Added ammonia and it's coming down but no nitrites or nitrates are showing. I added a few hermits and anything living on the live rock is still kicking.
Click to expand...

I guess it's possible if the live rock you added was very established what was your ratio of dry vs live? But I think you should see at least nitrates then if ammonia is dropping and your live rock is good you should see some movement in your tests I'd give it some more time tho. In a finished cycle ammonia should be gone within 24 hrs if your still getting any ammonia ur cycle is not compete
 
I agree that it would be unusual to see zero nitrates. But, it's not uncommon for user error to cause a false negative, there are lots of threads where people weren't following the directions and thought everything was fine until it wasn't. Especially with the API test, it's accurate enough of you do it properly but it's a huge pain in the bum to sit there and shake it forever. Might not be a bad idea to bring a water sample down to your local shop for confirmation. Even if you're doing it right, it could be a bad test or something.

Or you got lucky :) it is possible that your careful transport preserved the bugs and they are already hard at work. If so I hope your luck continues! Still, go slow at first - better safe than sorry.

As far as the bottled bacteria goes, the debates are endless, circular, and prone to derailing threads. There are true believers on both sides, and better places than this new to the hobby part of the forum to argue the merits of either.
 
I dont see Nitrites or Nitrates after 7 days. I would have thought i would at least see a little nitrate since i moved live rock with sponges and there would be some die off. Also i would think i would see nitrite since my rock is wayyyyy seasoned and should be knocking out some Ammonia. Maybe this API test kit is wack. What test kit do you recommend?
 
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