banjowalker
New member
Day 11. Ammonia almost all the way to 0 from having ammonia over 10ppm.
Dr tims timeline
- Thread starter banjowalker
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banjowalker
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Day 13
Devi
New member
Ugh those API tests...Can never quite figure out what color they are. I tried sunlight, indoor, a friend...LOL Ended up buying a red reef kit. Much better. Cost me a freaking arm and a leg though. Hey I am about to dump a bottle of this crap in my tank should I post my findings here or start my own thread?
banjowalker
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I'd love to see it! I think it definitely sped mine up considering my ammonia attack and all. The api kit is terrible, and especially when I'm partially colorblind.
banjowalker
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Day 13 trates
Devi
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So made my first sort of mistake. I used superglue to hold my pump down in my trashcan. I let it dry for thirty min then filled it up. My tank is cloudy and has chunks of either plastic or superglue in it. It's Also coating the glass. Threw some sponge in to suck it up. I've been using this glue forever just not this much. Lesson learned.
m0nkie
Well-known member
are you pouring new water into tank with sand? that would make the tank cloudy. I dont think superglue can make a water cloudy. I've used a whole tube of superglue gel in my tank
I use BSI Ethyl Cyanoacrylate Gel. get it on amazon. cheaper than superglue gel and dries fast in water. one stick last much longer than store bought superglue gel
Devi
New member
Yup it was Loctite with Cyanocrylate, in a gel form. Well then if it is not the superglue what the hell is it? I used it for a water change in my coral QT tank and it was very cloudy as well, but since I have filtration running it cleared with in 10 minutes. It's like milky white inside the mix bucket. It was a new bigger bucket but I rinsed it well and gave it a good wash with vinegar. The salt is still my normal brand but it was a new batch. Other than the milky appearance it has a sheen like an oil slick on top with small white bits that when you net them out they form a larger piece. The tank is still milky today although not as bad because I added a few layers of foam and that foam is full of this white plastic like crap. It is also stuck to the sides of the tank. A layer of white, when I scrape it off it forms more white chunks! In all my years this is new to me. So today going to a food supply store and buying a new bucket, a better pump and a bigger heater and no f****** superglue!
P.S. Dr. Tims says add fish in 48 hours. Well after 24, no nothing. A whole lot of nothing. Cycling hasn't started. Wondering if it's this white stuff screwing everything up. Corals and critters unaffected in the other tank.
P.S. Dr. Tims says add fish in 48 hours. Well after 24, no nothing. A whole lot of nothing. Cycling hasn't started. Wondering if it's this white stuff screwing everything up. Corals and critters unaffected in the other tank.
banjowalker
New member
Did you add a source of ammonia with the Dr tims? It seemed to start within a day when I added ammonia. Idk about the clouding. I had that happen with my sand when I used oolite but I changed to larger sand. I haven't had a bacterial bloom.
m0nkie
Well-known member
I don't think you quite get the product. To cycle, you need a food source (ammonia, or raw shrimp). When you toss that food source in, ammonia converting bacteria will start to bloom. When they convert ammonia into nitrite, the nitrite converting bacteria will bloom, converting them to nitrate. Then you do water change to get rid of some nitrate. thus finishing the cycle.
Dr tim one and only is a bacteria in a bottle. It contains his own ammonia and nitrite converting bacteria. However, there is NO food source. So you either do it naturally by tossing food in, or dose pure ammonia. dose your tank to 2ppm. I believe dr tim made it very clear of that in his instructions.
Dr tim one and only is a bacteria in a bottle. It contains his own ammonia and nitrite converting bacteria. However, there is NO food source. So you either do it naturally by tossing food in, or dose pure ammonia. dose your tank to 2ppm. I believe dr tim made it very clear of that in his instructions.
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m0nkie
Well-known member
and I really believe something else is making your tank cloudy. I've used Loctite.. used few bottles in my 100gal before at once. The extra ones might flow to top and form the solid white crap, but never cloud my tank
did you start with dry rocks or live rocks? if it's live rocks, the die offs would have become the food source, and the cloudiness is probably bacteria bloom
and did you let saltwater sit for 24hrs before using? new salt water sometimes gets cloudy awhile
did you start with dry rocks or live rocks? if it's live rocks, the die offs would have become the food source, and the cloudiness is probably bacteria bloom
and did you let saltwater sit for 24hrs before using? new salt water sometimes gets cloudy awhile
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banjowalker
New member
+1 I purchased the bottle of Dr tims ammonia and dosed with that as well. M0nkie has way more experience than me obviously, but in my experience and basing off my knowledge of the cycling process you have to continually feed the bacteria to continue with the cycle
Devi
New member
OK so the directions on the Tim's bottle are lame. The website however says to do exactly as you two have. So I began dosing. I used some rough math but still started slow. 2ml at a time, wait an hour, then test. I'm almost to 3ppm. Tested my salt mix bucket and calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium are almost off the charts. That could be the chunks then? Like I said, no longer worried about it. I am using no live rock, this is reef cleaners rock. I rinsed it well. I let the tank settle over night before turning on all the pumps. As I have been adding ammonia, the water is clearing. Sort of weird huh? I used this weird chunky water on my coral QT and no one seems effected so I put it out of my mind. Crazy high readings though. I did the test twice using two different kits, they were identical, just to make sure. I tested my QT tank this morning and readings were normal. So just my mix bucket is on the high side. I hate new salt mix. I normally get it in the buckets, this one was in a bag, so who knows.
Devi
New member
No I measured the Ca, Alk, and Mag in my mix bucket. I am trying to figure out the reason my mix bucket has huge chunks of white crap floating about. I was checking to make sure I didn't get a bad batch of salt. I measure salinity using a refractometer, but I also have two hydrometers. One is an Instant Ocean, the other a Kent. Lately I have been using all three. Then I take the average of the three, but in my established tanks I just use the refractometer.
Also, I am not testing for anything in this tank but ammonia, trying to reach 3ppm. Going slow so I don't over do it. Not my first rodeo. First time using a bottle and a dry rock cycle. All other times I have used live rock.
Also, I am not testing for anything in this tank but ammonia, trying to reach 3ppm. Going slow so I don't over do it. Not my first rodeo. First time using a bottle and a dry rock cycle. All other times I have used live rock.
