Now or never…my 140 gallon DSA rebuild

[reefing102]

Looks great! I like the elevated portion too. I plan to do that to my rock one day (hopefully sooner vs later).

 

[T Diddy]

Looks great! I like the elevated portion too. I plan to do that to my rock one day (hopefully sooner vs later).

Thanks! I always hated the idea of dead spots, even in relation to the sand.

 

[JohnL]

I think this is a great idea

 

[T Diddy]

Fishless cycle has begun!

 

[griss]

Woo hoo!!

 

[T Diddy]

Woo hoo!!

If you look closely at the background, you’ll see my super duper DIY LED fixture I made way back when. Several of the diodes had to be replaced, but I finished it up last night. We’re so close, I can taste it!

 

[griss]

If you look closely at the background, you’ll see my super duper DIY LED fixture I made way back when. Several of the diodes had to be replaced, but I finished it up last night. We’re so close, I can taste it!

Yep, I see it.

 

[reefing102]

Looking awesome!

 

[T Diddy]

This is my first time doing this fishless cycle business. I’m trying to be patient, but the ammonia hasn’t budged, and still no detectable nitrite. Am I expecting too much too soon??

 

[griss]

This is my first time doing this fishless cycle business. I’m trying to be patient, but the ammonia hasn’t budged, and still no detectable nitrite. Am I expecting too much too soon??

Never done a fishless cycle…oh wait, that’s a lie. I’ve done cycles using live rock. But I don’t have experience cycling with bacterial products.

 

[T Diddy]

Quick update on the fishless cycle…I wanted to have as diverse of a microbe population as I could muster. I used the Fritz turbo start 900, a product called “seed” by aqua vitro from my lfs, as well as the filter media from my QT which has a nice piece of rock from KP Aquatics.

What I found interesting over these last few days, is that the ammonia is coming down, nitrates are on the rise, but there has been no detectable nitrite.

 

[griss]

Interesting.

 

[T Diddy]

I’m ready for this “cycle” to hurry up and finish. My QT tank is starting to look like a fish store.

 

[T Diddy]

I’m still scratching my head over this fishless cycle. The ammonia is down to 0.25ish , and the nitrates ballooned up to 50ish. I have still not seen any detectable nitrite.

Granted, I used my old rock without making any attempt to clean it…that could have something to do with the nitrates being so high. I feel like I need an algae scrubber before I add the first fish . A significant water change is definitely in order for tomorrow. I really didn’t think that the water would be so toxic AFTER a fishless cycle.

 

[griss]

Yep, seems strange. Have to tested the nitrites with more than one test kit? I'm wondering if you have a bad test kit?

Did I miss what bacteria you chose to use for the cycle?

 

[T Diddy]

Yep, seems strange. Have to tested the nitrites with more than one test kit? I'm wondering if you have a bad test kit?

Did I miss what bacteria you chose to use for the cycle?

Yes, the first kit was ten years old . I got a new one and it’s showing the same results.

As for bacteria, I used Fritz turbo start 900, something called “seed” from my lfs, and some filter media from my QT that has KP live rock. The nitrite results are really baffling though. Certainly all of the nitrates didn’t come from using my old rock…and I raised the ammonia levels to a solid 2 ppm over the course of three days.

 

[T Diddy]

Anyway, I’ve got 30 gallons of water mixed up for a water change later today. Also, some assorted macro algae should be arriving in the next day or two. Hopefully that’ll help get the nitrates down in short order. I’ll take a water sample to the lfs today just to make sure I’m not crazy.

 

[reefing102]

I believe @Dr. Reef uses Fritz to instant cycle his tanks adding fish I believe almost immediately after. So it may be completely cycled and the ammonia reading is an error? Just thoughts.

 

[T Diddy]

I believe @Dr. Reef uses Fritz to instant cycle his tanks adding fish I believe almost immediately after. So it may be completely cycled and the ammonia reading is an error? Just thoughts.

I’ll give it another day and test ammonia again tomorrow. Granted the water change will reduce it a little, but if the test says anything near zero, I’ll go ahead and move some livestock

 

[Dr. Reef]

If you used old live rock that was established in a system and you moved it to new tank and also used seed and turbostart 900, you will likely never see ammonia or nitrites. Your old rock and fritz turbostart has enough bacteria to never see the first 2 and just jump to nitrates.
The stall you are seeing is due to lack ok alk and low pH and carbon required for these bacteria to keep growing.
If you were to place a fish in the tank or to be safe you can throw a ray shrimp from deli in there, you will start to see ammonia and nitrites hit 0 and nitrates climb back up. Indicating tank is good to go for fish