Tank cycle
- Thread starter Fdnavy
- Start date
FattyK21
New member
I tried for over a month doing the shrimp and then phantom feeding but mine NEVER cycled
Finally i went on amazon and found this stuff
Your gonna have like the entire thing left over cause all i used i believe was a few tablespoons or so
But buy it once and you'll be able to cycle every tank you have FOREVER lol
Finally i went on amazon and found this stuff
Your gonna have like the entire thing left over cause all i used i believe was a few tablespoons or so
But buy it once and you'll be able to cycle every tank you have FOREVER lol
I started with a similar product, Janitors 10% Ammonia. Seems like a better way than waiting for something to break down and raise the ammonia level.
scooter31707
New member
IMO, once the ammonia gets to 2-3ppm, I would take the shrimp out.
thirsty saltine
New member
you can take the shrimp out of just leave it, it will break down and disappear if you leave it anyways.
Dragon1979
New member
How long do you have to wait after the tank finish cycle before you can add live stock
i didnt add any finish after one or one & half weeks after i did a water change. Had to make sure my parameters are within tolerance.
Dragon1979
New member
Thanks
mcgyvr
New member
Once a tank has completed the cycling process you can immediately begin to add live stock.. Its always a good idea to do so slowly though as to avoid going from nothing to a large bioload.. aka don't throw 20 fish all in at one time right after your cycle is complete.. A few every week or so is best..
I never had a big ammonia spike, is that ok? Highest it got was .4 using the Red Sea kit. Now 2 weeks after using a rather large shrimp and colony ATM I am still at 0 ammonia, 1 nitrite and 10 nitrates. I haven't moved off those numbers in about 7 days. Started tank with live sand from BRS and dry rock. Shrimp is almost gone.
CButkos
Member
If you still have a nitrite reading then you haven't completed the cycle. There are plenty of articles the go into detail about the cycle, some that go into way more detail then us laymen (or women) can handle, but I urge you to try to understand at least the basics. There are articles that articulate it very well.
What you are looking for by adding shrimp is for the shrimp to break down into ammonia. (You could alternately use liquid ammonia) the ammonia provides food for bacteria which convert ammonia into nitrite. The nitrite then provides food for another bacteria which converts nitrite into nitrate.
What you will see in your testing is an initial increase in ammonia, a decrease in ammonia, an increase in nitrite, decrease in nitrite, increase in nitrate.
Until your testing reads 0 ppm ammonia, 0 ppm nitrite, x ppm nitrate you're cycle isn't complete.
Furthermore you should test your cycle by adding a small amount of pure ammonia to your tank, enough to get maybe a 0.5-1.0 ppm reading, and verifying that the bacteria in your tank can convert the ammonia to nitrate in one day.
At that point do a water change and add one or two hardy fish. Clowns are a popular option, but it depends on your fish list.
Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk
What you are looking for by adding shrimp is for the shrimp to break down into ammonia. (You could alternately use liquid ammonia) the ammonia provides food for bacteria which convert ammonia into nitrite. The nitrite then provides food for another bacteria which converts nitrite into nitrate.
What you will see in your testing is an initial increase in ammonia, a decrease in ammonia, an increase in nitrite, decrease in nitrite, increase in nitrate.
Until your testing reads 0 ppm ammonia, 0 ppm nitrite, x ppm nitrate you're cycle isn't complete.
Furthermore you should test your cycle by adding a small amount of pure ammonia to your tank, enough to get maybe a 0.5-1.0 ppm reading, and verifying that the bacteria in your tank can convert the ammonia to nitrate in one day.
At that point do a water change and add one or two hardy fish. Clowns are a popular option, but it depends on your fish list.
Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk
Last edited:
Thanks, I understand the basics of the nitrogen cycle. My question was whether or not .4 was a high enough ammonia spike? The shrimp has almost totally rotted away. Highest nitrite I got was 1 and it's been that way for about 2 weeks. Nitrates have been holding steady at about 10 for 10 days or so.
