Cycle

[lukac123]

So I’ve been cycling for about a week and it will be done tomorrow. Does that mean I can put a cleanup crew in there or should I build it up where it does a full cycle in 24 hours?

 

[TMaier]

How do you know you are cycled? Did you have preseeded media?

 

[coralbandit]

How have you been cycling ? By adding ammonia ? How much did you add how often?
Did you just add last week and now it is going zero on everything but NO3?
I would want it clear ammonia in 24 hours before stocking .

 

[lukac123]

I added dr Tim’s ammonia. I just added it once last week. My parameters today are

Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - .25
Nitrate - 20

 

[coralbandit]

Can you dose the tank again ?
I would want to see ammonia and nitrite go zero in 24 hours .
I have never used Dr. Tims on a side note .

 

[lukac123]

I dosed it again

 

[TMaier]

Agree with CB about dosing and making sure the Ammonia and Nitrites are 0 within 24 hours. Your livestock will benefit from making sure.

 

[54seaweed]

like said above dosing again to see if ammonia goes away in 24 hours is always a good idea .
a week is rather fast for a cycle the average cycle is 4 to 6 weeks . don't get fooled by a false positive as many have in the past .

double checking wont hurt your cycle it will just show if it's done or not , remember it's always better to be safe now , rather than finding out later after adding stock that the tank wasn't cycled correctly and you start loosing stock .

double checking is always a good practice when testing anything in saltwater.
look forward to seeing your tank in the future.

 

[coralbandit]

I dosed it again

Did you test to see what level it brought your ammonia to ?
How did it test out today ?

 

[lukac123]

I hadn’t been home to test it yet. I’m gonna test it when I get home later today. It should have brought he ammonia up to 2 ppm

 

[Matthew C.]

I used Dr. Tims, as well. It took me about three weeks to cycle. I dosed it to 4 ppm today be on the safe side, and waited for readings to be zero in 24
hrs. Once I did that,I again dosed for 4 ppm waited 24 hrs. and I was good to go. NEVER hurts to be overly cautious, especially when you are making an investment, in your fish hobby, as well as with a living creature.

 

[Matthew C.]

Did you test to see what level it brought your ammonia to ?
How did it test out today ?

I used Dr. Tims, as well. It took me about three weeks to cycle. I dosed it to 4 ppm to be on the safe side, and waited for readings to be zero in 24
hrs. Once I did that, I again dosed for 4 ppm waited 24 hrs. and I was good to go. NEVER hurts to be overly cautious, especially when you are making an investment, in your fish hobby, as well as with a living creature. Doesn't hurt to test one more time.....

 

[Alepop1211]

Also do not add the whole clean up crew at once.