Am i cycling wrong?

[zacheyp]

thanks for all the help, i wasnt understanding
now a seperate question
which stock list would u choose for a 20 long, i will be getting a cuc mushrooms and a duncans polyp and a reef lobster

list a.
marroon clown
pygmy angel
longnose hawk
royal dottyback

List B
Pygmy angel
longnose hawk
royal gramma
2 clowns
1 other small fish

[rdnelson99]

Most of the fish in list a are somewhat aggressive and may eat your corals. I would stay away from the list. List b is better but way to many fish for that tank. If I were you, I would go with 2 clowns, royal gramma and maybe one other small fish that is non-aggressive and reef safe. Go to Aquarium Fish: Tropical Freshwater Fish and Saltwater Fish for Home Aquariums and read up on the fish you are thinking of putting in the tank. Most everything will say 30 gal tank or larger but I think you will ok with those three and maybe one other fish that stays small.

[zacheyp]

assuming i had a real cycle, after i put in ammonia i will need to do a pwc the next day to lower trates right?

[rdnelson99]

That is correct. You want trates as close to 0 as possible. Many say anything under 20 is good enough but I feel a lot safer if I am between 0 and 5.

[zacheyp]

if u were to guess, am i cycled or not?

[rdnelson99]

Originally Posted by zacheyp

if u were to guess, am i cycled or not?

That is the point, I wouldn't guess. Unless you want to set yourself up for a lot of disappointment, DON"T GUESS. LOL You are going to have this tank for a long time. Waiting a little while longer may be tough now but in the long run it will seem like it didn't take long at all. Be patient and do it right and you will have tons of fun with it. Get in a hurry and you will constantly be pulling you hair out and eventually give up on it because nothing seems to work right. Everything good in life comes through patients and hard work. Same thing goes for SW Aquariums.

[zacheyp]

i got the pure ammonia, will dose tonight
i was just wondering, i have an 3 inch sandbed, 30 pounds of live rock and the water level is 2 inches below the top
how much water do you u think i have in the 20 gallon long tank

[rdnelson99]

If you have 30 lbs of rock I would bet you have just over 10 gallons of water. Start with a just a drop or two of ammonia, give it 30 minutes then check the ammonia level. You want to get it up to 4 ppm. Once it is at 4 ppm, wait 24 hours and run a complete test. If your am and nitrite are 0 and nitrate is high, you have cycled. Next do PWC of 10% or 20% until the Nitrates are below 5 or as close to 0 as you can get it. Then, you are ready for fish.

[zacheyp]

thanks, lets pray that im cycled, but if not, this will cycle it right

[rdnelson99]

It will get the cycle moving. If you don't see the results I posted in the previous post, keep dosing it each day up to 4 ppm until you see the am and nitrite drop to 0 in a 24 hour period. Could go quick or it could go on for awhile. Just wait it out, you will be glad you did I promise.

[zacheyp]

why would i need to redose?

[rdnelson99]

If you have a small amount of bacteria they will convert some but not all the ammonia and nitrite which will it cause it to go down slightly. If you keep bringing it back up to 4 ppm it will help the bacteria reproduce quicker which in turn will speed up your cycle. Just remember, you want to be able to take it from 4 ppm down to 0 in 24 hours.

[zacheyp]

so say this time tomorow, we determine that i am cycled, and i do my water change, can i get fish friday, also should i put in the ammonia with an area of a lot of flow?

[Gregcoyote]

Originally Posted by zacheyp

so say this time tomorow, we determine that i am cycled, and i do my water change, can i get fish friday, also should i put in the ammonia with an area of a lot of flow?

If there are no living fish, corals or shrimp in the tank you can just dilute the ammonia in some water and add it. Remember to always pour ammonia into water, not the other way around and use eye protection. Just a few drops at first should do as previous posts recommended. If it processes the ammonia properly, you are ready to go. NOT TOO MANY FISH AT FIRST! One at a time with a interval between to allow the biology in the tank to increase for the new additions. This is critical with a small system. You can crash it in an instant by getting impatient. Small reefs are much harder to keep than big ones.

[kurtyboh]

the ammonia he's getting is already diluted, one drop brings one gallon up 2ppm.

because of this and the assurity you have more than five i would say 20 drops would be a good start. If you had 8% ammonia from ace it would be a different story and only 1-2 drops to get you up to where you want to be.

[zacheyp]

tank is dosed, if tomorow night things look good i will do a 25percent a water change and if all stays good on friday 1 will get 5 hermits 5 snails 1 black and white clown, 1 regular clown

[kurtyboh]

sound like an excellent plan

[Gregcoyote]

As a chemistry minor in college, I heard pure ammonia. A premixed is a whole different matter. Still don't get it in your eyes...

[kurtyboh]

yeah he's got the stuff from dr. tims. I actually wish I would have known about this stuff when I cycled my tank. The only way i could get ammonia shipped was in a case... and if a bottle will cycle tanks for pretty much the rest of your life a case would be slight overkill

[zacheyp]

Good news! The tank appears to be cycled. This morning 9 hours after dosing amo was 0 and trites were like 4!