Help!!! Any advice or comments would be very helpful!

jay0705

jay0705

Well-Known Member
I wouldn't add the ammonia. You already have it in the tank. Just add the tims. Nothing with filter leave as is
 
jussery17

jussery17

Member
But when adding the big bottle of bacteria, since it feeds off the ammonia , dr Tim said on his video to add both bc the bacteria will die off without it...so last night I added both like the instructional video said, was trying to wait to get a response from you before I put anything in but was ready to get the cycle going faster so I put it in...will test for ammonium when I get home this afternoon...got a 4 day weekend so will have time on my hands to get it going right...
 
jay0705

jay0705

Well-Known Member
Lol the issue is the bacteria will eat the ammonia up no matter what. Unless you stock the tank no extra ammonia will be generated. This does not mean load it up with fish! The ghost feeding is helpful here bc it keeps the bacteria fed up til you do begin stocking.
If you need a fast reply message me I'll get an email.
 
jussery17

jussery17

Member
So now that I've started the process with the bacteria and the ammonium drops there's no need to ghost feed right? Since ghost feeding is what starts the ammonium correct?

And as you mentioned when I test and the levels are up and then say a week later they all go down to 0 that means the cycle is complete
 
jussery17

jussery17

Member
Also I've got to get more sand and we already covered the bottom with live sand but to avoid that cloudy episode again I can just go buy some of the cheap regular aquarium sand and rinse it and since the bacteria is there it will eventually become "live" right?
 
jay0705

jay0705

Well-Known Member
Arogonite sand yes. Ghost feeding keeps the bacteria fed. So u only stop when u add fish. But then u have to feed the fish
 
jussery17

jussery17

Member
Yeah don't want the fish to die..lol.. Ghost feeding hmm so can I just use my fresh water flake good for ghost feeding or what?
 
jussery17

jussery17

Member
Ok so I got home and tested the water and the results are:
Ammonium- 2.0ppm
Nitrate- 10ppm
Nitrite- 0ppm
pH- 8.0

So a day after I added the bacteria and ammonium drops it's all looking as it should...I think...any suggestions?
 
jay0705

jay0705

Well-Known Member
Myself , i don't add much until i stock the tank. Maybe a few snails if algae pops up. Once i begin to stock i will add shrimp, turbo, cerith, nerite, and narssius snails. Not a big crab or star fish guy
 
jussery17

jussery17

Member
I'm really sorry for all the questions, being my first time setting up a saltwater tank, there's a lot of them I have, and will have and hope you don't mind! Don't want to annoy ya or anything of that sort! Hey I was making my tank black on the back tonight and for some reason the tank water just smells god awful, just stinks!! Is that normal? Is it the bacteria working?
 
jussery17

jussery17

Member
Have another question lol, so my ammonia was at 4 today and nitrite at 1 and nitrate at about 10 so the nitrogen cycle is happening, and I did just a small small water change, about 4 gallons, bc I got 4 gallons of mixed rodi saltwater today from another local fish place. In the dr Tim instructional video and on the website, I will be doing this process by monitoring the levels but when I measure on days and amm and nitrite are below 1ppm I'm to add drops of ammonium. So in this process in the whole instructions it has me possibly adding ammonium drops 3 times. Well I've done it twice so far and I'll watch the levels but do I need to add more bacteria from the bottle? The big bottle i got treated water 60 gallons bc I don't have my water level all the way up is why I got that bottle. Sooo should I add a little bottle or just be patient lol
 
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