Sugar dose post cycle

[one-fish]

And Yes I agree again. That's why the ghost feed.. to mimic as if a fish are two were present and not start a mini cycle when there are introduced. Excuse me first ...This is going to be a fish only tank at least for the first year or so. if that makes a difference here now. The evaluate your own set-up in your response is where I am at and the only thing I know of is to wait. So as stated above those are my actions...........Am I Wrong.??.....Hell no expert and been wrong before.
Thx again..

 

[2quills]

It's all gonna depend on the end goal. For instance, where do you see this tank 2-5 years from now.

The reason I say don't get too hung up is simply because we don't know if there's going to be enough surface area for the right bacteria to populate down the road. There's a big difference between 2 fish and 8 fish + corals etc.

If you have good flow but minimal surface area via live rock or other biological forms of media than its highly likely you will have a hard time controlling nitrates in the future if you don't explore other options I guess is what I'm getting at.

You'll need to expect changes/adjustments within the system as stuff gets added. Especially in the 1st year.

 

[florida joe]

One fish. You have to understand the term cycle as used here. You need a constant cycling of ammonia to maintain your tank it’s not a stop and go situation. In my opinion you will always have enough surface area for the colonization of bacteria. When we talk surface area we are talking about aerobic bacteria. Area is not the issue the issue is the size of the colony’s when you tax them. Aerobic bacteria will grow on almost anything you have in your tank that comes in contact with good water movement.,

 

[one-fish]

Quills, have had that thought 2-5 years down the road would love to have 2-5 year old fish if I choose wisely.
Joe, Then by ghost feeding a constant source of amm. will be present. My understanding its a continuous cycle. When we cycle tanks we are in fact colonizing bacteria.

 

[deejeff0442]

Yes colonization of bacteria. Less.nutrients less bacteria obviously. When I cycle a tank I always ghost feed heavy
I take my time like 6 to 8 weeks. I would never depend on any machines always nature. My tank is now 1 year old 90 gallon 12 fish and close to 60 corals. Alot of rock and alot of wave.flow.
Simple. Skimmer and a phosphate reactor. In the sump that's it
I tried scrubbers coral food whatever over the years but simple still works

 

[2quills]

Joe is correct that there should be plenty of surface area for aerobic bacteria to handle ammonia.

The other consideration is if there are enough areas of low oxygen environments for the nitrate bacteria.

As Joe, has mentioned himself. He had his struggles with nitrates and has tried various methods to combat them.

My philosophy is don't pull your hair out chasing undetectable nitrate levels in hopes of bacteria being able to handle it all. Much is going to depend on stocking, feeding and maintenance including water changes.

Your levels of nitrate already sound very low compared to Shilpan at this time. So you are probably ready to consider seeding the tank if you haven't already. Shilpan, if I'm not mistaken has already added some live rock.

 

[one-fish]

Guys really appreciate your help hopefully one day I return the favor...Going ahead and see what happens. Guess what I am stuck on is the length of time from a spike to zero out. Amm. took a month NO2 still waiting but have seen NO3 spike up and then drop down but not zero. Now I am 3rd guessing my set-up cuz I built it....but from calculations I am pushing 600 gals thru the sump.
Maybe its back to the drawing board.....Thx again...

 

[florida joe]

" Joe, Then by ghost feeding a constant source of amm. will be present. My understanding its a continuous cycle. When we cycle tanks we are in fact colonizing bacteria" .Exactly we are mimicking the waste product of the fish we introduce. The more you grow your colony's of bacteria the more bio load they can handle.

This should not be that confusing. If you don't have enough rock to facilitate anaerobic bacteria within to deal with your nitrates through advection introduce macro algae for assimilation.,Bottom line IMO patience and more patience's. You are on the right path

 

[Shilpan]

Yes I added live rock

 

[one-fish]

Yes and again I understand but from what I see is Add Live Rock and you will be fine Thats where I disagree Yes it will be easier/faster but my goal was to do it w/out..don't see a reason why it would work mind the wait..Looking into a sump refit to handle macro.....back in the day it was called an algae scrubber sort of..
Thx again....

 

[2quills]

If you guys both started your systems with dead rock and sand then it would be void of any many beneficial organisms and some of the various strains of bacteria that play a roll in the nitrogen cycle.

At some point it you need a way of introducing that stuff.

I started my system the same way by adding some pieces of live rock from my LFS to my refugium at the one month mark once ammonia was 0. At the 2 month mark I added my macro algae and let that establish for 1 month and then added my first fish.

I kept the lights off in the display tank the entire time. Waiting and making sure my nitrates and phosphates were low. By then my chaeto was established and I got to bypass any outbreak of nasties in the display that I had otherwise gone through in previous situations.

 

[one-fish]

My understanding is nature will take it's course and in favor of macro grown in the sump its a Win Win down the Road,,Thx again....

 

[Shilpan]

Lol update
I just checked my water today, my nitrates are 20ppm!!
My nitrite went from >5ppm to 0.5ppm overnight.
Ammonia 0.

I think I'll be ready for fish this weekend now. I'm gonna remove the caulerpa now because, it's reduced nitrates from 80ppm to 20ppm over a week and a half, and tripled in size. I don't think it'll have any more food soon. So the chaeto can take over.

Temp 24.6 to 25.7 degrees depending on lights. Salinity 1.023-1.024. Sounds good right?

 

[one-fish]

Looks good, Boy that was a big NO3 swing > 5ppm to .5ppm overnight Congrats.......Like the idea of macro growing in the sump, going to outfit mine and add a light source. Good Luck in stocking with fish and don't forget about adding a CUC. BTW how much LR did you add where Sump, DT or both just curious ...Thx.

 

[florida joe]

"If you guys both started your systems with dead rock and sand then it would be void of any many beneficial organisms and some of the various strains of bacteria that play a roll in the nitrogen cycle.

At some point it you need a way of introducing that stuff." And that way is to simply add something with organic brake-down

 

[Shilpan]

I only added 500grams of live rock from the fish shop. Just to seed the tank. Just a note though, combining the curing of the dead rock and the cycling I've been waiting almost 2 months. I have a one month cycling graph which I made. I'll put it on a new post later today

And yeah hahaha I went to the Lfs and confirmed the test.

 

[one-fish]

Shilpan Would like to look at that graph, I too have been keeping a log of all test results, my observations and actions. Thinking of skewering a half piece of shrimp and putting him in the sump for three days Test everyday and see what happens Only a pound of LR hummm....got me thinking Thx...

 

[2quills]

And that way is to simply add something with organic brake-down

Yeah, like a few pieces of live rock. Otherwise they'll be waiting a looong time for micro fauna to establish.

That's something that I don't see any good reason to wait for.

 

[florida joe]

Then there is always the quick way if you are in a hurry. You will see a change in your tank in about two days if you simply add copepods, tiger pods and feed them phytoplankton

 

[2quills]

Yeah but where's the diversity?

Phytoplankton is nutrient dense super food.

Did you know people are turning to phytoplankton as an alternative to help fight cancer?