need some help

[bomber]

hi guys..around 5weeks ago, i start cycling my new tank with dead rocks, sand and all the filter media are new. i drop a market prawn in and let the cycle start and im dosing bacteria every 3days. After 3weeks, ammonia-0.25ppm--NO2-0.5ppm--NO3-5ppm. The parameter seems to remain the same after 2 more weeks. Anyone knows whats is wrong?

[tofubox]

Hi bro, nature will take its course, so i wouldn't worry too much, but give it more time to cycle. The probable cause might be plenty of die off on your dead rocks and also the fact that dead rocks take much longer time to cycle completely compared to using live rocks.

[asg]

It seems like your cycling process is not started yet. Try do some WC and test for water parameters again. Also, what brand of tester are you using?

[mitchell.liang.9]

Maybe u can try replacing the prawn. I also did the same as you but ones my prawn desintegrated i top up somemore and just left it there..eventually u will notice a difference...it just takes time

[bomber]

Ya..maybe im too "gan jiong" already..haha...should give it more time then...thanks for the advice. im using API test kit:(

[erikokelf]

Mai gan jiong la bro. Let nature take its course.

I cycle my tank close to 2 months lol. Btw API not a really good test kit IMO, used to have them but now totally abandon them and use salifert.

[Edmund Koh]

Bro Bomber,

Slowly slowly .. My cycling process only started 2 days ago and like you am feeling that itch. But I know I should leave it for 2 months at least especially since I wanna cultivate De-nitrate bacteria.

In the mean time I'm filling up my time trying to make sure I have the right equipment and tweaking my settings and timers to make sure I will be off to a smooth start when I finally add fishes. Can also start researching on the type of livestock and their individual requirements too so you dun make the wrong choice.

[shaohao85]

2 months of cycling the tank is pretty long .. for me I cycled 1 month with NSW, dozed baterica, do weekly water changes with RO water and H2ocean salt mix, slowly stock up starting with clownfish from my FOWLR tank .. den some easy corals .. so far so good ...

I think the worst mistake I made 1 year ago is adding livestock too fast ... the tank biological filtration is unable to cope with sudden spikes of bio load .. leading to ammonia and nitrate spikes ..

[Edmund Koh]

I'm starting a tank without Live Rocks and the only thing I can rely on would be the biomedia I have squeezed into my IOS. currently have 600g of biohome and eight 2" cubes of Marinepure Cermedia.

Thus the long wait to ensure that my bacteria is fully cultivated.

[asg]

I'm starting a tank without Live Rocks and the only thing I can rely on would be the biomedia I have squeezed into my IOS. currently have 600g of biohome and eight 2" cubes of Marinepure Cermedia.

Thus the long wait to ensure that my bacteria is fully cultivated.

Bro have you try bio-sphere or np bio pellet XL? I am also using 1.3kg of biohomme in my 2*1*1 tank. Somehow i find that inch to inch, biohomme is not that effective compare to the mentioned two...

[Edmund Koh]

I'm considering biopellets but have a space constraint problem. Still figuring out where to place my reactor.

[asg]

I mean dont put biohome, use the space for bio pellets...

[resser]

Bomber,

The biggest culprit is the prawn, it's too big and big things takes time to decay completely. So while you are looking at the piece of rotting flesh, it's still producing smelly ammonia as only the surface layer decays, but not the insides. That's why you should remove dead fish quickly. They become constant ammonia factory before disappearing into small enough particles to be taken out by your skimmer. It takes a long time.

The solution is to chop up the prawn into tiny pieces, to get more surface area exposed to the water, and place them into a fine mesh bag for easy removal. Or use tiny fish pellets in a mesh bag. Or use liquid nutrients like Sponge Power or liquid plankton food, these liquid nutrients are best because they breakdown a lot faster unlike a fat solid piece of flesh.

[RomeoJuliet]

Use Polylab Bio Sphere. No need reactor.