confused

[lynprice60]

Hi am new to the hobby, having some problems hope someone will help. In the middle of cycling my saltwater tank added ammonium chloride day 6 also put Dr tims once only. Ammonia spiked,day 8 now down to zero, nitrites are high do i need to put more ammonium in or do i just wait till they come down,its day 23. thanks

[Jutscher]

Hi and welcome.

Seeing as you posted this question up a little while ago, hopefully you have already found your answer, but I will jump in any way and it may help.

In its simplest form, even a glass box filled only with water will ‘cycle’ to some degree. What we are trying to achieve is a stable environment where waste from fish, over feeding etc is quickly converted from its toxic forms ammonia & nitrite to less harmful nitrate. There are way to many factors that influence how quickly or slowly this will occur. Equally it is not a constant, so can decrease or increase depending on multiple factors.

cycling a tank using ammonia can be fairly challenging, which is why most people choose to use ‘ghost feeding’ or adding a raw shrimp instead of adding ammonia. This provides a constant food source for bacteria at each level of the cycle (ammonia to nitrite, then nitrite to ammonia). If you stop feeding the ‘ammonia to nitrite bacteria’, they will starve, then eventually the ‘nitrite to nitrate’ bacteria will starve, and your tank will not be able to support as much ammonia or nitrite being produced.

So back to your question, your tank will cycle independent of adding ammonia or Dr Tim’s, however if you have a constant source of ammonia (I.e from fish respiration or decomposing food) then your supporting bacteria should also remain constant... hopefully.

Clear as mud?

[Basenji]

RTAW Reefpedia: Cycling
Borneman: The cycle and beyond, what to expect. <-- Excellent read