Eric's RSM650
- Thread starter eric w
- Start date
eric w
Active Member
Well It took a week with dr tims to cycle my tank.. Snake oil or not stuff works., was at zero ammonia and nitrites this am. Dosed it to 3 ppm again this am., if I have zeros again in 24 hours I can move my fish over and break down my 250.. If anyone is I the market for a 250 let me know.. And I would recommend dr tims to anyone..,
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Oxylebius
Well-Known Member
What are your nitrate levels?
If you are cycled then your nitrate levels should be really high and you will need to do a water change.
The jury is still out on if this works or not b/c you haven't placed anything into the tank yet, thus you don't know if you have been able to achieve a good cycle or not. Mini-cycles can happen if you didn't get a large enough cycle completed first off.
I would not completely break down the 250 and switch everything at once. If you are able to, it is sometimes better to transfer over fish slowly, that way you won't get any mini-cycles or even a big cycle happening in the new tank.
If you are cycled then your nitrate levels should be really high and you will need to do a water change.
The jury is still out on if this works or not b/c you haven't placed anything into the tank yet, thus you don't know if you have been able to achieve a good cycle or not. Mini-cycles can happen if you didn't get a large enough cycle completed first off.
I would not completely break down the 250 and switch everything at once. If you are able to, it is sometimes better to transfer over fish slowly, that way you won't get any mini-cycles or even a big cycle happening in the new tank.
StirCrayzy
Well-Known Member
+1,^^
If you throw in a deli shrimp right now, you shouldn't see any measurable ammonia tomorrow. If you do, it was a mini cycle., if no ammonia, yer done.
If you throw in a deli shrimp right now, you shouldn't see any measurable ammonia tomorrow. If you do, it was a mini cycle., if no ammonia, yer done.
eric w
Active Member
Last I checked they were at 50 ppm that that was a few days ago., I just dosed ammonia back to 3 ppm.. So if both ammonia and nitrites are at zero in 24 hours I know I have enough bacteria established.. I have 60 gallons of fresh if that is the case.. Not sure how many people researched dr Tim.. But dude did his paper on bacteria and such.. I will get a nitrate reading in a bit.. But as far as i can tell is the stuff works.. Even the large aquariums use his product.. Anyhow see what my nitrate is and hopefully the tank can process the 3ppm ammonia in 24 hours...
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Joeys Tank
Well-Known Member
Best of luck to you on this, Eric. Hopefully you have enough bacteria built up to handle 3ppm of ammonia. I can't remember off the top of my head how much livestock you will be transferring over. Hopefully they only produce 3ppm of ammonia once every 24 hours instead of higher levels at a consistent rate.
Oxylebius
Well-Known Member
Yes, you have bacteria built up. There is no doubt about that. The question is do you have enough bacteria built up to handle five fish added all at once to a brand new system? This is what is concerning.
That is a lot of fish to add all at once to a newly cycled tank. For a 650 tank (a tank that size) adding two fish every 3-4 weeks shouldn't cause any issues, but adding 5 fish all at once has the potential to cause issues.
Keep in mind that ammonia is known to be very toxic to marine fish (LC50 value below 1 ppm).
Ammonia readily passes across the gill membranes and rapidly enters the blood of fish. Its effects include damage to the gills, resulting in poor gas exchange, ion regulation and blood pH regulation. Other effects include hampering oxygen delivery to tissues, disrupting metabolism and toxicity to the nervous system that causes hyperactivity, convulsions and death.
My suggestion is to take some sort of corrective action if the total ammonia rises above 0.1 ppm.
To be on the safe side, have lots of already made up salt water on hand b/c you may just end up getting a mini-cycle in the new tank. If this happens you will want to replace ~50% of the water. If you get a ammonia reading of 4ppm, then replacing 50% of the water will lower the ammonia level by 50% so you would lower 4ppm to 2ppm. And at 2ppm, this level can still harm your fish.
Another option is to have on hand products that bind the ammonia to make it non-toxic. There are several on the market (e.g., Amquel or Seachem Prime). Personally I wouldn't use them in the DT, only in QT. But, sometimes it may be worth using this in the DT is it means saving your fish.
That is a lot of fish to add all at once to a newly cycled tank. For a 650 tank (a tank that size) adding two fish every 3-4 weeks shouldn't cause any issues, but adding 5 fish all at once has the potential to cause issues.
Keep in mind that ammonia is known to be very toxic to marine fish (LC50 value below 1 ppm).
Ammonia readily passes across the gill membranes and rapidly enters the blood of fish. Its effects include damage to the gills, resulting in poor gas exchange, ion regulation and blood pH regulation. Other effects include hampering oxygen delivery to tissues, disrupting metabolism and toxicity to the nervous system that causes hyperactivity, convulsions and death.
My suggestion is to take some sort of corrective action if the total ammonia rises above 0.1 ppm.
To be on the safe side, have lots of already made up salt water on hand b/c you may just end up getting a mini-cycle in the new tank. If this happens you will want to replace ~50% of the water. If you get a ammonia reading of 4ppm, then replacing 50% of the water will lower the ammonia level by 50% so you would lower 4ppm to 2ppm. And at 2ppm, this level can still harm your fish.
Another option is to have on hand products that bind the ammonia to make it non-toxic. There are several on the market (e.g., Amquel or Seachem Prime). Personally I wouldn't use them in the DT, only in QT. But, sometimes it may be worth using this in the DT is it means saving your fish.
LakeLivin
Active Member
Using the bacteria in a bottle method you can easily cycle a tank in a week. There is no doubt about it because it has been scientifically proven many times and a number of the large commercial aquariums have used it so it's definitely not snake oil.
If you have been testing daily and your results show that the tank has cycled I would add a couple of your fish and then wait about three days and if you still have 0 ammonia then add the rest.
If you want to be conservative you can always throw a couple of dead store bought shrimp in the tank or just drop some of your fish food in the tank to feed the cycle and test for another week feeding the tank each day.
If it were me and I followed the instructions and tested religiously and were confident that I saw the tank cycle I would probably add all 5 fish today. The 650 is a large body of water and 5 small fish are not going to be able to pollute it very quickly. I would keep water on-hand to do a fairly large water change and test twice daily for ammonia for another week after adding the fish and be prepared to take corrective action quickly if you see any problems.
If you have been testing daily and your results show that the tank has cycled I would add a couple of your fish and then wait about three days and if you still have 0 ammonia then add the rest.
If you want to be conservative you can always throw a couple of dead store bought shrimp in the tank or just drop some of your fish food in the tank to feed the cycle and test for another week feeding the tank each day.
If it were me and I followed the instructions and tested religiously and were confident that I saw the tank cycle I would probably add all 5 fish today. The 650 is a large body of water and 5 small fish are not going to be able to pollute it very quickly. I would keep water on-hand to do a fairly large water change and test twice daily for ammonia for another week after adding the fish and be prepared to take corrective action quickly if you see any problems.
eric w
Active Member
Thanks all.. Appreciate the input.. I know some folks think it works.., others don't.. I think the idea of a couple fish for a week and watching levels then adding the rest is a good idea.. Tested this am and ammonia and nitrite are at 0.25 so I'm not quite there yet.. I was at zeros yesterday.. So going to wait till I get zeros again.... Then dose it to 3ppm... And if it gets consumed within 24 hours I will do a large wc and then add a couple fish.. Thanks again
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
eric w
Active Member
Its going along.. Been dosing 3ppm ammonia the last few days and ammonia is at zero after 24 hours.. But I'm still getting trace nitrites.. Around 0.1-0.25... So dosed again today and hopefully will be at zeros tomorrow.. Got some algae going.. So that is a good sign.. How about you??
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
DaveR11
Well-Known Member
Had zero ammonia for 5 days now and barely detectable nitrite. My lounge doesn't smell of decaying shrimp any more either! Nitrates are rising as expected (over 10 yesterday) so it seems to be ticking along nicely. I've given up on the skimmer for the moment. I just reckon there are too little organics in the water to produce a decent foam.
Still a few minor things to sort on the tank (one door doesn't close fully for instance) and I'm still working on the scape. I'm pleased with the real reef stuff I got. It is full of holes and crevices and locks together really well with other pieces. I'm getting though quite a lot of epoxy putty once I'm happy with how bits sit together. There will be lots of places for fish and other creatures to get into. I might even need some more rock.... If I do this time I might get some choice real live rock with some wildlife on it. I'll post pictures when I'm happy with the look.
Is that a yellow tang in your 250? If you have some algae going in the 650 then food for the tang when it gets its new home.....
Still a few minor things to sort on the tank (one door doesn't close fully for instance) and I'm still working on the scape. I'm pleased with the real reef stuff I got. It is full of holes and crevices and locks together really well with other pieces. I'm getting though quite a lot of epoxy putty once I'm happy with how bits sit together. There will be lots of places for fish and other creatures to get into. I might even need some more rock.... If I do this time I might get some choice real live rock with some wildlife on it. I'll post pictures when I'm happy with the look.
Is that a yellow tang in your 250? If you have some algae going in the 650 then food for the tang when it gets its new home.....
StirCrayzy
Well-Known Member
Are you dosing actual ammonia, or just peeing in the tank ??
DaveR11
Well-Known Member
Are you dosing actual ammonia, or just peeing in the tank ??
I don't think the little stool Red Sea supplies with the S-Max is tall enough for that!
DaveR11
Well-Known Member
Weird the variations - you got a different arrangement sump and no stool. I would have thought it would have been a pretty standard product across the globe. Certainly the electrical control box is all plumbed for European plugs rather than UK ones.... Maybe they have to make changes for different health & safety specifications in different countries?
eric w
Active Member
Ok well 5 days ago I had zeros on ammonia and nitrites.. Each day I have dosed ammonia up to 3ppm.. After 24 hours ammonia has been at 0 but nitrites are always at 0.1/0.25... Nitrates are at about 50 ppm.. Ph has been around 8 the whole time... Any ideas on why the nitrites are zeroing?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk