Red Sea Reef Mature Cycling Problems

[Patryk P.]

Hey Reefers, I am very new to saltwater aquariums. I began cycling Red Sea 250 about a week and a half ago. I am using the Red Sea Reef Mature Kit Program to cycle my tank and it says at Day 10, My Ammonia and Nitrite should be at 0. And my Nitrate at 10. I am on day 11. I have been using everything in the kit and have been doing as told by the manual.
My Current Tank Levels:
Ammonia 0.3
Nitrite: 0.05
Nitrate: Around 40-50

However, when I first started my ammonia was at 1.2 and Nitrite at 0.2. Nitrate was still at around 40-50.
On day 10 I was supposed to add a CUC like some snails but I didn't because there was no algae and there still is no algae.
I am supposed to add a fish on day 14 so I will add two clowns then.
Questions:
1. Should I still add a small cleanup crew even with no visible algae or should get a CUC with my clowns?
2. Is it ok if my Ammonia and Nitrite are still not 0?
3. Why is my Nitrate so high and what should I do about it?
4. If my tank is not fully cycled by the end of the program, should I add some other beneficial bacteria like Dr. Tims brand if my Ammonia and Nitrites are still not zero and Nitrate has not gone down?

 

[Spare time]

You can do one of two things

1. Wait it out until ammonia is gone (and nitrite too but nitrite is harmless)

2. Get some biospira and fritz, give it a few days, then get fish

 

[Spare time]

Nitrite present can interfere with nitrate readings, making them appear high when in reality they are not.


Wait to add CUC until there is algae. Hermit crabs are fine though since they can eat what you feed the fish.


In the mean time, consider cycling a QT tank or buying pre-quarantined fish.

 

[Patryk P.]

Nitrite present can interfere with nitrate readings, making them appear high when in reality they are not.


Wait to add CUC until there is algae. Hermit crabs are fine though since they can eat what you feed the fish.


In the mean time, consider cycling a QT tank or buying pre-quarantined fish.

Hey thank you so much for the reply it means a lot. So do you recommend I stick with the Reef Mature Program or transition to something like fritz and then get 2 clowns with some hermits?

My LFS quarantines fish already.

 

[Cali Reef Life]

I would wait it out 4 days to see what happens without touching anything. Dont dose anything.

Test once a day to see if there is a downward trend just ammonia and nitrites.

If that doesn't work do a 10 gallon waterchange and make sure numbers go down after change to eliminate test kit error. Then you can look into adding more bacteria in a bottle. Cycles can take 3 to 28 days normally.

You got this and know your excited but sometimes hands out of tank and waiting is best option now and in future.

 

[Patryk P.]

I would wait it out 4 days to see what happens without touching anything. Dont dose anything.

Test once a day to see if there is a downward trend just ammonia and nitrites.

If that doesn't work do a 10 gallon waterchange and make sure numbers go down after change to eliminate test kit error. Then you can look into adding more bacteria in a bottle. Cycles can take 3 to 28 days normally.

You got this and know your excited but sometimes hands out of tank and waiting is best option now and in future.

Thank you. I've got an idea of what I should do now but do you recommend after waiting the 4 days and possibly doing the 10 gallon water change, that I should keep doing the Red Sea Reef Mature Program or just quit the program and just add more bacteria in a bottle like fritz?
Also do you think it would be fine if in a couple days I add two clowns to continue with an in-fish cycle?

 

[Spare time]

Hey thank you so much for the reply it means a lot. So do you recommend I stick with the Reef Mature Program or transition to something like fritz and then get 2 clowns with some hermits?

My LFS quarantines fish already.

Does the lfs quarantine or simply have the fish displays with copper in them?

As for what to do, its up to you. It will go down eventually, but if you don't feel like waiting you can always add some more bacteria.

 

[Patryk P.]

Does the lfs quarantine or simply have the fish displays with copper in them?

As for what to do, its up to you. It will go down eventually, but if you don't feel like waiting you can always add some more bacteria.

They said they can quarantine the fish separately on request

I think what I will do is keep dosing the Reef Mature until day 14 where it tells me to do a 5% water change and test again for 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite. I will see if my ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate is lower. If it is not lower I will then follow your guys advice but if it is lower I will keep going with the program

 

[Spare time]

They said they can quarantine the fish separately on request

I think what I will do is keep dosing the Reef Mature until day 14 where it tells me to do a 5% water change and test again for 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite. I will see if my ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate is lower. If it is not lower I will then follow your guys advice but if it is lower I will keep going with the program

See what the store does for their QT process. It is better than nothing but very impractical for a store to do it the best way.

 

[Patryk P.]

See what the store does for their QT process. It is better than nothing but very impractical for a store to do it the best way.

Hey so I did a 5% water change today on the tank as the program told me to. Here are my parameters:
Ammonia: 0.2
Nitrite: 0.1
Nitrate: 23.6
I bought a new Nitrate Hanna tester and I think this is the accurate reading. Nitrite I presume has gone of .05 and ammonia seems to be the same. However I bought one of those ammonia seachem readers you put in the tank and after 24 hours it says less than 0.02 ammonia. What do you recommend I do now. Do I follow your advice or just continue with the program. You think if I continue with the program, ammonia will eventually go down anyways. Patience is not an issue to me.

Also do you think I can put in 2 clowns in the tank and they would be ok? Today I’m supposed to do that and would this help cycle the tank?

 

[Patryk P.]

See what the store does for their QT process. It is better than nothing but very impractical for a store to do it the best way.

Oh and that new seachem in tank ammonia tester only measures toxic ammonia so 0.2 is 0.02 toxic ammonia. So it’s accurate. But it also says this level of ammonia is safe but obviously you would want 0 ammonia

 

[Patryk P.]

Oh and that new seachem in tank ammonia tester only measures toxic ammonia so 0.2 is 0.02 toxic ammonia. So it’s accurate. But it also says this level of ammonia is safe

Hey so I did a 5% water change today on the tank as the program told me to. Here are my parameters:
Ammonia: 0.2
Nitrite: 0.1
Nitrate: 23.6
I bought a new Nitrate Hanna tester and I think this is the accurate reading. Nitrite I presume has gone of .05 and ammonia seems to be the same. However I bought one of those ammonia seachem readers you put in the tank and after 24 hours it says less than 0.02 ammonia. What do you recommend I do now. Do I follow your advice or just continue with the program. You think if I continue with the program, ammonia will eventually go down anyways. Patience is not an issue to me.

Also do you think I can put in 2 clowns in the tank and they would be ok? Today I’m supposed to do that and would this help cycle the tank?

Sorry and one last thing, Ammonia does not seem to be the same as I just realized it was 0.3 last time I tested and now it is 0.2 This is a good sign right?