First time keeping saltwater fish. Started on the 11/22 using the recommended amount of Dr. Tim's and bio starter. Test kit was still in the mail, so didn't notice the ammonia was only at 0.5ppm until 12/1. Added more to get it up to 2ppm. Nitrate and nitrite were still at 0ppm.
I've added a small amount of bio maintain since then, but otherwise let it work its magic.
So a week and a half later, and I took the test in the pic above. There's definitely some change to nitrate/nitrite, but I could convince myself that ammonia is anywhere from 0.5ppm to 2ppm depending on lighting. Maybe I'm colorblind. It's especially hard to decipher through photos (which I just started taking today).
I'm hoping to get the fish by the 18th so I can have them ready for a Christmas surprise. I know patience is a virtue when it comes to fishless cycling, but am I screwed? I have another option to get pre-cycled filter material, but I was hoping to grow this on my own.
If it matters, I'm using the 10L kreisel from jellyfishart.com. Hoping to order the jellies on the 16th so they arrive by the 18th. They ship with a pre-cycled filter, but something about introducing all of that at the same time makes me nervous.
I only know a few things:
Yeah, the filter media is basically the only place in the tank where bacteria can grow, so I imagine it’s pretty easy for them to cater it to the tank. It still makes me nervous.
But that means I’ll need to dump the tank and start over since there won’t be enough time for the new filter to tackle the current ammonia and nitrite level before I introduce the jellies.
They did offer to send me the filter ahead of time for a $16 shipping fee. I’ll probably try that as a contingency if I’m still having trouble on Friday. Might just be an ego thing that’s kept me from doing that earlier.
We did see a dorky little toy jelly tank at Homegoods the other day. My wife commented on it. Wonder if she’s on to me…