Dr Tim’s one and only help?

[Becs]

Hi everyone, I very very new to this hobby and I need some advice. 
mum going to be doing a cycle with 2 clown fish. My tank has been up and running nearly a week now. I have live sand and life dry rock and want to add some live rock too. 
nearly a week ago I added a bottle of Dr Tim’s one and only. I’ve turned the skimmer off and no lights. I want to add 2 clown fish in 2 days. Will the Dr tims still work after a week or do I need to add more when I add the fish? 
mom super excited for this journey x

[seabass]

Welcome to Nano-Reef.com.

 

12 hours ago, Becs said:

My tank has been up and running nearly a week now. I have live sand and life dry rock and want to add some live rock too. 

Compared to dosing a viable nitrifying bacteria culture, live sand typically has limited extra bacterial benefit.  It tends to cost more and you're paying for the weight of the water, but there is nothing wrong with using it.

 

Before you add the fish and live rock, you could test the biofilter to see how well it can process ammonia by dosing some ammonium chloride so that total ammonia is 1 ppm.  If your tank can process 1 ppm of total ammonia down to 0.25 ppm within 24 hours, your biofilter should be sufficient.  If it takes longer to process this amount of ammonia, then repeat the process until it can process 1 ppm of total ammonia down to 0.25 ppm within 24 hours.  Don't dose ammonium chloride or ammonia if there is any non-bacterial life in your tank.

 

If adding live rock to a tank with any non-bacterial life, make sure that it isn't producing more ammonia than it is processing.  Place it in another container of saltwater, and a powehead for flow, for a couple of days to see if ammonia is building up.  If it isn't, it's safe to add.  If it is, just wait until total ammonia is in a safe range (0.25 ppm or less).  You can make some assumptions about live rock, but I like to test to be sure.

 

12 hours ago, Becs said:

going to be doing a cycle with 2 clown fish

Clownfish are pretty hardy; they shouldn't die from ammonia poisoning.  Some people will say that bottled bacteria and waiting a week is good enough.  Other people will tell you that you should add the fish when you add the bacteria, so that the ammonia from the fish will help feed the nitrifying bacteria.  I personally like to build up the biofilter on dry rock before adding any livestock.

[Tired]

If you're planning on adding live rock, as in rock that's been in the ocean for awhile, your tank will then instantly be cycled. No matter what state it's in now. 

 

Ideally, you want your tank to be completely cycled before adding the fish. Since you've already added bacteria, you're probably about there already, but testing the cycle (or waiting until you add your live rock and confirm that the rock isn't producing ammonia) would be best. 

[mcarroll]

On 2/25/2023 at 3:32 PM, Becs said:

Hi everyone, I very very new to this hobby and I need some advice. 

If you don't have one or more good books on the topic, I would suggest Martin Moe's "Marine Aquarium Handbook..." as well as any others you see mentioned on this thread.

 

23 hours ago, Becs said:

nearly a week ago I added a bottle of Dr Tim’s one and only. I’ve turned the skimmer off and no lights. I want to add 2 clown fish in 2 days. Will the Dr tims still work after a week or do I need to add more when I add the fish? 

Add more.

 

And you should follow the directions on the bottle.  (Not trying to be pedantic....most folks do not use Dr Tim's directions when they use Dr Tim's products. 🤷‍♂️)

 

In part, the directions say to use the product at the time the fish are added.  ⬅ In your shoes, this is what I'd do.

 

The product will work and your fish will be fine.  

 

It's not the most ideal way to start a reef tank, but it works.

 

23 hours ago, Becs said:

I have live sand

This is a pretty good boost to your tank's cycle.  Did you use CaribSea's Aragalive or OceanDirect, or....?

 

23 hours ago, Becs said:

and life dry rock and want to add some live rock too.

Ideally you would have started with live rock and (at most) a little dry rock so the dead rock could have grown in a little by now.

 

How much dead rock did you start with and how much live rock are you thinking about adding?

[banasophia]

I would agree with mccarroll that it would be a good idea to add more Dr Tim’s to be on the safe side when you add the fish since it has been a week and you haven’t added any food source for the bacteria and the directions say to add your fish within 24 hours.
 

(And remember, if you are adding fish you do not use ammonia drops that people use for a fishless cycle.) I like BioSpira more than Dr Tim’s… if you need to buy more I would recommend getting BioSpira instead, but if you still have some Dr Tim’s you can use that. BioSpira was also invented by Dr Tim before he branched off to have his own company and it seems to me that it works faster. 

[CrazyDialogue]

Test the nitrites and nitrates... Are they low or high?