Does Ammo Detox Start Cycle Over?

[apeshot]

I have been cycling my new 45 gallon tank for a week now. It has a 4 inch sand bed, Emperor 400, and an air pump to diffuse air. The ammonia is 1.5 ppm today. There is just a trace of nitrites, if any at all.

My ammonia level seems to be constant, it isn't spiking. It has remained at just over 1ppm. So, I went to my lfs and got 2 pounds of live sand to add some diversity. The LS came with two tiny hermit crabs. Knowing that my ammo was high, I added Kent's Ammo Detox to try to save the hermits.

I was wondering if the detox will now cause my cycle to start over, since it never finished. There is still very little if any nitrites detected in my tests, less than .10ppm for sure.

I will be getting live rock in less than two weeks.

 

[apeshot]

While I am at it, does anyone know of any good lfs in Kansas City?

 

[jmeader]

The ammonia was detoxed not eliminated. So I doubt it will interfer with the cycle.

 

[davelin315]

I agree, the ammonia has not actually been removed from your system, from what I understand of products like amquel and ammo detox, all they do is bond with the ammonia so that it is no longer free in your system. It is still there, it is just not as harmful anymore. Not sure of the chemical reactions involved, or if the ammonia is actually changed to a different molecule, but I do know that products like that add a ton of crap to your system that you don't want. It's better to avoid adding anything like that if you have live sand and live rock. Since whatever you added has bonded with the ammonia, I don't know if your nitrosomas bacteria (is that the right one?) can process it anymore, so it could interfere with your cycle. I was always of the opinion when I cycled tanks that the more crap you poured in there (as far as food and wastes) the stronger your bacteria colonies would be.

I don't think you've started it over, you've just limited the amount of bacteria that will grow initially, and you might have another spike when you add stuff. Also, your hermits will probably die from the nitrites, no matter how low they are, if your tank is in the middle of a cycle. You shouldn't add during the middle of the cycle, IMO, you should start with the live rock and live sand, or wait until your initial cycle is done.

[ August 15, 2001: Message edited by: davelin315 ]

 

[apeshot]

I agree. I did not want to add any animals to the water yet(that is why I only got 2 lbs of LS). I only wanted to add some more bacteria, to try and give my tank a little boost. I really did not want to add the detox, but I felt I had to try something to save the hermits. Of course it did not work, the two tiny guys passed on. And now I added that crap for nothing.

The lfs LS looked pretty "dead." I was looking at the stuff for five minutes and did not see any movement. So I was shocked to find the two hermits. I didn't really expect to get live sand from the lfs, I just thought it was dirty water. It was sort of a pleasant surprise.