Will my UV kill my BB in a bottle?

[tcarswell]

I didnt try the seachem ammonia test, I used the API master kit and even tried some strips made by jungle. I think I have a lot of chloramine in my tap so when used with Prime and these test kits I believe I will always get a false high. I have heard the seachem tests for free ammonia and it would be interesting to see what levels it reads. I did a test last night and my ammonia is still high on the API (like 4ppm) but my water is clear and my fish are hungry and had 2 spawns last week. So basically I am just going to throw the ammonia results out the window and just watch my fish closely. I also think that the bound ammonium left by the Prime must take a lot longer to break down than the free ammonia and maybe that is why I am still getting these crazy ammonia readings.

API just reads for any ammonia free or locked up. I am waiting on the seachem test ill let you know. I use prime as well but I have a new 40 gallon breeder I am running a fishless cycle on that I can experiment with this test kit on.

 

[tcarswell]

i was always told to turn off UV lights and leave them off for like 48hrs after......i've heard of a BB product called Turbo Start works really well.

Never heard of it. Nice user name btw

 

[JakeH]

Hell yea, AK! And happy 420 to all! Anyhow, glad you saw the UV thing on the bottle. Figured you would...

I dose stability every Monday morning & add BIOZYME once a month. That Biozyme is great stuff! The bacteria are fixed onto pieces of bran, so they get stuck in the filters & colonize really quickly. I think a small cup will last me a few years. No mini-cycles at all, even when my AquaClear 50 froze up for a few days. When it froze, I just dosed the tank with Amquel+ to suck out the Ammo & Nitrite spikes,but I had to revive the BB. Dosed Biozyme directly in the filter & kept up Stability dosing. Done deal!

 

[tcarswell]

Glad it worked out for you. Ill bet after 6 months you could probably cut back to dosing it just with water changes but im not familiar with the brands you used. I know I won't need the stability forever as I have a healthy reserve of BB from my tank being cycled the long way initially. It just ran in to a hiccup with some new fish and tank changeover. My mistake live and learn .