Ammonia Spike w/Bio Spira

[jsteinmeyer]

Reefers,

I'm cycling a new 33g. Started with dry rock and live sand, RO water and a fresh bottle of Bio Spira. I dosed 2ppm of ammonium chloride and let the magic happen. A week went by and all was going well (Nitrite spike started going down, ammonia nearly at 0ppm and a whole mess of nitrate). I decided to dose with 2ppm of ammonia once more to assure its ready for livestock exactly three days ago. Tested well yesterday (down to .25ppm for both ammonia/nitrite) so I thought I would be ready today or tomorrow. However I tested this morning and both ammonia and nitrite spiked to close to 1ppm.

Is this normal? Or did the cycle just stall? Curious to hear any opinions and what I can do next. Was thinking about a water change but was holding off on that until cycle was complete, right before adding livestock. Any help is appreciated!

 

[LuizW13]

Maybe there's not enough bacteria yet?

 

[jsteinmeyer]

I suppose, and I'm sure the popular answer will be to wait longer. But I'm curious as to why I would dose, both ammonia and nitrite decrease and then slightly increase with no other additives in just 24 hours.

 

[Stolireef]

My money is on testing error

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[jsteinmeyer]

I'll have to test again this evening and keep y'all posted.

 

[mcgyvr]

Its possible that the decaying matter in the live sand caused that spike..
Or testing error..

no matter.. tanks not ready..

 

[homer1475]

I'm going to say API test kit?
It's notorious for showing slight ammonia when in fact it is 0.

Or you could just not be fully cycled yet either.

 

[tazzy695]

Also he stated he started with dry rock i have seen even dry rock can have dead material in it after a few days in water it can cause amonia spike

 

[jsteinmeyer]

Thanks for all the feedback. I have a feeling there is some dead material flying around causing the spike. Back to the couch I go to wait a little longer! :headwally:

 

[mcgyvr]

Patience is key... NOTHING good happens fast..

Personally when starting with dry rock I would let it go for 4 weeks or more before I added anything..

 

[jsteinmeyer]

Update: Tested both again this evening. Nitrites completely reading zero but still just around .25ppm ammonia. Maybe getting a misreading on the API test again? Thinking about dosing 2ppm of ammonium chloride again and testing tomorrow. If I'm reading 0ppm on nitrite tomorrow after dosing, should I get a new ammonia test kit and try then? Gotta be close at this point.

 

[ericarenee]

You should leave it alone for a week.maybe ghost feed a bit ..

Then try again when your less anxious In this hobby the Tortuous always wins over the Hare

 

[jsteinmeyer]

@ericarenee Totally agree. I've been burned before by this. Perhaps the biggest issue here is really the perceived false advertisement in Bio Spira itself. "Pour into tank and add fish" , my butt!

 

[LuizW13]

did you cure your dry rock before putting it in the tank? I'm asking because i just got my dry rock in the mail today and man it was so dirty. I rinsed it off in the tub and now it's curing in some distilled water, there's so much junk coming off the rock!

 

[ericarenee]

did you cure your dry rock before putting it in the tank? I'm asking because i just got my dry rock in the mail today and man it was so dirty. I rinsed it off in the tub and now it's curing in some distilled water, there's so much junk coming off the rock!

I Would soak it in a tub with saltwater.. It can be even at a lower then normal salinity.. Keep a power head or pump in there with it.. Every other day take it piece by piece and rinse it in a separate bucket. Do this until when you shake it in a bucket its fairly clean..

If its super bad you might want to consider a more aggressive approach..If you put the rock in your tank and its leaching Nutrients badly you will struggle with algae for a long time.. and SPS Might even be out of the question..

Leaching Dry Live rock seems to be a Common topic lately. There is a sticky thread here about cleaning curing Live Rock.

 

[LuizW13]

I Would soak it in a tub with saltwater.. It can be even at a lower then normal salinity.. Keep a power head or pump in there with it.. Every other day take it piece by piece and rinse it in a separate bucket. Do this until when you shake it in a bucket its fairly clean..

If its super bad you might want to consider a more aggressive approach..If you put the rock in your tank and its leaching Nutrients badly you will struggle with algae for a long time.. and SPS Might even be out of the question..

Leaching Dry Live rock seems to be a Common topic lately. There is a sticky thread here about cleaning curing Live Rock.

That's what i was planning on doing, except with distilled water instead of saltwater. I couldn't even imagine putting rock in that state in my DT, yikes! lol!