Crazy results with stability
- Thread starter Frostyfishman
- Start date
Lmax8rn
New member
That's really not high. Once the ammonia starts coming down your nitrites will start coming down as well. after that, the nitrates will follow. Give it a good 3 or 4 weeks, in my experience.
If you don't have any fish in the tank, you can bump your temperature up to about 85 or 88 to help it along a little bit. Don't do any water changes, and just let it cycle. I had a bin of live rock that I just finished cycling and it took about 4 weeks but my nitrates were still pretty high, even though the ammonia and nitrite were 0. I discarded the water and used the rock. I was able to do it a little bit early in the cycle, only because I already had a whole tank full of live rock that I was using to upgrade. I have about 130 pounds of cycled live rock vs 20 pounds of partially cycled rock.
If you don't have any fish in the tank, you can bump your temperature up to about 85 or 88 to help it along a little bit. Don't do any water changes, and just let it cycle. I had a bin of live rock that I just finished cycling and it took about 4 weeks but my nitrates were still pretty high, even though the ammonia and nitrite were 0. I discarded the water and used the rock. I was able to do it a little bit early in the cycle, only because I already had a whole tank full of live rock that I was using to upgrade. I have about 130 pounds of cycled live rock vs 20 pounds of partially cycled rock.
Frostyfishman
New member
I just thought it was high I guess because the test only goes up to 5 ppm nitrite. 160 ppm on nitrate is maxed out too. I started getting nitrites and nitrates right after adding stability.
Frostyfishman
New member
Cycle is fishess, my rock was all dry. Dry sand too. Oh I threw in some lfs mud.
stingeragent
New member
That nitrate is high IMHO, and not sure what caused the jump from 1ppm ammonia to 4ppm in the same day if you didn't add anything during that time. Nothing to worry about though. It is an exact science, but at the same time not one. You for sure have ammonia, so the cycle is running. Just let it go.
Frostyfishman
New member
Let me clarify. I dosed the ammonia up to keep feeding the cycle.
stingeragent
New member
I'd stop dosing ammonia, and let the cycle finish.
Frostyfishman
New member
Won't the bacteria starve if I don't add ammonia. I don't have any live rock or other sources of ammonia.
CStrickland
New member
You can stop dosing ammonia and let nitrites come down. You won't have an accurate nitrate result until they are gone, the test reads a little nitrite as a lot of nitrate.
Stability is a bottled bacteria, looks like it's working.
Once all the ammonia is eaten you can add a little fish food every other day. Or not, they won't starve for like months and months.
Stability is a bottled bacteria, looks like it's working.
Once all the ammonia is eaten you can add a little fish food every other day. Or not, they won't starve for like months and months.
Frostyfishman
New member
Ah I didn't know the bacteria would survive. I will cease with the ammonia.
