Cycle question: no nitrites, but some total ammonia

[Vincero]

Hi guys,

I'm currently 4 weeks into cycling my 60 liter/15 gallon aquarium.

I'm really glad I've taken the plunge; I intend to update my "beginner build" thread soon, for the benefit of anyone else interested in making the Aqua One 40 'reef ready'. I've invested a lot of time and energy into setting this tank up properly.

Last week, I thought that my tank had cycled. I've been meticulously tracking ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate on a chart. I witnessed the spikes and let everything (with the exception of nitrate!) fall down to zero. I performed a 30% water change to reduce my nitrates and thought that was it...

But after testing the water this week, my total ammonia is reading 0.25. Free ammonia is sitting at zero. (I'm using the SeaChem test kits). Nitrites are still practically undetectable.

My full parameters are:

Temp: 25.5 c
Free Ammonia: 0
Total Ammonia: 0.25
Nitrite: 0.003 (at a push!)
Salinity: 1.025
Alkalinity: 8 dkh

Now I'm not so sure if my tank has actually cycled. My understanding is that total ammonia needs to be zero too? (Because it could turn into its more toxic counterpart).

Should the total ammonia lower with more time?

Thanks!

 

[ladynavyvet]

I would suggest dosing with either "Prime" or "Special Blend", either will introduce the beneficial bacteria to your tank. I always keep a bottle available just in case something happens, and my tank goes into a mini cycle, which I am dealing right now.

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[Vincero]

Thanks. What could be causing it? The sandbed moved a little when performing the change... it just seems strange that there's no nitrites.

Also, does anyone else find the Sea Chem sensors tricky to read?

 

[thegrun]

I'm leaning towards a false positive on your ammonia test. What level did your ammonia peak at during the initial cycle? To be safe I would give the tank another week to stabilize before adding livestock.

 

[Vincero]

Thanks. My highest total ammonia reading was 5ppm. However, it could have been higher... the Sea Chem sensor turned purple and the darkest colour on the chart is a royal blue?! Very confused...

 

[Vincero]

Turned out to be a faulty test kit. Checked mine against one at the LFS. Was testing for total ammonia when none was actually present.

 

[A sea K]

I would suggest dosing with either "Prime" or "Special Blend", either will introduce the beneficial bacteria to your tank.

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Not sure about the "special blend" stuff but "prime" is not a bacterial additive. It will however help with any ammonia present in the system.

 

[ladynavyvet]

Not sure about the "special blend" stuff but "prime" is not a bacterial additive. It will however help with any ammonia present in the system.

Special Blend is a bacterial additive, and helps set up the tank, and in the case of a mini cycle in a established tank, will help it become balanced again.

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