Cycling my new saltwater tank problem

[tony1988]

I started my saltwater tank cycling on the 30th of october, I have put a piece of raw shrimp, & since this day my ammonia reading is around 0.25 ppm, 0 nitrite, 0 nitrate. I have dosed nitrifying bacteria, but it seems that the situation is still the same. note that I have only dead rock & I was running on my skimmer, just turned it off few hours ago... any help?
Aquarium Info: 70 us gallons tank, skimmer, external filter, 10 us gallons sump, 2.5" dead sand bed, heater & I'm adjusting the temperature at 27c, & a powerhead

 

[panhandler01]

What test kit brand are you using? You should have an ammonia reading of more that .25 ppm after leaving a piece of dead shrimp in the tank for a week. The ammonia level should go up to around 2 ppm to cycle a tank. I dose Dr. Tim's ammonium chloride in the tank to start the cycle. That way I can get the ammonia level up to where I want it to be. Maybe you are misreading the test or maybe the test kit has expired. It's normal for there to be no nitrate at this point in your cycle because you haven't seen any nitrite. If you added nitrifying bacteria you should be seeing some nitrite by now. Again I suspect something amiss with your test kit. Take a water sample to your LFS and have them test it for ammonia and nitrite and see what results they get.

 

[tony1988]

I'm having API saltwater master kit, expiry date July 2020

 

[panhandler01]

Either try another test kit or take a water sample to your LFS and see what results they get.

 

[stingeragent]

Easiest way to start a cycle is to just dose pure ammonia from the hardware store.

 

[azcrazy]

I would say patience you on the right track, if you want to speed up process add ammonia like people suggested

 

[fredfish13]

no need to run skimmer. i cycle all my tanks with store ammonia. with no live rock it might take a little longer.

 

[thegrun]

The API ammonia test kits are notorious for giving a false 0.25 reading when in fact there is no ammonia. Take a sample of your water to your LFS and have them test it, most likely the tank is cycled.

 

[tony1988]

I'm also having a seachem ammonia alert, which is giving mean 0.05 ppm reading. I don't really have any explanation for what's happening

 

[marvelousone]

Give it time since you are using dead rock.

 

[bat21]

Only been a week. Give it time. That bacteria in a bottle takes a while to establish itself on the rocks. I cycled with dry rock also and it took about 2 months. The one thing you need in this hobby is patience. The cycle period is when it's needed the most.

 

[DJasak]

I remember reading somewhere that with API test kits if they sat for a while you need to shake the bottles for 1 minute before doing the test. I would try doing that and redo your water test, see if that makes a difference.