I'm about a week into my cycle right now. 40g Breeder with 50 lbs dry rock, 5 lbs live rock, and 40lbs of live sand. I've gone the fishless method by just dosing ace ammonia. It's about 6ppm of ammonia right now. I had a bad test kit and it got a little high on it. I was afraid I stalled it, but 2 days ago I started seeing ammonia go down and nitrites showing up in the test, so all is going well. My question though I am already seeing as much nitrates as nitrites, about 5ppm. Does that typically happen? I though nitrates would show up well after the nitrites.
Cycling questions
- Thread starter Rcj520
- Start date
CStrickland
New member
It can vary. Also the nitrate test isn't accurate when there's nitrite present.
6ppm ammonia is very high. I'd do a water change to bring that below 3-4.
6ppm ammonia is very high. I'd do a water change to bring that below 3-4.
Volcmreefer
New member
Test again. Patience is key. If your ammonia is dropping then it seems that the cycle is ending. I would just let the nitrogen cycle run its course. What test kit are you using?
+1, you are not going to get good nitrate test results when you have nitrites in your tank. There could be some nitrates leaching out of your rock, but really there isn't much you can do about it now and in all likelihood there are is little to no nitrates yet.
