Day 7 and Ammonia at 1 ppm

[justinmcleod]

I am frustrated with my ammonia levels, as the spike a few days in and I have taken the rock out and smelled and poked around, but to no avail. After the ammonia rose to around 3ppm on the 3rd day I did a 30% water change. This brought it down to 1 ppm, but the next day I had to repeat the process. Now, it has hovered around 1 ppm for the last couple of days. Should I do another water change, or will this prolong the cycle? What about adding the AmQuel Ammonia Remover? Or does the defeat the purpose of establishing sufficient de-nitrifying bacteria? Cheers for any help.

 

[noahm]

There was a good article in Reefkeeping last month about water changes during the cycle and basically concluded that it is negligible in lengthening the duration of the cycle as most of the beneficial bacteria is attached to rock/sand/glass etc.

If you were at .5, I would say hold off, but at or near 1ppm is subject to test brand error and if it was me I would do another decent W/C to bring it down a bit. Mine stayed steady for almost 2 weeks before dropping. Lots of lif on that rock to die off, so keep at it. Don't use the ammonia remover IMO.

 

[justinmcleod]

Thanks!

 

[divemonster]

Re: Day 7 and Ammonia at 1 ppm

Stop taking the rock out of the water. It will only cause more stuff to die off.

Keep in mind that 26g is a small water volume. When I cycled my 6g (yes SIX) there were 4 or 5 days where I was doing 30% water changes 3 times a day, with the 3rd one at 3:00 AM. You can't compare your cycle to the guys on here with tanks bigger than 55g.

Keep doing your water changes when the ammonia is 1.0 or higher. Smaller tanks like yours are more work to cycle. And after the cycle it will be necessary to do weekly water changes. These guys with their 75+ gallon tanks can wait 4-8 weeks before doing a maintenance water change because they have the luxury of a large water volume.

Do not add ammonia remover to your tank. Some reefheads swear by a SeaChem product called "Stability." It contains a blend of aerobic, anaerobic, and facultative bacteria to facilitate the breakdown of waste organics, ammonia, and nitrate. If you want to read more here is a link: SeaChem Stability

Hang in there and be patient, Justin. It can take up to 2 weeks to cycle a small tank like yours.

 

[justinmcleod]

Thanks for the help guys. One of the lessons learned from keeping saltwater tanks in high school is the importance of patience, so I will ride the cycle out for sure. Good to know this is normal. As soon as I figure out my wife's digital camera I will submit some pics!

Divemonster - I am actually from TX, grew up around Weatherford/Ft. Worth - where do you dive in North TX?

 

[divemonster]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14955089#post14955089 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by justinmcleod
Divemonster - I am actually from TX, grew up around Weatherford/Ft. Worth - where do you dive in North TX?

I live north of Carrollton. Did you grow up in Azle or Burleson? I have family in that area.