How high should ammonia spike during cycle?

[TerminalFrost]

Hi all,
It's been years since I cycled a tank and I am about two weeks into my new set up. I know how the spikes work on the cycle, am-ni-na, but how high should these spikes go? My ammonia started at 4ppm the day after I added the live rock and sand, and now it's been at .50ppm for the past five days. Is that a big enough spike to start the cycle, or should I add a frozen shrimp to boost it up?

Also do you guys have a recommendation for a nitrate test kit that is easy to read? the one I have I can't really tell if I'm at 20 or 80!

Thanks,

-Joel-

 

[Flame_Angel]

The Red Sea nitrate pro test kit is very easy to use and very accurate.

 

[TerminalFrost]

Red Sea, thanks!

Anyone else have any ideas about my ammonia levels?

 

[slipknottin]

any amount of ammonia will start the cycle. Just a smaller amount will mean a lesser total amount of bacteria. So if you add a huge bioload right after the cycle finishes, the ammonia may spike a bit again as the bacteria multiply again to meet the new load.

But if you slowly stock the tank like most of us do, its never an issue.

 

[Bruno3047]

You say you STARTED at 4 ppm and are now down to .5 ppm? You should be done any minute. 4 ppm is a whole lot of NH4.
Also, the higher your NH4 level goes before it comes back down, the more established your aerobic bacteria base will be. I use API test kits for everything. Inexpensive and accurate enough to tell you what's going on in your tank.

 

[acabgd]

I use API test kits for everything. Inexpensive and accurate enough to tell you what's going on in your tank.

API test kits are notoriously inaccurate. It's better to use Red Sea, Salifert or similar. API should really only be last resort.