HelloOcean
New member
Hi guys!
I just got my 55 gallon up and running, and I'm a little confused about the cycle process. Yesterday I went down to my lfs, picked up ~58lbs of live rock, 40lbs of live sand, and about a cup and a half of sand from one of their established tanks. I've been slowly raising the temp, at about 85f right now, and I have about as much agitation on the surface as possible with my two power heads.
When I tested everything yesterday evening, ammonia, nitrates, and nitrates were all at zero. Testing just an hour ago, I got ammonia somewhere between 0-0.25, nitrates 0, and nitrites at 20. Using API. Salinity is 1.025, couldn't tell you the ph because my tester is coming in a few days.
So my questions are:
1. There's no way my tank could be almost finished cycling, is there?
2. Can anyone tell me or send me a guide as to what general ammonia, nitrate and nitrite spikes look like through a cycle so l have an idea as to what to look for?
I've done a decent amount of digging but can't find the answers to these questions.
Thanks in advance!
I just got my 55 gallon up and running, and I'm a little confused about the cycle process. Yesterday I went down to my lfs, picked up ~58lbs of live rock, 40lbs of live sand, and about a cup and a half of sand from one of their established tanks. I've been slowly raising the temp, at about 85f right now, and I have about as much agitation on the surface as possible with my two power heads.
When I tested everything yesterday evening, ammonia, nitrates, and nitrates were all at zero. Testing just an hour ago, I got ammonia somewhere between 0-0.25, nitrates 0, and nitrites at 20. Using API. Salinity is 1.025, couldn't tell you the ph because my tester is coming in a few days.
So my questions are:
1. There's no way my tank could be almost finished cycling, is there?
2. Can anyone tell me or send me a guide as to what general ammonia, nitrate and nitrite spikes look like through a cycle so l have an idea as to what to look for?
I've done a decent amount of digging but can't find the answers to these questions.
Thanks in advance!
