Parameter Discrepancy

[Brandon0034]

Just a little background of my cycle:
Dosed .5ml pure ammonia per 10g once a week first two weeks(only twice)
Added artificial bacteria daily for 4wks.
Total cycle outside of tank 6 wks.
Moved rock to display with live sand two weeks ago along with 100% water change and ammonia was present between 0-.25 for ammonia.

Questions:
1. Going on 9 weeks shouldn't the cycle be over? I added a piece of live rock from established tank to expedite process.
2. The LFS also tested my salinity and claimed it was 1.028? I used my refractometer calibrated to 35ppt(1.026) and I'm reading 1.025-1.026. Should I trust my measurements over theirs?

Thanks in advance. I'm still being patient for my parameters to be correct, but after 8-9wks was hoping to come home with a fish :hammer:

 

[thegrun]

1. What brand test kit are you using? If it is the API it frequently gives a false 0.25 ammonia reading when no ammonia actually is in the system.
2. If you are calibrating the refractometer with 35ppt solution I would trust your readings. You might want to have your LFS double check the ammonia, it should be zero by now. The one kicker could be the live sand which could have had enough dead organics in it to start a new cycle (one of the many reasons to use dry sand), but even then I would have thought your tank would have zeroed out after two weeks.

 

[Brandon0034]

1. What brand test kit are you using? If it is the API it frequently gives a false 0.25 ammonia reading when no ammonia actually is in the system.
2. If you are calibrating the refractometer with 35ppt solution I would trust your readings. You might want to have your LFS double check the ammonia, it should be zero by now. The one kicker could be the live sand which could have had enough dead organics in it to start a new cycle (one of the many reasons to use dry sand), but even then I would have thought your tank would have zeroed out after two weeks.

It was API and the reading looked between the 0 and 0.25 on the chart although we all know those colors are a pain in the a** to match.

As for the live sand I was thinking the same thing due to the fact I added that after the rock was cycled. I just added a piece of 10+yr live rock from established system and think I'll just wait another week to be on the safe side and test again. Getting antsy over here!

 

[thegrun]

It's never fun to wait but waiting is sadly a big part of the hobby. Hang in there!

 

[Brandon0034]

Trust me I've been patient. This is actually my practice tank to get the hang of things, I wanted to be fully confident before setting up my 135g next then a 200g. Thanks for the advice, makes me feel more confident that my parameters are stable.

 

[michellejy]

I wanted to mention that there is a chance your calibration fluid is off. I was using Pinpoint, and discovered that what was registering as 35 PPT with their calibration was actually 40!

In fairness, the bottle was old, but I would hate to not bring it up in case you have a similar situation.

 

[Brandon0034]

So any advice on what I should do with the calibration? When I first purchased the refractometer a few months ago and dropped the fluid on it was already spot on, so that seemed to be a reassuring note for me.

 

[michellejy]

Have you recalibrated it since you bought it?

 

[Brandon0034]

I've tested the calibrating solution nightly because I've become OCD and it's spot on with 35ppt and 1.026
This is a reputable LFS though so I wouldn't think they'd be off. Maybe so..