tank cycle

[armison89]

i started my tank a month ago its a 29gal with a marineland 350 hob filter. i added 30lbs of live sand a month ago and had readings of 2.0 amonia. it dropped to .5 2 weeks ago. i added 25lbs of live rock and 4 very small hermit crabs last weekend i got it off cl. since i added the rock the amonnia hasnt changed but me nitrites and nitrats have gone up. is this normal?

 

[tmz]

Yes, the extra rock may have added more die off and ammonia production.. The nitrite and nitirates indicate the ammonia is breaking down as nitrifying bacteria act on it. Once the ammonia is steady at 0 the nitrites will foow to 0. Nitrate will likely rise more until denitrifying bacteria develop( they take a bit longer)

 

[armison89]

i forgot to add i started getting ditomas 2 days ago

 

[pascal32]

The diatoms are a great sign! They will go away and likely be followed by some green hair algae.

I have a hard time reading the ammonia kits. Because of my color vision impairment I wait for the am to be at it's lowest reading and then watch nitrite to go to 0 like Tom mentioned. Once nitrite is at 0 do a large water change to get nitrate down and gently start stocking!

 

[armison89]

im doing a pair of clowns and mollies in this tank.

 

[armison89]

yea my amonnia is zero now what should i do? waterchange?

 

[pascal32]

Wait for nitrite to go to 0. At that point your nitrate should be high. That's when you do a nice sized water change and start enjoying !

 

[armison89]

ok i need to buy a nitrite test

 

[Willistein]

Waiting is tough, sounds like you're doing it right though by testing. It's fun to watch a new tank come alive. FWIW I don't own a nitrite test.