Time to Nuke it....

[JammyBirch]

Another week has gone by with no nitrite ever showing up...ammonia has been there was at a high level, +1' now at 0.25ppm. It's been there for a while...

Am I missing something?

Riddle me this... Does a cycled tank ever see nitrites? Ammonia I assume can be found from fish waste and the like...what about nitrites?

At this point I'm checking everyday...I think I'm going to run out of nitrite test before I see any.

 

[myofibroblast]

Perhaps you can offer an interpretation of your test results and what your proposed next steps will be. You did do the tests, right?

Some never see nitrite oxidation occurs very efficiently.

And testing daily is an internet dogma that does little except induce anxiety and waste reagents. Good for the commercial entities selling test kits I suppose.

 

[JammyBirch]

Ya dude I did the tests correctly. Ph - 8.2, ammonia - 0.25ppm, nitrite - big fat goose egg, nitrate - 5-10ppm.

Next step is to wait one more week...if nitrite doesn't show up...I'm nuking it with ammonia chloride, to 2ppm, monitor it...if I never see nitrites I'm going to do a water change and add a CUC.

I already have 2 bumble bee snails, 2 blue leg hermits 1 stomatella snail and 2 tiny starfish, I added the bumbles and crabs the rest came with the rock.

I need more checkers, I think I have high silica water, my RODI is reading .001 on the TDS it's virtually brand new. Growing hair algae like a champ, phos is probably high too. No idea...

 

[myofibroblast]

1. Where is the nitrate coming from and how did it get there? As a corollary, where did the ammonia from the ammonia peak go?

2. I don't understand what "nuke it" means.

3. How did you decide to wait 7 days before dosing NH4Cl? Why not today? Or tomorrow?

4. How did you decide to add livestock before you cycled your tank?

 

[JammyBirch]

My hypothesis is that the tank cycled over the course of the summer. I had it sitting just like now for three months. I think the nitrate came from that, although I did a 50% water change before adding the cured live rock.

Nuke it, I'm going to force it into cycle with ammonia chloride...

I'm waiting another week because it was suggested I give it 2 more weeks, so I will, can't hurt.

Added live stock in the form of 2 tiny crabs and 2 tiny bumbles to help me with the algae growth. And start making some waste.

Ammonia chloride will be the test...if I add it and see the ammonia levels reduce from the initial spike, no nitrites, it's cycled.

Is this a correct way to test this?

No idea where the initial ammonia spike went that's why I posted tonight, I don't know much about this stuff.

One more observation is that I thought I had a diatom bloom, it seemed to go away. Now it's back and more of it in different spots...weird though it has little bubbles all over the sand floor...

 

[phillrodrigo]

Why don't you have a lfs check your levels for you who knows maybe the kit is bad and your already cycled. Should you even see ammonia and nitrate without nitrite.

 

[JammyBirch]

Hmmm...good point. I will pick up another kit tomorrow, either sea chem or red sea.

 

[myofibroblast]

Nuke it, I'm going to force it into cycle with ammonia chloride...

Ammonia chloride will be the test...if I add it and see the ammonia levels reduce from the initial spike, no nitrites, it's cycled.

Is this a correct way to test this?

No idea where the initial ammonia spike went that's why I posted tonight, I don't know much about this stuff.

1. Your hypothesis is reasonable
2. Adding ammonia is an appropriate way to test your hypothesis.
3. Animals you have introduced may not enjoy the addition of ammonium chloride
4. Regarding not knowing where the ammonia spike went, if you have developed enough nitrification organisms, what would happen to the ammonia?
5. While you wait, I suggest reading sime background information on nitrification or "cycle". Declaring you "don't know much about this stuff" does not relieve you of the responsibility to know/learn some basic principles in aquatic animal husbandry if you are going to manage the aquarium.

 

[JammyBirch]

Ya I have been reading, I'm not sure why this happening, there is nothing about this situation out there. I'm not irresponsible nor am I trying to shirk the task of managing this environment correctly.

You know I could just stock the **** out of the tank like half of the community on here and never ask for help...I prefer to do this correctly. Not sure what gave you the idea that I would not make every effort to figure this out...

 

[myofibroblast]

You know I could just stock the **** out of the tank like half of the community on here and never ask for help...I prefer to do this correctly. Not sure what gave you the idea that I would not make every effort to figure this out...

When you say you're not sure if your tank has cycled, and then you say you've already added additional crabs and snails, it gives me pause.

 

[MinnFish]

Jammy are you cycled?

 

[JammyBirch]

Jammy are you cycled?

I'm trying to figure that out...I believe I am. I have traces of ammonia and significant levels of nitrate but haven't seen nitrite yet. New test kit tomorrow.

Ammonia was at +1 ppm on Sunday, 0.25 ppm Wednesday and today, still no nitrite. Getting a little frustrate with the insinuations, more than the nitrite reading.

 

[MinnFish]

Settle down, before you have the thread locked. Get a Red Sea test kit and test. If you have to, pull the livestock and bump the ammonia up. If, it process it to zero in 24 hrs. Then, you have cycled. Good luck and happy reefing. Btw, check my avatar. In order to have nitrate, you have to have had nitrite.

 

[Green Chromis]

:fish1: Hi Jammy, your tank has cycled, that's why your reading nitrates, do a water change and test the water again for ammonia. It could be your test kit, reading 0.25 is old or is giving incorrect reading. There should be zero ammonia readings on your test kits. :fish1: