What to believe

[SFish]

As far as the test goes you could take some tank water to your local fish store and have them test it for you this would give you an idea as to which reading is about right. The NH3 alert thing I would get rid of it those things are junk. I don't think I would spend a lot of money on a test for this because once it goes to 0 (cycled) it will stay there.

 

[bjtrapjr]

Thank you

 

[SFish]

This may help as well

 

[bjtrapjr]

Yes actually it really does

 

[SFish]

Here's the whole thing

http://fins.actwin.com/mirror/begin-cycling.html

 

[m0nkie]

but I don't need somebody being rude to me and telling me to take some time off and abandon the hobby just because I didn't do massive research on chemical test kits

it was meant for you to relax and not worry about your test results. walk away and come back in a month. spend the time to research. There's nothing you can do to speed it up and it will take more than a month to cycle. After a month, you can test for nitrates once a week :fun4:

i dosed Dr Tim's bacteria and it took about 3 weeks for nitrate to show. I let the tank cycle for 2 full month before adding snails. I would assume natural raw shrimp will take longer than dosing.

 

[SFish]

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-10/sp/feature/index.php

 

[bjtrapjr]

Thank you

 

[Saltliquid]

If you have no valuable life in your aquarium, then keep the shrimp going if not add more varied dead tissue with in reason, a desert spoon full amount is good, it can only help being naturally made forms of ammonia from that dead tissue.
Did any one clear up what chloramine is; it's a bond of ammonia and chlorine they put in most tap water.
If you do not separate these with neutraliser before mixing up salt to make salt water, you may get a serious ammonia lock that will give you much grief.
Until you are thinking about adding life after your first major water change once you remove the dead tissue, keep a little of that dead tissue in the water, your bacterium's will reward your tanks life forms a great deal later on from this.

 

[bjtrapjr]

I have no life in it right now it is going to be a qt and thank you for clearing up the chloramine no nobody had but I use ocean water from my lfs as my salt water and I already took the shrimp out I'm going to give it a couple days for the ammonia to drop and the Nitrites to rise and fall and nitrates to rise. I hope it all works out

 

[SFish]

Save your self some money and trips to the fish store. When you Can I would look into an RO/DI filter. There are a lot of different types. As far as Chloramines I would call the water company to see if they use it or not before buying a filter for it that is if you get an RO/DI filter. Not all water companies use it I know by us they don't.

 

[Saltliquid]

What media are you using, as in gravel, shell grit, rubble, base rock or what ever to house the bacterium’s?
If this is a QT you are setting up, then while it is not is use you should leave a little dead tissue in there always to keep the bacteria fed and active.
Just with ammonia, unlike ammonium it can disrupt PH, so that’s something to adjust before using your QT each time.
While dead tissue is there, it has absolutely no adverse affect on nitrites, they will develop and drop away no matter what you do if the bacterium’s are looked after and have a place to grow and thrive.
The reason most folks get parasites is from two issues, not enough protists and not enough varied bacterium’s! From each type of waste or dead tissue comes another slightly varied form of ammonia which requires a slight variation in oxidising bacteria for oxidation, near no one establishes all the needed variations at the start to enable near no ammonia to be present when introducing life each time, so until lots a varied bacteria are set up and thriving, protists that graze on your cyclers bacteria and use some for symbiotic purposes keeping ich and velvet at bay to some degree and are in large numbers, then the bio filter is not completely mature.