Well, that was one way to cycle a tank...
Posted 06/04/2010 at 10:14 AM by sacremon
We have no idea how high the nitrite got in the tank. Actually we still don't, as the test kit only goes up to 2 ppm. Even diluting with fresh SW it pegged the test kit. Nitrate was over the 25ppm limit of that kit as well. So we did a change of about 90 gallons yesterday. The nitrite is still pegged, though it didn't darken to that quite as quickly as before. The nitrate wasn't pegged, but somewhere between 10ppm and 25ppm. Better than it was, but I hate the lack of precision of most colorimetric tests. I guess it is time to shell out $200 to replace the Pinpoint nitrate probe. I tested it the other day, and it is definitely not working right.
We got all the leaks taken care of, the skimmer is skimming (which tells me right there that there is a lot of junk in the water) and I have a couple canisters of carbon running as well. The plan is to drop a ball of chaeto into the tank and let it soak up the nitrate/nitrite. I think if all goes well, I should be able to put the fish back in there shortly.
We got all the leaks taken care of, the skimmer is skimming (which tells me right there that there is a lot of junk in the water) and I have a couple canisters of carbon running as well. The plan is to drop a ball of chaeto into the tank and let it soak up the nitrate/nitrite. I think if all goes well, I should be able to put the fish back in there shortly.
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I know just how you feel. I've had a rough time with my tank to. My first three went fine, well... Not this one. First I had a aptasia out brake, then a huge case of velvet on all my fish, a flat worm infestation, an out brake of RTN on all my acropora, and ended with a massive tank crash due to an expired phosphate test kit. Now a year later I have a phosphate reactor, peppermint shrimp, and perfect water conditions. All I can say is endure, I know how tough reef aquariums can be.Posted 06/16/2010 at 10:45 PM by Mmckibben 
