new tank update

[j86miu]

I started my 14g on saturday and its been cycling since... Do these numbers look right or is something wrong? i feel like there should be some nitrite readings before nitrate

Here are the stats

12/4
alkalinity 3.5
ph 7.9
ammonia, nitrate, nitrite all at 0
salinity 1.0018
80 degrees

ADDED DEAD SHRIMP Here:

12/5/11
salinity 1.0018
ph 7.9
ammonia .8
alkalinity 3.75 meq/l
nitrite 0
nitrate 5-10?
80 degrees

12/7/11
alkalinity 3.25
ph 7.8
ammonia .8
nitrite 0
nitrate 5-10
80 degrees
salinity 1.0019

[WetShepherd]

I remember reading somewhere about the possibility of ammonia being converted directly to nitrate without the production of nitrites depending on pH. I can't find it again of course ... maybe that was in the fresh water days. Anyway - if it were my tank I'd be tempted to try an alternate test for nitrites, or have your LFS check a sample. Nitrites aren't really that important anyway, it's just a curiosity. For now, it's probably only worth keeping an eye on.

You'll want to get that salinity up too of course, but you are probably already aware of that.

[sjwitt]

Why is your SG so low? Numbers look like the cycle is starting. I wouldn't worry about nitrate showing up, probably just leaching out of what you have in the tank (rock and substrate). Your ammonia will turn to nitrite and then to nitrate so it will go up. What are you going to keep in this tank? If fish only I'd get the SG up to 1.020.

[j86miu]

I plan on having FOWLR for the meantime... I want to make sure I can handle that before going to reef.

that's a typo but salinity is still a little low at 1.019, but I'm topping off with salinity of 1.025... tonight was the first time i topped off since starting the tank on saturday, and it only needed about 1/3 of the gallon, so it didn't affect the salinity too much I just wish I could get the salinity up faster....

Do I have to worry about raising the pH or will the water take care of itself?

[j86miu]

also - should the shrimp that I added a few days ago be removed yet?

[WetShepherd]

If your ammonia gets up to 2.0ppm, pull the shrimp - that's enough. For confirmation purposes after you think the cycle is done, you can use smaller food; flakes, pellets etc. The goal is to be able to feed for 5 days without detecting ammonia.

Leave the pH for now - as your salinity comes up you will probably see the pH fall in line. Remember that it's the salt mix that's setting your initial pH. You can test your RODI water before and after adding it to see what I mean. Besides, dosing to keep pH in line is a real pain, you want to avoid it if at all possible, and you're so close that even if it didn't change, I'd probably just go with it. Oh, and also note that it will change a significant amount over the course of the day. Try testing at both lights on and lights out to see the difference.

[j86miu]

alright it's been cycling since last saturday and I had dead shrimp in since Sunday...

I had ammonia spikes a few days in a row - a reading of .8, but ammonia is at 0 right now. never seen any nitrite (don't know why) but my nitrate is at 10. Salinity is 1.020, ph is 8, and alkalinity is 3.5.

How come I'm not seeing any nitrite readings and what happened to all my ammonia? I can't imagine the tank being cycled... the shrimp is still in there...

I'm thinking of getting a few snails/shrimp/etc as my CUC tomorrow just to verify the water... don't want to put in a damsel yet

[anderson0196]

I have been monitoring for 4 weeks...had a shrimp in for a few days and then pulled it and have ghost fed daily since.

I have yet to provoke a nitrite reading...My ammonia has been at 0 for 2 weeks and nitrates stay steady at 10 for awhile.

I wouldn't worry about not seeing nitrite - It may have been converted to nitrate between tests.

[WetShepherd]

You shouldn't put anything live in until you are sure your cycle is complete. Try feeding very small pinches of fish food every day - once you can feed it for 5 days in a row (some advocate 10 days) without generating any ammonia, you can add a clean up crew. If the tank remains stable with no signs of ammonia for another week you can add a fish (although if you don't have a fish in QT right now then you should be at least 4-6 weeks away from adding a fish anyway).

A quick note on the damsel - some fish stores will advocate using them to cycle a tank (this is akin to training a dog by kicking it) - do not do it. Other stores will sometimes suggest them as a first fish because they are hardy and will be more forgiving of a new aquarist's mistakes. There is some truth to this, but don't overlook the fact that they can also be an agressive fish and cause problems of their own. The bottom line is, the only reason to add a damsel is if you like that fish and understand what keeping one involves (including how hard they are to remove from a tank).

[Bens_Reef]

i would wait to get the CUC. make sure your nitrates arent still going up first and get your water change schedule set. 4 days really is not long enough for a cycle even with cured LR and sand and inverts can be picky. get your nitrates down first or you may have problems adding to your bio-load. you may not have ammonia but that doesnt mean your tank can convert all the waste from a CUC.

[Bens_Reef]

also am i correct that i saw your alkalinity at 3.5? thats a bit low i think, maybe someone on here can confirm that 8-10 is a number to shoot for

[j86miu]

alright, i just ran a test with an API test it to see verify my results from the instant ocean test kit, both results are from today with the dead shrimp being in the tank for 4 days already.

salinity 1.02
temp 84
ph 8, ph from API also 8
Ammonia 0, ammonia from API is .25
nitrite 0, nitrite from API also 0 ???????????
Nitrate 10, Nitrate from API 40-80 (can't really make out the color)...

So based on my previous tests with the ocean kit, my ammonia reading came back down, so did i already have my spike? and WHERE'S MY NITRITES????

is instant ocean just not that accurate or something else is amiss?

[Bens_Reef]

that sounds more like where it should be at, i never had nitrites show up in any of the tanks ive cycled. it may have to do with your system being very small and you probably used LR instead of dry rock in it. if you were to use a very large tank and all dry rock and sand to cycle it or something then you may see a slower conversion and get a nitrite reading. JMO it sounds logical

[WetShepherd]

I've never seen an instant ocean kit (are they one of those dip tests? toss it if so). I'd be more inclined to go with the API. If your Nitrates are that high, I'd do a water change. Some people will tell you not to because you will lose some of the bacteria you are trying to grow, but the truth is, most of that is in/on your rock and sand bed, not in the water column. All you really stand to lose is the ammonia in the water, and you are reading zero anyway.

So yea - first get those nitrates down with water changes. Once that's done, do the pinch a day feeding as noted above. I can't answer your question regarding the lack of nitrites. If it persists through what ben and I suggested, I would send a PM to someone with more experience. If you aren't already familiar with some of the long time posters here, look to the stickies to get an idea. With a little luck, one of them will chime in here over the weekend anyway.