Nitrogen is disappearing

mguiling · 01/28/2012, 03:09 PM

My tank is still cycling, nitrites are off the scale, but nitrogen peaked at 40, the next day it was at 20, today it is 5. I add 1 tsp of ammonia daily to keep the cycle going. Is this normal?

TIA,
Mike

seapug · 01/28/2012, 03:59 PM

Not sure what you mean with "nitrogen", but I would cease the ammonia additions if you've been doing them for some time. Let nature take over now.

mguiling · 01/28/2012, 04:05 PM

Nitrogen = NO3. I don't have fish yet, so there won't be any food for the nitrifying bacteria if I cut off their ammonia.

Just noticed I had nitrates off the scale in my original post, I changed it to what I meant, ie, nitrites. Sorry for the confusion.

uncleof6 · 01/28/2012, 04:30 PM

NO3 = Nitrate

Take the water and have it tested at an LFS. The nitrate level is not going to decline unless you have considerable algae growth, or or some anaerobic bacteria activity going on.

The "ammonia method" of fishless cycling has some drawbacks.

First shake your ammonia supply, if it foams, it has soap in it and will kill your tank; and, if the live rock has life in it, the ammonia will likely kill it off.

3 - 5 drops of PURE ammonia per gallon, to bring the level up to 3 - 4 ppm.

Repeat this, each time allowing the ammonia to lower to "safe" levels before re--adding. (This may not be everyday)

Continue till the ammonia level drops to zero within 8 - 12 hours, nitrite should also drop to zero.

Nitrate should continue to rise after the Nitrite starts to drop.

This takes from 3 - 6 weeks, depending on how well the tank was seeded with AUTOTROPHIC bacteria.

What you need:

Pure Ammonia (I used to use ammonium chloride, dissolved in distilled water, from a pharmacy)

Quality, reliable test kits -- Elos, Salifert, LaMotte, Merck, Tropic Marin

Patience

mguiling · 01/28/2012, 06:29 PM

Mystery solved. I found a thread http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aqua...p/t-16851.html
talking about the same thing. Went to lfs and my nitrates were 80. The conclusion there was the API Nitrate test doesn't work above 40, which has been confirmed for me. All the other readings did match my API results. I hope this doesn't turn into a mindless anti-API thread.
Thanks!

mguiling · 01/28/2012, 06:45 PM

oops

01/28/2012, 03:09 PM	#1
mguiling Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: New Jersey, near Philadelphia Posts: 199	Nitrogen is disappearing My tank is still cycling, nitrites are off the scale, but nitrogen peaked at 40, the next day it was at 20, today it is 5. I add 1 tsp of ammonia daily to keep the cycle going. Is this normal? TIA, Mike Last edited by mguiling; 01/28/2012 at 04:06 PM.

01/28/2012, 03:59 PM	#2
seapug Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: 4980 ft. Posts: 7,954 Blog Entries: 1	Not sure what you mean with "nitrogen", but I would cease the ammonia additions if you've been doing them for some time. Let nature take over now. __________________ insert clever saying here. Current Tank Info: 200 gallon custom Marineland DD peninsular tank. LPS dominated mixed reef. Previous 90 gallon mixed reef TOTM April 2009.

01/28/2012, 04:30 PM	#4
uncleof6 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: AWOL Posts: 12,013	NO3 = Nitrate Take the water and have it tested at an LFS. The nitrate level is not going to decline unless you have considerable algae growth, or or some anaerobic bacteria activity going on. The "ammonia method" of fishless cycling has some drawbacks. First shake your ammonia supply, if it foams, it has soap in it and will kill your tank; and, if the live rock has life in it, the ammonia will likely kill it off. 3 - 5 drops of PURE ammonia per gallon, to bring the level up to 3 - 4 ppm. Repeat this, each time allowing the ammonia to lower to "safe" levels before re--adding. (This may not be everyday) Continue till the ammonia level drops to zero within 8 - 12 hours, nitrite should also drop to zero. Nitrate should continue to rise after the Nitrite starts to drop. This takes from 3 - 6 weeks, depending on how well the tank was seeded with AUTOTROPHIC bacteria. What you need: Pure Ammonia (I used to use ammonium chloride, dissolved in distilled water, from a pharmacy) Quality, reliable test kits -- Elos, Salifert, LaMotte, Merck, Tropic Marin Patience __________________ "Things should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." (oft attributed to Einstein; most likely paraphrasing by Roger Sessions; compactly articulates the principle of Occam's Razor) Current Tank Info: 325 6' wide Reef Last edited by uncleof6; 01/28/2012 at 04:44 PM.

01/28/2012, 06:45 PM	#6
mguiling Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: New Jersey, near Philadelphia Posts: 199	oops Last edited by mguiling; 01/28/2012 at 07:39 PM. Reason: never mind

01/28/2012, 04:05 PM	#3
mguiling Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: New Jersey, near Philadelphia Posts: 199	Nitrogen = NO3. I don't have fish yet, so there won't be any food for the nitrifying bacteria if I cut off their ammonia. Just noticed I had nitrates off the scale in my original post, I changed it to what I meant, ie, nitrites. Sorry for the confusion.

01/28/2012, 06:29 PM	#5
mguiling Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: New Jersey, near Philadelphia Posts: 199	Mystery solved. I found a thread http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aqua...p/t-16851.html talking about the same thing. Went to lfs and my nitrates were 80. The conclusion there was the API Nitrate test doesn't work above 40, which has been confirmed for me. All the other readings did match my API results. I hope this doesn't turn into a mindless anti-API thread. Thanks!