problem with cycling?

rica5tully · 07/25/2006, 07:08 PM

Hello,

I am in the process of cycling my 10-gallon quarantine tank in preparation to restart my bigger reef tank. It just has a big sponge filter for biological filtration. And a skimmer (see below)

It doesn't seem to be working! Am I doing something wrong?

1) I put a whole dead shrimp in the tank (from Pick N Save)

2) I ran an Aqua C Remora skimmer in there.

3) After 1.5 weeks, hardly any Ammonia, no Nitrite.

4) Found shrimp remains in skimmer cup; dumped some of the nasty juice back in the tank.

5) waited a couple of days, put in another shrimp. Turned the skimmer off.

6) After 5 days, Ammonia = 1-2; Nitrites = 0; and I'm getting whitish cloudy water.

Q: Do I have a bacteria bloom? Is that bad? Will it correct itself?

Q: Maybe my test kit is bad? I think even with a skimmer running part of the time, I should still see some Nitrite after two weeks.

The tank is at 80 degrees; do I need to turn it up?

Thanks, I'm trying to be patient, but it seems like the Ammonia is very low for having a rotting shrimp for two weeks.

- Eric

sir_dudeguy · 07/25/2006, 07:23 PM

well is there anything in the tank? if its just a bare bottom tank with nothing in it, theres no where for bacteria to grow on..

rica5tully · 07/25/2006, 07:26 PM

I'm running an AquaClear Powerfilter with two big sponges in it. I thought that would be enough for biological filtration. Is that not true?

It's a quarantine tank so I'd like it to be bare so I can medicate if I have to and so I can catch fish without much stress. The only thing in there is a big PVC elbow for shelter for the fish.

bertoni · 07/25/2006, 08:05 PM

Do you have any live rock in the tank? If so, it's probably doing the filtration, and the shrimp is not going to do anything useful.

07/25/2006, 07:08 PM	#1
rica5tully Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Oconomowoc, WI Posts: 335	problem with cycling? Hello, I am in the process of cycling my 10-gallon quarantine tank in preparation to restart my bigger reef tank. It just has a big sponge filter for biological filtration. And a skimmer (see below) It doesn't seem to be working! Am I doing something wrong? 1) I put a whole dead shrimp in the tank (from Pick N Save) 2) I ran an Aqua C Remora skimmer in there. 3) After 1.5 weeks, hardly any Ammonia, no Nitrite. 4) Found shrimp remains in skimmer cup; dumped some of the nasty juice back in the tank. 5) waited a couple of days, put in another shrimp. Turned the skimmer off. 6) After 5 days, Ammonia = 1-2; Nitrites = 0; and I'm getting whitish cloudy water. Q: Do I have a bacteria bloom? Is that bad? Will it correct itself? Q: Maybe my test kit is bad? I think even with a skimmer running part of the time, I should still see some Nitrite after two weeks. The tank is at 80 degrees; do I need to turn it up? Thanks, I'm trying to be patient, but it seems like the Ammonia is very low for having a rotting shrimp for two weeks. - Eric

07/25/2006, 07:23 PM	#2
sir_dudeguy Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 10,841	well is there anything in the tank? if its just a bare bottom tank with nothing in it, theres no where for bacteria to grow on.. __________________ TAKE...LUCK!!!

07/25/2006, 08:05 PM	#4
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	Do you have any live rock in the tank? If so, it's probably doing the filtration, and the shrimp is not going to do anything useful. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

07/25/2006, 07:26 PM	#3
rica5tully Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Oconomowoc, WI Posts: 335	I'm running an AquaClear Powerfilter with two big sponges in it. I thought that would be enough for biological filtration. Is that not true? It's a quarantine tank so I'd like it to be bare so I can medicate if I have to and so I can catch fish without much stress. The only thing in there is a big PVC elbow for shelter for the fish.