2 weeks - no Ammonia

[Dantoo]

Hey guys, I'm new to marine tanks but not fish keeping.
I set up my marine tank 3 weeks ago, heater salt and all. I used dry rock and dry sand; so no living bacteria at all. I placed a shrimp to start the cycle. Fully decomposed with zero ammonia showing. Tried again, nothing. Tried again and still nothing. I'm feeding the tank daily now and after two weeks .. zero reading of ammonia. Any suggestions? - 250 red sea reefer

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[mcgyvr]

Got any ammonia (in a bottle)?
Add it to bring it to 2ppm and see how fast it goes away..
Tank probably just had a small cycle and you might not have even noticed it..

Personally I don't even test a new tank anymore.. Just set it all up..Throw in a bit of flake food for a few days (or ammonia in a bottle) and wait a month.. Then slowly start adding stuff..

[TauntingBeef]

what test kit are you using, cuz I filled my tank on Saturday morning and its Tuesday night I hit my 2.0ppm on ammonia?

[Salty150]

Yeah, you might want to get a different test kit...

[Dantoo]

Cheers for the reply guys - I'm using the Api kit. That was my only wondering is if the kit was a dud. I'll get a new one at the weekend. I would have thought I'd see some level of ammonia by now lol.

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[civics14]

those API kits, I don't recall any instructions with shaking up the solutions before doing the test. I noticed that when I vigorously shaked the bottles for like 15 seconds and then did the kit, it worked, else it always showed up as a zero for me.

[mcgyvr]

Personally I think the API kits get a bad rap around here..
I've got API and some Red Sea kits and my API test kit (even being expired 5+ years) is still just as reliable as the Red Sea kits..

Since you are using dry rock and dry sand there is very little there to generate any ammonia.. I really think you just had a very quick/small cycle and may have just missed it..

What are your readings for nitrites and nitrates?
If ammonia and nitrites are 0 and you have detectable nitrates then your tank has already finished its cycle..

BUT since it was so small just go slow adding anything to the tank

[MondoBongo]

Originally Posted by Dantoo

Cheers for the reply guys - I'm using the Api kit. That was my only wondering is if the kit was a dud. I'll get a new one at the weekend. I would have thought I'd see some level of ammonia by now lol.

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in the interim most LFS will test your water for free for you.

i usually have my LFS test my basics every couple months, just to give me a second opinion on my own results, but it can be real handy in situations like this.

bring in a sample, ask them to run the big 3 (ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate) and see what they have to say. might help shed some light on if it's the test kit, or something else weird.

[Salty150]

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

Personally I think the API kits get a bad rap around here..
I've got API and some Red Sea kits and my API test kit (even being expired 5+ years) is still just as reliable as the Red Sea kits..

Since you are using dry rock and dry sand there is very little there to generate any ammonia.. I really think you just had a very quick/small cycle and may have just missed it..

What are your readings for nitrites and nitrates?
If ammonia and nitrites are 0 and you have detectable nitrates then your tank has already finished its cycle..

BUT since it was so small just go slow adding anything to the tank

He stated he put in shrimp in - and if fully decomposed and he still got zero ammonia...

[Dantoo]

Cheers guys, I will get more tests. Because of the size tank I didn't check levels for a couple of days as I hadn't added anything to it. I really expected weeks of cycling time. So I'd be amazed if I'd missed it. just to note - I meant fresh prawns (dead) from the shop. lol. No live animals were hurt lol.

I've never had a problem with api kits and it's still in date. Tested again tonight and still nothing. Might try the red sea kit Friday and see what I get.

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[mcgyvr]

Nitrite results?
Nitrate results?

[Dantoo]

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

Nitrite results?
Nitrate results?

Just checked both. zero. :/ I'm beginning to think either test kit is a dud or the fact the tank hasn't started it's cycle. How fast can ammonia build in a big tank with heavy feeding? I've had the foggy affect for about half a day then it went. Now it's crystal clear... apart from the food I just put in.

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