What's Happening?

[SaltyWenStirred]

Day 6 of tank cycle.

38 g tank, 35 lbs dry rock, 4 lbs. live rock, 1/2 dry and 1/2 live sand

Got my API saltwater test kit in the mail. It shows...

High Range pH: 8
Ammonia: .25
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5

So I assume I am now entering the cycling stage. Is the nitrate from the live rock? I didn't have any nitrate in my FW tank until the last stage.

[daninflipflops]

did you test your source water to make sure no nitrates? could be from the bacteria on the live rock. there is enough to handle a little ammonia and processing to nitrates, but not enough to completely remove the ammonia. will take a while to build up...i.e. it may be handling 0.05ppm of the ammonia, converting to nitrite and then to nitrates...just not enought to handle the entire ammonia level (0.25) as you get more bacteria to convert the ammonia, your nitrite will spike as it builds up enough

[BigBarnacles]

I had nitrates from the start as well. It's pretty safe to say that it's from the bacteria in the live rock. The living bacteria are already mature and are processing the ammonia and nitrites in the water from die off thus producing nitrates.

[coralsnaked]

The first thing to happen in a new tank is the build up of ammonia. This is what kick starts the process and is the only time you actually want ammonia present in your tank. With what you said you placed in the tank odds are it is the live sand and small amount of rock which is starting the accumulation. Really it may take your tank a while to fully cycle because there is not much organics present to decay and start the cycle. There are ways to quicken the cycle, and for sure ways to hasten the process likie trying to reduce the ammonia with a water change. Remember toxic ammonia is more dangerous with a higher pH. Your at 8.0 and are still fairly safe. But when your tank is up and running you should run a pH closer to 8.3 -4, therefore any ammonia present at this time is very harmful to livestock as it is in the un-ionized state and can now enter living tissue easily.

After about 10 days on average the nitrifing bacteria in your live rock and sand will begin to convert the ammonia to into nitrite, another deadly substance but is part of the process and needed. This is why we like about 1.5 lbs of rock per gal of water to efficiently nnitrify the water. The Nitrite should continue to rise for about 10-15 days to a level of 15ppm. It will take about another 10 days to drop to near zero ppm. When it does the 2nd phase of the cycle is over and now phase 3 can begin.

The good phase or 3rd phase is when the beneficial nitrobactor bacteria begin to establish themselves in the tank. These guys eat ammonia and oxygen, and their presence is indicated by Nitrates. Now you need to feed your nitrobactors with fish poo (ammonia), but go sloooooooooow! Your nitrobactors are still at a pretty low population and to much poo will overwhelm them and ammonia will quickly build up again. And now is NOT a good time to start moving your rocks around or changing your mind on sand bed levels ect... cause if you do you get NTS (New Tank Syndrom) which is basically a recycling process. This will hurt any livestock you have placed in the tank. So slow and steady.

Lets see noe you are on day six with a 38 gal tank and will have 39 lbs of rock and a sand bed which I presume to be ???? shallow or deep ??? Anyway this relates to a pretty low bio-load and the need for lots of skimming. Plan to get a good skimmer and I would keep my livestock down to 6 fish (not over 4" size) or you will overload your bio filter and have lots of problems with algea and high Nitrates - ammonia levels. You have at least another 3 - 4 weeks to go before you should think livestock. And only add 1 or 2 peices at a time. Wait 1 - 2 weeks before adding anymore. And only add livestock when you have tested for Ammonia and Nitrites and none are present. If they are present in even low amounts and you increase the load on your Bio-system, WATCH OUT! bad things are about to happen. Don't overfeed the guys even if they look at you and say "I'm still hungry". Research your fishys and feed them what the experts tell you too.

Happy Reefing