cycled?

[ob_on3]

So I just took out the shrimp I let decay for 24hrs...boy it smelled....I checked my levels...surprisingly ammonia is only at .25 and nitrate still steady at 0.... I mean is it possible I missed my cycle....or maybe since I used a very little of the water from my live rock purchase... I'm confused.... should I put in a cuc?

 

[little_fish]

The tank is still cycling, give it some more time

 

[salt_for_brains]

+1 still cycling---- you will see your nitrites rise after ammonia then come the nitrates.

 

[potsky0122]

it's gonna take a while for your tank to cycle. i would recommend letting the tank do it's thing for at least a few weeks. if you try to add any corals or fish too soon your just flushing money down the toilet. patience is number one in this hobby.

 

[Laz]

I'm pretty sure them tubes are meant to be upwards instead of lying down. When you lye them down, the color looks significantly lighter.

Even then, it's quite clear that ammonia is still present and didn't you conduct a nitrite test?

 

[ob_on3]

Actually no...I don't have a nitrite rest...figured trite comes before trate so I got only nitrate and ammonia...I have signs of diatoms all over my rocks...so I know that's a good sign...also, I only lay the tubes down for the picture...I'm sure everyone disagrees with me on what testing equipment I have but I will get the whole kit....I just got these two for now

 

[little_fish]

It's ok that you don't have a nitrite test, they actually aren't poisonous to marine fish, but I wouldn't put in any inverts until you are sure they are all gone.

 

[ob_on3]

Plus I'm not putting corals...just sum few leathers and that's a lot later....I was contemplating putting in a cuc by this weekend....isn't the diatoms and low levels a sign my tank cycled...little fish...u think I should...I'll make sure I check ammonia again and do a water change before I do

 

[little_fish]

Dont rely on diatoms to tell you if your cycle has finished, all diatoms means is that you have silicates in your tank.

I would still wait at least a week after the ammonia reads zero to introduce any fish, then another couple of weeks for the CUC

 

[AmberSunrise]

Just wait it out .25 ammonia is enough to kill creatures

 

[Barch]

when my tank cycled the ammonia hovered at .25 for a few days and then jumped to 1.0. I would give it some more time, you will probably see the ammonia increase.

 

[ob_on3]

Really...I thought the cuc should of came before the fish...damn , I'm all backwards...you know its hard with those color test kits...looks like zero to me all the time...so I'm guessing a hardy fish then later a cuc?? Trust me last thing I want is a stressed fish or dead animals!

 

[little_fish]

fish are much hardier than inverts