high nitrite?!

[Anthony357]

I have been testing my water everyday now for atleast a week or so and the nitrites have been slowly increasing, its up to aboujt 2.0 now i would say, is that part of the cycling schedule that it would spike up like that? i have a 55 gallon, with only 20lbs LR, remora protein skimmer, bio filter, good lighting, everything...just wondering if that is normal and would it go down at all? also the LR is starting to get this brownish color on one of the big pieces, and it looks like some of the sand on the floor are getting this brown stuff kinda like "coating" the bottom? any thoughts on what it could possibly be?? thanks alot!

 

[Bifferwine]

This is a normal part of the cycle. When your tank cycles, first the ammonia will spike, then the nitrites will spike, then the nitrates will spike. Then ammonia and nitrite will drop to zero, and nitrates will stay high. Once ammonia and nitrites get to zero, you can do a water change to bring nitrates down.

The brownish stuff on your rocks and substrate sounds like diatoms. Is it a kind of rust colored powder? Diatoms are also a normal part of the cycle. They will come and go, and as your tank matures you will see them less often.

Sounds like you are on your way to a nice setup. Have you thought about getting more live rock? 1 to 2 lbs per gallon is ideal, for your tank I would shoot for 50 to 100 lbs. And the Remora is a good skimmer -- good choice on that piece of equipment.

What kind of lights do you have and what types of animals are you planning on keeping?

 

[Anthony357]

well right now i just started off with only 20lbs of rock, i got it for 70 bucks which i felt was basically a steal, i will add more in the future just only got that to sort of "get it going" at the moment i have 4 damsels (which i probably wont keep for the long run) 2 clownfish ( adult and baby ) and a sailfin tang, i have a current usa lighting system for lighting, i figured i would buy another 20lbs from the same person within a month or so, and then possibly start buying some polyups or coral of somesort to give the tank some color...i just wanted to double check the nitrite thing because i know that it should always be at ZERO except when its cycling it will skyrocket ( which is what it did)

 

[Bifferwine]

You didn't mention that you have fish in the tank! Wow you have all those fish in there while it's cycling? Bad news. The damsels are extremely territorial and will likely try to kill any new fish you add. I'd remove them ASAP. The clowns are hardy and CAN survive a tank cycle, but still, you are risking killing your fish by having them in there while you still have nitrites and/or ammonia. And the sailfin tang... Your tank is WAY too small for that fish. Plus, they are not very hardy, and stress out very easily. It needs a tank of AT LEAST 150 gallons in size. That tang is not going to survive in your tank, sorry to say, especially if you are still cycling.

Ideally, you should not have ANY fish in your tank until it is done cycling. Any fish that you have in there while it is cycling are probably going to die from the ammonia and nitrites, which are extremely toxic to animals.

If I were you, I would seriously take all the fish out, take them back to the store, and get them back when your tank is ready and done cycling. Except for the sailfin tang, which is not a fish that is ever appropriate for a tank your size.

 

[yote]

Biff is right on the money.
Your stocking way to fast.If you keep the tang,it will probably end up dieing from ick if the cycle dont kill it.
Your clown will probably live through the cycle along with the damsels.The damsels will probable kill every thing you add after the cycle.
You need to slow WAY down and do a little research.Take the fish you have back to the store and dont add anything else untill ammonia and nitrites are at 0.

 

[Anthony357]

how long does a normal "cycle" usually take to complete? anything that can be done to increase/decrease the time it takes for it to do so?

 

[Bifferwine]

It usually takes between one and three weeks. One guy on here says his tank took 9 weeks to cycle, though. There are products that contain bacteria that supposedly speed up the cycle (two that I can think of off the top of my head are called Prime and Biozyme), but they don't always work. There is no substitute for patience. Adding fish prolongs the cycle, because that's that much more waste that that you need bacteria to handle. Doing water changes while you are still seeing ammonia and nitrite will also drag out the cycle.

 

[yote]

TLC makes a bacteria that will help.But by the time you got enough in the tank your cycle will be over.
It usually dont take long once nitrite spikes.I'd say another week and a half to 2 weeks.

 

[fishbait]

I hate to keep hammering you, but I wanted to add that the 20 lbs of live rock probaly will not be enough biological filtration to handle the fish you have now, even if they survive the cycle. I would stick to one small fish for now. wait until you have enough rock to support the system. then add fish slowly (one at time) so the biological filter can catch up.

 

[Doc]

I agree with the feedback you have received. Keep the clowns, lose the damsels and the sailfin

-Dr Marco :sfish:

 

[hotimportknight]

Agreed. Ditch the fish you have now and add all your live rock at once. If you add another 35-70 lbs of live rock that isnt completely cured it will probably start the cycle over again. I cant belive the pet store sold you all those fish... My LFS would only sell me 1 damsel a week after I started my tank, and I was mad at him for not telling me that it was the worst fish to start with... Thats more fish than could ever survive in a mature tank that size. In mine I have 2 small clowns, a small 6-line and a royal gramma. total combined length in inches approx. 7.5".

 

[Anthony357]

all of this brown stuff that has covered my live rock and the sand bed....is this normal for a cycling tank, should i scrub it off or leave it, will it remove itself naturally through the filter/skimmer or what? thanks

 

[Bifferwine]

The brown stuff is probably diatoms. Those are normal for a cycling tank. Once your tank is done cycling they should go away on their own. Diatoms will come and go, but the more mature your system becomes, the less often you will see them.

 

[Anthony357]

so it shouldn't be anything i should be worried about? polluting the tank or anything? how does it go away? get sucked up through the filter system or something?!

 

[Bifferwine]

It just disappears on its own, the diatoms die off eventually. What you should be worried about polluting your tank are your high nitrite levels -- those are much more worrisome than algae. Have you tested your water recently? How are your parameters looking?