lets see how this goes i guess

[PRC]

Stop talkin about it, and get them in there. It's better for them than a tank that is cycling.:D

 

[youtoo54]

Kinda sucks that both my LFS said since I was using established water, sand, and rock in the tank that I bought that it wouldn't cycle and was ready to go.

 

[PRC]

Sure it's possible if you take care and know exactly what you're doing. Unfortunately, this was really your first endeavor, so it went a little wonky.

Best bet is to move the livestock for a few weeks or risk a possible complete crash.

Here's the deal.

Ammonia burns the flesh of fish
Nitrites burn the flesh of fish
Nitrates at a high enough level burn the flesh of fish.

That's why we're so adamant about not having livestock in a cycling tank, you'r enot only risking the health of the fish, you're shortening their life expectancy, and you get off on the wrong foot in a great hobby.

Do yourself a giant favor, listen to the people on this site before you listen to any LFS.

 

[youtoo54]

Is there a way that I can actually make sure my tank is cycling? Something I can test for?

 

[Bifferwine]

You can test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. In the beginning of the cycle, ammonia will rise. As it drops, nitrite will rise. As that drops, nitrate will rise. Eventually, both ammonia and nitrite will drop to zero. At that point, your cycle is considered complete.

 

[AmberSunrise]

Like I said it needs to finish the entire cycle it takes a long time sometimes just gotta learn to be patient.

:)

 

[youtoo54]

If my tank would have cycled the nitrite and the ammonia levels would have spiked first? Then my nitrates would spike like they are now? My only thing with this is that my nitrites nor my ammonia levels ever come up at all.

 

[PRC]

As I told you yesterday, and we told you 3 weeks ago, your tank is cycling. You can continue to look for some other answer, but you're not going to find it. Your tank is cycling, proven by the fact that you are doing massive water changes and the nitrate levels stay the same.

When the tank cycles your Ammonia goes up, as it drops, the nitrites rise, as they drop (which is where you're at right now) your nitrates rise. when the Nitrites and Ammonia completely disappear (to zero), and you only have Nitrates you try to get those as close to zero as possible.

A completely cycled tank has zero Ammonia and zero Nitrites. You have a low reading on your Nitrites (as stated yesterday).. You're cycling.

I cannot say it any clearer than that.

 

[youtoo54]

OK I can't say it any clearer than this. My ammonia has never went up (never, been at 0, none). I have checked both of my LFS have checked it. My nitrites levels have never been high enough for me to read them (the color has stayed clear on the test kit) and both LFS when I asked them said that basically i have no nitrites. I dont know if that means i have almost none or none at all. My tank has been up over 2 months and I have tested and had them test the water about twice a week since I set it up. I guess im not understanding that if it was cycling my ammonia would peak first then I would have the high nitrates last? That has not been the case here.

 

[bojangles93]

What is in the tank, because IF you are measuring 0 Ammonia and 0 Nitrite then your Nitrate levels will climb and you MUST export unless you have some sort of media to lower your nitrates. This is usually done through the use of macro algae and water changes. If you are using tap water, that could be causing the issue, but I would think that there would be algae issues at this point.

Look into the vodka dosing nitrate reduction method if water changes are not bringing the levels down. water changes reduce nitrate proportionally to the level they were at based on the percentage of water changed.

 

[PRC]

I dont know exactly what the level was but both LFS said my nitrites were low today.

This is a quote from you yesterday....If your Nitrites were zero, your LFS would've said. "Your Nitrites are zero".

Here's what happened to you. You moved a tank that was already setup. You stirred up the shit that was in the tank, which caused it to start a cycle. You had an initial Ammonia spike but you didn't know it because you don't have test kits...The ammonia went away. because it would've been a "mini" cycle...

Then the nitrites started to rise, and you threw fish in the tank, which is what killed the trigger. Now the cycle got stuck..it couldn't complete the "mini" cycle because you jammed up the process. Which turned it into a full cycle.

Now, a few weeks later the bacteria is starting to be able to compensate for the fish being in the tank, and the nitrites are going down...But in turn, the Nitrates are going up. Which is the end of the cycle.

 

[youtoo54]

Well lol now that we have that out of the way....... I will be moving the fish to my 55 at home. I probably dont need to dump all of them in there at the same time so 1 or 2 every couple days? What about the snails and crabs?