No big ammonia spike yet?

C

clancaster23

Reefing newb
Well I am on day 18 of the cycling process and I have yet to see a big spike in ammonia or anything else for that matter. With the damsel I did have in there since the beginning, I still never saw a real big movement in tests. Should I expect to see something soon or maybe I won't see one at all and they will just all level off to zero without having a huge spike? Here are my results so far:

Date Ammonia Nitrates Nitrites PH Salinity
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
1/21/11 - .25 5 0 8.2 1.022
1/24/11 - .25 5 0 8.2 1.023
1/27/11 - .50 5 0 8.2 1.025
2/ 1/11 - .50 10 0 8.2 1.023
2/ 2/11 - .25 5 .25 8.2 1.024
2/ 3/11 - .50 10 .25 8.2 1.024
2/ 5/11 - .50 5 0 8.2 1.024
 
Did you use fully If so, then you could have very well skipped a cycle.

But your ammonia at .25 still a bit high. I deally, you want 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites. COuld be you are still waiting for it to get fully through the cycle.
 
I think you may have forgotten a word in your first sentence ;). If you meant to say live rock, well I have 27 pounds in it so far and I got all of them from LFS's around here. I added three of them on the 30th that had some coraline on them. So I'd have to say, yeah, they are all live rock. Also, I used "live sand."

Yeah, I won't even think about adding anything until I get zeros on the tests but I was just wondering is it about ready or should I maybe add something to it to get it going or what.
 
Yeah, my stupid laptop just randomly drops key strokes sometimes. Meant to say fully cured LR. SOunds like you could have skipped your cycle. If it is still reading ammonia in the next week or so, I would take a water sample to your LFS and have them test it. Tests can sometimes be inaccurate. Especially with the compare colors on a chart test.
 
It does sound as though you are almost finished. If you use fully cured live rock, often you won't see a big jump in anything.
 
That will be great. I'll probably wait out til next weekend and as long as everything looks good, I'll be getting some inverts and possibly my first fish!
 
Unless its your CUC, i personally would add fish before inverts. Inverts are much more sensitive to water quality, and can die much more easily from slightly off water parameters.
 
I can do that too. I don't think I need a cleaning crew just yet since it is a new tank so I'll go with a couple fish to start and go from there.
 
Ya, you can start with two clowns, but watch your water to make sure you dont mini cycle.

But the bigger issue is that clowns are very territorial and might bully any other inhabitants you put in there. So i would add them closer to last. I would look for another, nicer beginner fish (NO DAMSELS!!!!!! They are MEAN ASS SOB! )
 
Hmm. Just going over my list of possible additions I want to have in there. I think I may add my tang first. Just gotta choose either a Kole Yellow Eye or a Convict. I like those two a lot but I know only one per tank is the ideal number.

If not that, maybe just start out with a blenny of some sort.
 
Last edited:
clancaster23 said:
Well I am on day 18 of the cycling process and I have yet to see a big spike in ammonia or anything else for that matter. With the damsel I did have in there since the beginning, I still never saw a real big movement in tests. Should I expect to see something soon or maybe I won't see one at all and they will just all level off to zero without having a huge spike? Here are my results so far:
Click to expand...

I didn't really have one either only from the piece of food I threw in. Got my goby after 3 weeks and he is happy as a turd. The live rock is awesome!
 
I would not put any tang besides the yellow in that sized tank. They need 6 feet of swimming room and the 75s are only 4 feet long.
 
Yeah, I was leaning toward the yellow anyways. I think it'll be that or a blenny. I like the look of the multicolor if I can find one. Good fish?
 
Did another test today and the nitrates are down to 0 and ammonia down to .25 so it looks to be just about ready. I use the API test kit. Anyone else notice that the ammonia test is kind of cloudy when testing saltwater? It is nice and clear with freshwater.
 
The API test kit for ammonia can be kind of hard to read. Often, results will look somewhere between 0 and .25, even if they are actually 0.
 

Similar threads

K
Reef Tank is Suddenly Cloudy with Unhappy Coral
Replies
3
Views
2K
dantimdad
dantimdad
Hellybell80
Water quality advice needed.
Replies
4
Views
2K
Hellybell80
Hellybell80
G
Hello I'm a newbies newbie a little help needed please
Replies
17
Views
2K
monique
M
Starfyre1
Shrinking soft corals
Replies
6
Views
6K
blazend
blazend
Angelajean
Mushroom moving itself
Replies
1
Views
1K
Aquarian
Aquarian
Back
Top