Ammonia-How high can it go?

[huntoaks]

My tank is in it's third week of the cycle. I checked my ammonia today and when comparing it to the green scale it was off the charts. My color was royal blue!! This leads me to believe that my ammonia is VERY high. I have a 72 Bow and I am cycling with shrimp. Will ammonia this high be able to convert to Nitrites? The tank has LS and a bunch of dead coral and shells in it (very old coral I have had for 15 years).

 

[acekjd83]

for a tank that size, you should have just a small handful of shrimp, not a "bunch" of dead stuff. your bacteria will probably not survive if your ammonia is out of control, as this is a very toxic molecule to most organisms...

 

[fishieness]

it will get very high during most cycles and it will convert. How many shrimp are you cycling with?

 

[huntoaks]

Just 3 shrimp. No other dead stuff at all. Is it normal to get that high though???

 

[acekjd83]

most kits arent designed to handle really high ammonia levels, as this is normally not a problem in cycled tanks, so going off the chart on a kit test is not always a disaster.
i misunderstood your first post that you had a "bunch of dead coral and shells". just three shrimp should be just about right for your tank. like fishieness said, the ammonia will come down (as long as your tank isnt making the whole room smell like rotten fish).

 

[huntoaks]

No smell at all!! Just that the Blue color on the test is freekin me out. I'm also just starting to get a reddish brown algea in small patches on the LS and coral. What does that mean??

 

[fishieness]

those are probably diatoms. A common occurence in a new tank if you use tap water. ONce you get animals in there, your clean up crew will eat them :joy:

 

[huntoaks]

Thank's Fishieness, I was hoping the red stuff meant my cycle was progressing. How long does it typically take for the ammonia to start to decrease?

 

[fishieness]

there are too many variables to tell how long a cycle will last. It is different from system to system. It will usualy last 1-2 months or so. Maybe closer to 1, or closer to 2. The only thing i can offer you is that when your nitrate, nitrite, and amonia levels are at 0 your cycle will be over. :joy:

 

[tim_12]

If you want to quicken your cycle you can ask for a cup of sand from an established tank or get some live rock to help the bacteria growth. There are also additives that promote the beneficial bacteria growth, "Cycle" being one of them. I used it and my cycle lasted less than 2 weeks.