Ammonia levels...cycle... HELP

[joshradio]

Ok, I was going to do the cycle start with a raw shrimp to spike the ammonia to 1.0 and the let it go... I bought a test kit, and tested to see the levels prior to inserting the shrimp and the ammonia level is already at 1.0 maybe even 1.5... so what's that mean?
I've already got 5 lbs of live rock in it, and they've been in there since Sunday.... does this mean it's ready for fish? I don't wanna add fish yet, but is it ready too? What else should I be testing?

 

[corally]

Originally Posted by JoshRadio
Ok, I was going to do the cycle start with a raw shrimp to spike the ammonia to 1.0 and the let it go... I bought a test kit, and tested to see the levels prior to inserting the shrimp and the ammonia level is already at 1.0 maybe even 1.5... so what's that mean?
I've already got 5 lbs of live rock in it, and they've been in there since Sunday.... does this mean it's ready for fish? I don't wanna add fish yet, but is it ready too? What else should I be testing?

What kind of test kit are you using? Did you buy cured LR? If so, you may be having die off and that would be causing your ammonia spike. What you are looking for is a spike in your ammonia, followed by nitrites, then nitrates. And NO, you are not ready for fish. Your levels of ammonia, and nitrites, and nitrates should all be zero before you add any fish.

 

[corally]

and I forgot to add, your ph should be 8.2

 

[drew2005]

Was the LR you put in there already cured? If not, then that probably kick started your cycle. You are not ready for fish yet. Any sign of ammonia is bad for fish. You should be testing for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate at least 2 or 3 times a week. First your ammonia will spike, then fall. Then your Nitrite will spike then fall. Then your nitrate will spike. When you get the spike in nitrate do at least a 25% salt water change to lower nitrates. Once your ammonia and nitrite read 0 and your nitrate is 20ppm or lower and its stable then you can start adding fish. It is recommended to add 1 fish every 3-4 weeks to make sure your tank can process the added bioload.

 

[joshradio]

yep... called the shop and asked and they said yes it was cured.... but I'm probably gonna wait until I add the rest of the lr this weekend and let it all balance out...
and I bought the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals ammonia test kit... good? bad?
here's another question.... Would snails and crustaceans be ok to add? Inverts?