Ammonia Reading
- Thread starter 19cuba
- Start date
broomer5
Active Member
Hi 19cuba
It really depends on each of our set ups.
It's kind of meaningless for me to tell you how my tank cycled - if your tank is drastically different. Same goes the other way too.
The traditional ammonia, nitrite, nitrate curves we see in the books normally don't take into consideration the use of any live sand, live rock or other common new tank cycling methods. So sometimes they can be misleading.
Can you describe your tank set up in detail ?
Length of time set up.
Filtration equipment
Use of live rock, live sand or another bacteria starter source.
Any fish ? Dead shrimp method ? Source of ammonia ?
Test kit readings
How are you cycling the tank ?
That may help folks to have a better understanding of your tank cycling / ammonia concerns.
It really depends on each of our set ups.
It's kind of meaningless for me to tell you how my tank cycled - if your tank is drastically different. Same goes the other way too.
The traditional ammonia, nitrite, nitrate curves we see in the books normally don't take into consideration the use of any live sand, live rock or other common new tank cycling methods. So sometimes they can be misleading.
Can you describe your tank set up in detail ?
Length of time set up.
Filtration equipment
Use of live rock, live sand or another bacteria starter source.
Any fish ? Dead shrimp method ? Source of ammonia ?
Test kit readings
How are you cycling the tank ?
That may help folks to have a better understanding of your tank cycling / ammonia concerns.
broomer5
Active Member
Since you already have fish in the tank - adding live rock "after"the initial cycle is complete may very well create more ammonia as the live rock cures.
Even cured live rock has some die off - hard to predict how much - but it's common to see ammonia in the tankwater if you add too much at once.
You have a few options as I see it.
1) Remove the fish - return them to LFS - and add all the live rock now. Continue to cycle the tank.
When complete - slowy stock your tank.
2) Add small quantities of live rock as you go. I've done this, and never lost a fish. Small amounts like one piece at a time - wait a week or so - add another chunk.
3) Buy all of the live rock at once - place it in a plastic rubbermaid/trash can with saltwater, powerhead, heater and skimmer if you have one ... and cure the rock at home.
I would still add small amounts to the tank if you're keeping the fish.
Even cured live rock has some die off - hard to predict how much - but it's common to see ammonia in the tankwater if you add too much at once.
You have a few options as I see it.
1) Remove the fish - return them to LFS - and add all the live rock now. Continue to cycle the tank.
When complete - slowy stock your tank.
2) Add small quantities of live rock as you go. I've done this, and never lost a fish. Small amounts like one piece at a time - wait a week or so - add another chunk.
3) Buy all of the live rock at once - place it in a plastic rubbermaid/trash can with saltwater, powerhead, heater and skimmer if you have one ... and cure the rock at home.
I would still add small amounts to the tank if you're keeping the fish.