ammonia

[55 gal newbie]

i have a new tank up its 55 gal has crushed coral and about 5 pounds live rock,undergravel filter with power heads,tec tetra 500 filter with 200 power capsul heater, i have 2 damsels a yellow tail and a domino, they have been in the tank for 5 weeks,all my test show good except for ammonia which is a 2.0my ph is 8.2,nitrite is 0 nitrate is 0,what must i do to keep the ammonia down?the fish seem fine and are not over feeding,

 

[ntvflgirl]

Okay, I am very new as well, so I will tell you what I think, and then everyone else can tell you the right thing...lol. Your tank is supposed to skyrocket ammonia within the first 6 months, and then come down on its own. I think 6 months is the longest it should take, but I know I was told by this board... ...not to put in any fish other than cycling fish for 6 months. And some people will tell you not to put any fish in, and use a dead shrimp, but that is a whole other story. So, newbie to newbie, stick around, these guys are great with information. And I am sure someone can give you a much better explanation, I was just the first to answer.

 

[almarktool]

when did u put the 5lbs of live rock in?? sounds to me that your cycle is just starting to get going or u are in the middle of a mini cycle post back with more detail date setup? date added fish ? date added LR

 

[irish cream]

6 months to cycle? I didn't know that! I am new to the marine tank life as well, but I have been getting 2-4 weeks from everyone locally (Orlando). am i way off? help???

 

[almarktool]

actually 6 months sounds a bit off the deepend i think a extreame would be 8 weeks perhaps 6 months was really suppose to be 6 weeks and there was a typo somewhere along the line

 

[irish cream]

phew, i hope so! otherwise, i am REALLY messin up! =)

 

[55 gal newbie]

i puty the live rock in on 7-24-02 and the damsels in on 8-1-02 i had a reading of 0 ammonia 2 weeks ago and now its up this is why im concerned about this,is there a filter to cut the ammonia down,and how does the ammonia get removed other then water changes?

 

[jumpfrog]

I don't think you need to add anything to bring the ammonia down. It's been four weeks since you added anything? Then your ammonia should be at it's peak. Keep doing the tests and you should start seeing ammonia come down and nitrites start to rise in the very near future.
Watch your feeding, just a little will do. If you're very concerned do a 25% water change; but, I'd just sit back and enjoy.
Good Luck!

 

[new]

sounds like the intial cycle finished but the bacteria died or was just a small amount and the addition of the fish has started another cycle, just a guess though as i'm pretty new to this as well.