cycle question

[cmonti]

please confirm. thought ammonia level increased then turned into nitrite which then drops and leaves nitrate which also eventually drops. correct? added uncured live rock on 5/21. todays levels are..
ammonia: .50
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 20
a test done on 6/2.. ammonia read .25 and nitrite was .25.
Why is my ammonia still detectable but no nitrite?? thought it was the other way around. ammonia would drop to 0 first, then nitrite.

 

[1guydude]

hmm all i can say is it comes in stages and ur levels will all eventually drop to zero!
Ur water will also fluxuate in parameters over the 1st 80 days or so imo...wat size tank? Wat kind of filtration?

 

[cmonti]

30 breeder. I have a AC110 that is modified into a fuge. no cheato yet. just floss and chemipure elite. planned to add cheato after tank cycled and I did first water change. tank also has med to high flow. guess ill let it run its course another few weeks before i start adding clean up..

 

[bang guy]

The bacteria that consume Nitrite reproduce much faster than bacteria that consume Ammonia. It is common to have no Nitrite and still have measurable Ammonia during a cycle.
The Nitrate level is another matter. As an end product of the Nitrogen cycle it does not come down on it's own unless you have a lot of live sand or a lot of live rock.

 

[1guydude]

Bang guy knows wats up ^

 

[cmonti]

cool thanks bang guy. do most recommend to do a 20% water change after ammonia and nitrite are 0?? Also plan to start the cheato in mod fuge to bring down nitrates.

 

[beaslbob]

One thing to consider is the ammonia->nitrIte->nitrate cycle is the aerobic bacteria nitrogen cycle. But as you have measured that does not necessary mean the spikes in our tanks follow that.
In addition to the various bacteria working at different rates, plant life like the various algaes change things because algae prefers to consume ammonia directly.
So it is possible to have low or no ammonia or nitrIte spikes but an initial nitrate spikes because the algae is getting its nitrogen from the ammonia.
Then as the aerobic bacteria build up and consume the ammonia, the algae startes consuming the nitrages. So the nitrates finally come down.
my .03