cycling question

[mikewv100]

I started 125 fowlr aquarium with 100 pounds of live rock that shipped for 2 days. After a week ammonia is zero but nitrites are over 10 ppm and and nitrates are over 100. I changed 35 gallons of water today and the numbers are the same. my water that is going in has no measurable nitrites or nitrates. What should I do?

 

[oneradtek]

im guessing your rock is curing in your tank then. keep doing big water changes like that every week and the nitrates should start to diminish. See if your LR was uncured, then its all dying off, causing a major increase in nitrates nitrites and ammonia. your cycling will be longer and more crucial than others. does your tank water smell a little like dead stuff/eggs? thatll cue you into the fact that your LR was not cured and is currently curing. it is essential that you do not put anyhting alive in your tank while its curing, and don have any light on it during the process. i went threw this ordeal too and i was over a month before i got my cycle done. hope this helps

 

[cprdnick]

I wouldn't worry about it, your tank's only been cycling a week, water changes should be the furthest thing from your mind when you're in a cycle. The only thing that should be done is testing, other than that let it run its course. Once the nitrites are at 0, then you can do water changes, spread out over a week or two, to reduce your nitrates.

 

[oneradtek]

well thats atleast what Fenner's advice was to uncured LR, which most LR is when its shipped for 2 days

 

[dennis210]

Follow the above advice. NO WATER CHANGES until ammonia and nitrites have droped. The spikes of these will cause population explosions of the needed bacteria until equilibrium is reached. Then your nitrates will raise
and denitrifying bacteria will get a kick start. Water changes after you see ammonia spike, then nitrite spike, and finally nitrates hitting approx 30 mg/l.
Let nature take her course.

 

[cprdnick]

Technically? is this nature? lol.

 

[mikewv100]

Thank you. I was wondering how my nitrates can be so high while nitrites are still so high. Also can this hurt my rock any more than shipping did?

 

[dennis210]

No it is just cycling and going through bacteria population changes that are regulated by food for the bacteria!

 

[cprdnick]

Nitrates are the "digested" form of Nitrite. If your trites are hi then your bacteria is working to make them low, and soon youre trates will go up.

 

[oceansidefish]

I would agree to just let you tank sit and your bacteria populations grow for at least another week or so. Since your rock was shipped a large chunk of the "live" part of the LR dies and causes your tank to cycle erratically. Just be patient and check your levels every couple of days. When your trites reach 0 you should then be through the cycle. I would then let it sit for another week and then get your clean up crew

 

[trish&dave]

Well, we are going through the same thing. Our tank has been cycling for 1 week and we just go a significant brown algae bloom today. We have been testing our water daily and have sg 1.024, .25 ammonia, 8.4 ph, 350 calcium, .2 phosphate, and 0 nitrite and nitrate (this was yesterday before the bloom) all this at a temp of 79.4. We have added buffer, stronium, calcium (all yesterday per instructions on label, calcium is purple up, and the rest is seachem products) and today we added calcium liquid reactor (kent marine, per instructions). We received 4 snails with our 60 lbs of live sand and they are doing fine, so far. We have 45 lbs of live rock (cured or uncured, who knows!) in a 56 gallon tall. Just to give everyone the full picture, we also have a 20 gallon long "eco system" refugium for filtration.
We have a few questions, please! We are going to clean the glass, but can we add a small clean up crew before cycle is complete? Does anyone have any suggestions on SHUTING UP OUR OVERFLOW BOX????? (9.5 mag running sump with 1" bulk and two U tubes). Sounds like a f'in toilet! :^) We have a broken glass canopy, do we really need one? We are evaporating approximately two quarts per day. Looking for the best lighting, not worried about evaporation (we do not have a ro/di, but keep water in a bin with a small uv sterilizer/pump and heater). We want a reef tank, and are concerned with water movement, we have the 9.5 mag (rated at ~850, 600 at 4') top right corner with a 250 pump in the bottom left. Anyone have any comments on a Lifegard Customflo Water System split the 9.5? (we think that is too much for the overflow and sump).
SORRY FOR THE LONG WINDED POST! We have done our research and these are some of the questions we are faced with right now. Just wanted to provide all the details so hopefully you undersand our set up.

 

[trish&dave]

Anyone have any comments on our questions? Just don't want them to get lost down the page. Guess I am pulling a bttt. Sorry!