jordan01gts
New Member
I have had my tank running for about 23 days checking my parameters every couple days, I tested it last night with a huge spike , ph 8.0 ammonia 8.0 mitrite 1.0 nitrate 10.
what should i do?
what should i do?
cycling tank
- Thread starter jordan01gts
- Start date
beaslbob
Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jordan01gts http:///forum/thread/382029/cycling-tank#post_3331312
I have had my tank running for about 23 days checking my parameters every couple days, I tested it last night with a huge spike , ph 8.0 ammonia 8.0 mitrite 1.0 nitrate 10.
what should i do?
basically nothing.
If you have been adding an ammonia lock such as Prime, there is a possibiliby the ammonia is locked and safe but still tests with normal ammonia test kits. the seachem multitest ammonia test kit checks for total ammonia but more importantly the dangerous free ammonia. With an ammonia lock it is entirely possible the free ammonia is very low even though the total ammonia is high.
If you do nothing (literally) ammonia will come down as the bacteria builds up.
adding macro algae like chaetomorphia will reduce ammonia by consuming the ammonia for nitrogen.
my .02
Originally Posted by Jordan01gts http:///forum/thread/382029/cycling-tank#post_3331312
I have had my tank running for about 23 days checking my parameters every couple days, I tested it last night with a huge spike , ph 8.0 ammonia 8.0 mitrite 1.0 nitrate 10.
what should i do?
basically nothing.
If you have been adding an ammonia lock such as Prime, there is a possibiliby the ammonia is locked and safe but still tests with normal ammonia test kits. the seachem multitest ammonia test kit checks for total ammonia but more importantly the dangerous free ammonia. With an ammonia lock it is entirely possible the free ammonia is very low even though the total ammonia is high.
If you do nothing (literally) ammonia will come down as the bacteria builds up.
adding macro algae like chaetomorphia will reduce ammonia by consuming the ammonia for nitrogen.
my .02
J
jstdv8
Guest
sounds like you are good to go, just let that bacteria build up and turn that ammonia into nitrites and so on, good hard cycle
jordan01gts
New Member
ok so as the ammonia lowers what should i expect to see happen with nitrate and nitrite?
jordan01gts
New Member
ill check it when i get home from work
geoj
Active Member
If the test you took are good you will see nitrate go up some as ammonia and nitrite drop to zero then the nitrate will fall back down to zero. This is where I would take a play from Bang book and feed the tank some fish food as if you where feeding one fish. Keep testing and if at this point the nitrate stays zero you are ready to put your fist animal in...
jordan01gts
New Member
I tested the water last night, ph 7.8, ammonia 8.0. nitrite 0, nitrate 5.0. what does this mean
florida joe
Well-Known Member
if i have said this once i have oh well you know, in many cases if you wait for your nitrates to go to zero you may never put any fish in your tank
J
jstdv8
Guest
with ammonia that high it seems you would almsot surley have some nitrites.
something seems odd there.
Are you wating the full 5 minutes or whatever your tests say after you add all the drops and shake and all that?
something seems odd there.
Are you wating the full 5 minutes or whatever your tests say after you add all the drops and shake and all that?
srfisher17
Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by florida joe http:///forum/thread/382029/cycling-tank#post_3331569
if i have said this once i have oh well you know, in many cases if you wait for your nitrates to go to zero you may never put any fish in your tank
Sure. The bacteria that converts nitrite to nitrate can take forever to culture. In many tanks, it never really does. Nitrate, at moderate levels, is harmless to fish and you should expect to have some nitrates. I have never seen newer tank with zero nitrate.
Originally Posted by florida joe http:///forum/thread/382029/cycling-tank#post_3331569
if i have said this once i have oh well you know, in many cases if you wait for your nitrates to go to zero you may never put any fish in your tank
Sure. The bacteria that converts nitrite to nitrate can take forever to culture. In many tanks, it never really does. Nitrate, at moderate levels, is harmless to fish and you should expect to have some nitrates. I have never seen newer tank with zero nitrate.
jordan01gts
New Member
I just checked it again and made sure i timed all the tests, ph 7.8, ammonia 8.0, nitrite i would say is zero, it is blue but slighty has a tint of purple, and nitrate is about 5.0
Im using a marineland c-360 cannister good to 100gl, a aqua clear 30 powerhead, and a koralia 1050gph, is this suffice for a 75 gallon or should I look into adding something, I also have a skimmer but havent put on yet because i read somewhere that it shouldnt be used till after cycled.
Im using a marineland c-360 cannister good to 100gl, a aqua clear 30 powerhead, and a koralia 1050gph, is this suffice for a 75 gallon or should I look into adding something, I also have a skimmer but havent put on yet because i read somewhere that it shouldnt be used till after cycled.
J
jstdv8
Guest
well, all you can do is keep watching it every day or two for a while and see how it goes.
It's gonna be just fine either way. in theroy you should have nitirites pressent if you have ammonia and nitrates present.
The nitrites will start coming way up soon.
It's gonna be just fine either way. in theroy you should have nitirites pressent if you have ammonia and nitrates present.
The nitrites will start coming way up soon.
florida joe
Well-Known Member
Sorry friend I have read this over a few times and I still don’t understand what you are getting at.
In theory you should read an ammonia spike and the presents of nitrites as you cycle nitrogen. Your ammonia will start to fall as your value in nitrites gets higher. As your nitrites start to fall you should start to read the presents of nitrates. You should NOT read ammonia and nitrates at the same time
In theory you should read an ammonia spike and the presents of nitrites as you cycle nitrogen. Your ammonia will start to fall as your value in nitrites gets higher. As your nitrites start to fall you should start to read the presents of nitrates. You should NOT read ammonia and nitrates at the same time
geoj
Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jordan01gts http:///forum/thread/382029/cycling-tank#post_3331312
I have had my tank running for about 23 days checking my parameters every couple days, I tested it last night with a huge spike , ph 8.0 ammonia 8.0 mitrite 1.0 nitrate 10.
what should i do?
Ok based on these numbers I don't believe your ammonia is 8.0
The numbers you now have show bacterial growth. The nitrite would not be zero if the ammonia was 8.0 The fact that the nitrate has fallen from 10 to 5 confirms the idea that nitrite is zero. So I would test the ammonia some other way...
PS: The bacteria that reduce nitrate grow slower then the bacteria that reduce nitrite and also only start to grow after the nitrite reducing bacteria are well established...
Originally Posted by Jordan01gts http:///forum/thread/382029/cycling-tank#post_3331312
I have had my tank running for about 23 days checking my parameters every couple days, I tested it last night with a huge spike , ph 8.0 ammonia 8.0 mitrite 1.0 nitrate 10.
what should i do?
Ok based on these numbers I don't believe your ammonia is 8.0
The numbers you now have show bacterial growth. The nitrite would not be zero if the ammonia was 8.0 The fact that the nitrate has fallen from 10 to 5 confirms the idea that nitrite is zero. So I would test the ammonia some other way...
PS: The bacteria that reduce nitrate grow slower then the bacteria that reduce nitrite and also only start to grow after the nitrite reducing bacteria are well established...
geoj
Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by florida joe http:///forum/thread/382029/cycling-tank#post_3331665
Sorry friend I have read this over a few times and I still don’t understand what you are getting at.
In theory you should read an ammonia spike and the presents of nitrites as you cycle nitrogen. Your ammonia will start to fall as your value in nitrites gets higher. As your nitrites start to fall you should start to read the presents of nitrates. You should NOT read ammonia and nitrates at the same time
Joe, you are assuming that all the die off that makes the ammonia happens instantaneously this can happen in a clean start but most of the time die off goes on for some time possibly days adding to the ammonia which then adds to the nitrate so you can have ammonia and nitrate at the same time...
Originally Posted by florida joe http:///forum/thread/382029/cycling-tank#post_3331665
Sorry friend I have read this over a few times and I still don’t understand what you are getting at.
In theory you should read an ammonia spike and the presents of nitrites as you cycle nitrogen. Your ammonia will start to fall as your value in nitrites gets higher. As your nitrites start to fall you should start to read the presents of nitrates. You should NOT read ammonia and nitrates at the same time
Joe, you are assuming that all the die off that makes the ammonia happens instantaneously this can happen in a clean start but most of the time die off goes on for some time possibly days adding to the ammonia which then adds to the nitrate so you can have ammonia and nitrate at the same time...
geoj
Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jordan01gts http:///forum/thread/382029/cycling-tank#post_3331660
Yesterday I drained and cleaned my freshwater tank, and converted to saltwater. I used about 70 lbs of live argonite sand, I filled the tank added conditioner, and then added instant ocean salt mix. I know that it will take some time for it to cycle, is it normal to have cloudy water, and if so how long.
In your other thread you say you used a conditioner what product did you use?
Originally Posted by Jordan01gts http:///forum/thread/382029/cycling-tank#post_3331660
Yesterday I drained and cleaned my freshwater tank, and converted to saltwater. I used about 70 lbs of live argonite sand, I filled the tank added conditioner, and then added instant ocean salt mix. I know that it will take some time for it to cycle, is it normal to have cloudy water, and if so how long.
In your other thread you say you used a conditioner what product did you use?
florida joe
Well-Known Member
Well my friend I am going to both agree and disagree. Can you have ammonia and nitrates at the same time, yes, but it would have to be a situation we were trying to achieve.
I know you already know this but this is my thinking on the subject
We add something to our tanks that would give us organic breakdown. In most cases a cocktail shrimp. This shrimp starts to break down introducing ammonia. A few days after we start to see ammonia reading we start to grow the bacteria that convert ammonia to nitrites. The nitrite levels may be too low for our home test kits to read but they are present. As the ammonia level from the decomposing shrimp reaches its peek we will start to read levels of nitrites. Now for the fun part, the growth of the bacteria that converts ammonia to nitrites is predicated on the amount of food it gets. Now if we look at the spike in ammonia and the spike in nitrites we see that the nitrite spike is much higher than the ammonia spike. This is due to the speed in which the conversion of ammonia to nitrites accrues. If not for this speed we would risk losing a fish as soon as we introduced it into our tanks do to the toxicity of the ammonia. Now nitrites to nitrates are a much much slower proses. The average time IMO for a total breakdown of a cocktail shrimp is about 20 days and that is if the hobbyist does not remove it when he starts reading ammonia. During those 20 days the spike happens around ten days. Two things happen after the spike, less ammonia is readable as the shrimp continues to deteriorate and introduce less ammonia and the conversion is faster as more bacteria colonize.
IMO for you to read nitrates and ammonia you would have to continually tax the bacteria converting it to nitrites. So you would read ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. This is something we just don’t do; we add an organic source that diminishes rater then increases as we cycle nitrogen
I know you already know this but this is my thinking on the subject
We add something to our tanks that would give us organic breakdown. In most cases a cocktail shrimp. This shrimp starts to break down introducing ammonia. A few days after we start to see ammonia reading we start to grow the bacteria that convert ammonia to nitrites. The nitrite levels may be too low for our home test kits to read but they are present. As the ammonia level from the decomposing shrimp reaches its peek we will start to read levels of nitrites. Now for the fun part, the growth of the bacteria that converts ammonia to nitrites is predicated on the amount of food it gets. Now if we look at the spike in ammonia and the spike in nitrites we see that the nitrite spike is much higher than the ammonia spike. This is due to the speed in which the conversion of ammonia to nitrites accrues. If not for this speed we would risk losing a fish as soon as we introduced it into our tanks do to the toxicity of the ammonia. Now nitrites to nitrates are a much much slower proses. The average time IMO for a total breakdown of a cocktail shrimp is about 20 days and that is if the hobbyist does not remove it when he starts reading ammonia. During those 20 days the spike happens around ten days. Two things happen after the spike, less ammonia is readable as the shrimp continues to deteriorate and introduce less ammonia and the conversion is faster as more bacteria colonize.
IMO for you to read nitrates and ammonia you would have to continually tax the bacteria converting it to nitrites. So you would read ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. This is something we just don’t do; we add an organic source that diminishes rater then increases as we cycle nitrogen
srfisher17
Active Member
Just to add more controversy: Why even test for nitrate as long as ammonia and/or nitrite is present?
Just my 3 kids ( ages 25,20, &12) and me for Thanksgiving; they are doing all the work and I'm just supervising this year. All that effort is paying off, Happy Thanksgiving to you all. BTW, isn't being thankful a terrible thing for atheists? They don't have anyone to thank. (stolen from ElRushbo.)
Just my 3 kids ( ages 25,20, &12) and me for Thanksgiving; they are doing all the work and I'm just supervising this year. All that effort is paying off, Happy Thanksgiving to you all. BTW, isn't being thankful a terrible thing for atheists? They don't have anyone to thank. (stolen from ElRushbo.)