HELP!!! Nitrate and Ammonia in new tank but NO NITRITE????

pasafire

pasafire

Member
Our ammonia is reading at .25 our nitrate is reading at 40ppm but we have NO Nitrites???? My understanding is the ammonia turns into NITRITE and then it converts into Nitrates, but we have flat ZERO on nitrites.... This is our new 120g it was ran before and left sit off( the guy didnt want to deal with it anymore) for 2 months, we put the rock back in approx 75 lbs, old crushed coral back in *after intense fresh water washing* approx 2" on bottom and then we added 40lbs of new fresh live sand from LFS and also added approx 20lbs from existing tank we've had running for 2 years and transferred over approx 30lbs of fresh live rock from existing tank also... Any clues on what is going on... am I not understanding the cycle of cycling???
 
robert dri

robert dri

Member
Originally Posted by promisetbg
It is quite possible that you missed the nitrite spike.
May also want to have your test results verified. I used to use the liquid drop test kit from aquarium systems...never accurate! I just switched to the Fastest powders....more expensive but very accurate
 
pasafire

pasafire

Member
Originally Posted by Robert Dri
May also want to have your test results verified. I used to use the liquid drop test kit from aquarium systems...never accurate! I just switched to the Fastest powders....more expensive but very accurate

Ok so if I missed the nitrite spike... How am I going to get rid of this ammonia? Water changes or????
As far as tests, I had the LFS do it. I also have drop test kits and powder tests that I used so 3 diff ones to get the same results. All tests still in warranty and have worked great on my existing 25g tank....
Oh one other thing... Salinity has been bouncing up and down day to day... I was thinking since I put stronger powerheads on maybe some of the salt had settled?
 
robert dri

robert dri

Member
Theoretically, if the nitrite spike was missed you would not have an ammonia reading. I think you may have a different sort of problem. Be sure to use a refractometer to test your specific gravity, and not the plastic swing arm hydrometers. (They are not accurate) Powere heads should not affect SG. How much of a "bounce" are you seeing?
 
milomlo

milomlo

Active Member
Well actually I never had nitrite spike in my tank. My tank cycled in 1 week as I used LR from an established tank. My ammonia NEVER went above the .25 mark.
My tank has only been going about 1 1/2 months now and everything is great. I have fish and cleaning crew and everyone is great. I do a 20% water change weekly. I have noticed that my water is still good when I do a water change so I may start spacing out the water changes.
 
pasafire

pasafire

Member
"How much of a "bounce" are you seeing?"
Well it was at 32 when i checked it in the morning and 30 when i checked it that night then 32 when i checked it again the next night. I have no idea...
"Well actually I never had nitrite spike in my tank. My tank cycled in 1 week as I used LR from an established tank. My ammonia NEVER went above the .25 mark.
My tank has only been going about 1 1/2 months now and everything is great. I have fish and cleaning crew and everyone is great. I do a 20% water change weekly. I have noticed that my water is still good when I do a water change so I may start spacing out the water changes."
See thats how ours is... Its been about a week and a half now and we never saw a nitrite spike...we assumed it was because of the live rock and sand from the already cycled tank...So in your case how did you get rid of the ammonia or did it go away on its own...Becasue from what we have been told we should not put fish in it till its gone all together no ammonia at all.
 
pasafire

pasafire

Member
Originally Posted by Robert Dri
Theoretically, if the nitrite spike was missed you would not have an ammonia reading. I think you may have a different sort of problem. Be sure to use a refractometer to test your specific gravity, and not the plastic swing arm hydrometers. (They are not accurate) Powere heads should not affect SG. How much of a "bounce" are you seeing?
Well it was at 32 when i checked it in the morning and 30 when i checked it that night then 32 when i checked it again the next night. I have no idea...
Thanks also for the tip on the refractometer well have to give it a try..
Originally Posted by milomlo
Well actually I never had nitrite spike in my tank. My tank cycled in 1 week as I used LR from an established tank. My ammonia NEVER went above the .25 mark.
My tank has only been going about 1 1/2 months now and everything is great. I have fish and cleaning crew and everyone is great. I do a 20% water change weekly. I have noticed that my water is still good when I do a water change so I may start spacing out the water changes.

See thats how ours is... Its been about a week and a half now and we never saw a nitrite spike...we assumed it was because of the live rock and sand from the already cycled tank but we thought the ammonia would be going away in coupling with the nitrates going up...So in your case how did you get rid of the ammonia or did it go away on its own...Becasue from what we have been told we should not put fish in it till its gone all together no ammonia at all.
 
milomlo

milomlo

Active Member
Originally Posted by Pasafire
See thats how ours is... Its been about a week and a half now and we never saw a nitrite spike...we assumed it was because of the live rock and sand from the already cycled tank but we thought the ammonia would be going away in coupling with the nitrates going up...So in your case how did you get rid of the ammonia or did it go away on its own...Becasue from what we have been told we should not put fish in it till its gone all together no ammonia at all.
That is correct do not add livestock until your ammonia and trites and trates are all 0.
It will eventually go on its own, however if you do have fish in there you need to do a water change. I have a 29 gallon and I do about a 15% weekly change (about 4 gallons).
I was specifially told on this forum that my cycle was so quick because of the established items I used. I will look for that thread and put the link on here so you can read it. It was very helpful to me.
Good luck - you are doing great!! Take all the advice you can get this forum is awesome. These people are the best and they are very helpful. :cheer:
 
re_vogel

re_vogel

Member
Originally Posted by milomlo
Good luck - you are doing great!! Take all the advice you can get this forum is awesome. These people are the best and they are very helpful. :cheer:
AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
birdy

birdy

Active Member
Some test kits are notorious for giving a false .25 reading,
I suggest you specifically use, Salifert or Fast Test ammonia test and see what the results are.
sounds like a faulty test to me.
 
bluegirl

bluegirl

Member
Well at least I know that some one out there is having the same issue with their cycle that I am with mine. :notsure: My tank is doing same thing .25 ammonia readings and 20 on trates and no trites at all. Yep I used live cured rock from lfs tanks and live sand. All my readings are good except for nitrate and ammonia.
 
bluegirl

bluegirl

Member
Oh, but I don't have the bouncing salinity problem. Probably because mine is only 9gal, please keep us posted.
 
pasafire

pasafire

Member
Originally Posted by bluegirl
Oh, but I don't have the bouncing salinity problem. Probably because mine is only 9gal, please keep us posted.

Well we figured that out we believe. We got it tested at the LFS and they read it at 29 or 1.021, which is great IMHO !! They said we could raise the salinity but I think that level is fine... We might try a water change on Friday or Saturday if the ammonia hasn't moved... See if that helps.. They said the hydrometer we had is notorious for bubbles in it, so we are soaking it in saltwater over night and that is supposed to cure the problem. If not we will get a refractometer as instructed!
Wierd thing is there are a few lifeforms in there that are thriving.... Several of my LR from my existing tank have feather dusters on them, and also some sort of brittle star who has been stuck in one of the rocks for over a year is also waving his arms merrily around!!! I am feeding them phytoplex from Kent Marine 3 times a week, but the ammonia seems to have no effect on them!
Thanks so much everyone for helping we will let it sit a few days then go from there
 
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