How long before amnonia spikes?

[newfishguy]

I started cycling my 15 gallon qt on Monday with a piece of uncured lr. The only thing in the tank is a heater, bio wheel, ph, and a piece of lr. How long does it take for the Ammonia to spike? Exactly how much should it spike? 8.0 is the highest number on my color card. Mine appears to be at .25. Maybe .50, its kinda hard to tell. I don't know if all test kits are like this but color is kind of hard to tell from one to the next. Any recommendations on a good test kit? Mine is just a "Saltwater Master Liquid Test Kit" (Aquarium Pharm. Inc) from a local Pet store chain.

 

[wax32]

Salifert makes great ones, cost a little more but very nice. How many pounds of LR was it and was it already cured? You want uncured if you want it to spike your cycle for ya.

 

[newfishguy]

Just one small piece of uncured lr. (baseball size). I have heard that Salifert is good too. Ill look for a deal.
Originally Posted by wax32
Salifert makes great ones, cost a little more but very nice. How many pounds of LR was it and was it already cured? You want uncured if you want it to spike your cycle for ya.

 

[wax32]

I'd add a few more pounds of LR. Really funk up that water!

 

[newfishguy]

Actually now that I look at the tube again Ammonia appears to be 0 and Nitrites are definitely .25.
Originally Posted by wax32
I'd add a few more pounds of LR. Really funk up that water!

 

[coopersx]

I initially added 38 Lbs of live rock to my 54 gallon tank. I use a wet/dry filter with bio-balls. I use the same test kit as yours. I need to call AP tech support. Leave a message. They will return your call, usually the next day. My question is how to read the tube. Do you place it *against* the tests cards white background or 1/2 of an inch *away* from the white background. The color in the testtube is a shade darker if you place the tube *against* the card other then looking through it holding the tube *away* from the white background.
My amonia only went up to 2 and the nitites at 5 if I remeber correctly. It all happend pretty quick. The rock must not had a lot of die off but did have a good amount of color to it. It must of sat in the dealers tanks for quite a while is my only geuss. One small rock is not much to severly pollute your tank unless it has a lot of dead stuff on it.
Take care, Wayne