How long will ammonia spike last?

[lazarus]

i am running out of test supplies and excited to finish the cycling! My ammonia has tested off the charts for almost a week....i guess i should stop checking it every day! Can someone tell me how long this condition lasts before backing down to zero?

 

[zanoshanox]

Should be only a couple more days, but some last much longer that others.

 

[lazarus]

that is what i thought..in my last tank - 29 g - i missed the spike entirely. this one - 100g - seems to be taking its merry time to finish!
btw i got LR, LS and a bag of cc from my existing tank in there...as well as natural sea water from Scripps. Also, the last remains of the cocktail shrimp just disappeared....

 

[moby]

Hey Lazarus,
I think the reason for the prolonged spike is you may have over done it with the sources for the ammonia. LR, LS, natural sea water and a dead shrimp may be more than you needed.
Also you may want to take the shrimp out if you haven't already.
The shrimp doesn't need to disolve or rot to start the ammonia cycle. The large amount of ammonia may result in longer time since the bacteria has a lot to convert into nitrites. This also may mean the end product being nitrate will probably be very high and mean a bigger first water change.
Hope this helps answer some of your questions.
Moby

 

[lazarus]

oops...good point. i did remove the shrimp after 6 days...and my LS and LR is only about 20% of total sand and rock.....so hope my overdose was not over the top!