Saltwater cycling question?

[camfish]

Hi, I have cycled countless fw tanks, but this is my first sw. I started out by ghost feeding, or putting in flakes as a source of ammonia. A few days later I got an ammonia reading. And a little while after adding my protein skimmer, I tested the water and saw that there was no ammonia, okay? About two weeks after this I added live rock. Then a few days later (yesterday) I tested for ammonia and got .5ppm. Alright, I'm on my way. So I decided to test for ammonia again today, don't ask me why. The reading was 0. So I tested for nitrites...0, so I tested for nitrates and got 30. What the heck? Is it cycled? What do I do to be sure?

 

[fishygurl]

maybe you could continue to add food and do a water change

 

[camfish]

I put the lr in there uncured, but let it soak in some saltwater for 3 days, which I assume isn't long enough. I thought that there would be some ammonia to go around, but I guess not. Do you think I could add some pure ammonia to find out, or is this bad for sw?

 

[fishygurl]

That i am not sure of, if it hasnt been ATLEAST 2 weeks most likely 3-4 weeks i would wait till around then but keep an eye on your levels since it usually takes this long to cycle and i think it takes longer to cycle if it is uncured since there will be more die off most likely.

 

[travis89]

I would just leave it and keep an eye on the amm, trite, & trate readings. Sounds like it cycled again when you added the LR.

 

[bang guy]

Originally Posted by camfish
http:///forum/post/2600213
I put the lr in there uncured, but let it soak in some saltwater for 3 days, which I assume isn't long enough. I thought that there would be some ammonia to go around, but I guess not. Do you think I could add some pure ammonia to find out, or is this bad for sw?
Just continue to ghost feed for a few weeks and continue to test the ammonia level. If it stays at zero then it is cycled. It's not stable enough for any delicate organisms though so still give it some time to mature before adding a fish or anything you would consider a pet.