Stalled cycle? -.-

[w glint]

Hey guys.
So im in about week 2 1/2 of my 90g's cycle and i just want a second oppinion on my params (im using a brand new API master testkit, no one sells salifert around here >.> )
temp: 85-89 ( i read that higher temp will speed up bacterial metabolim)
Ammo: 0-.25ppm (i think im getting a false .25 because when i test brand new mixed water, i get .25, same on my 20g nano.

)
Nitrite is off the chart, highest reading at 5.0ppm
Nitrate is around 20-30 ppm.
Do these look like normal params? i cycled the beast with a large jumbo cocktail shrimp, and never removed it ( i let it sit for 4 days and it dissolved by then :O )
Does the nitrate reading mean the nitrite reading is slowly falling and im just not seeing it because its over my tests max?
thanks for reading! help is appreciated!

 

[florida joe]

have your water tested at a LFS your nitrate readings dont sound right

 

[bang guy]

I've seen reading like that before. This can happen if you let ammonia get above 1.0ppm during the cycle. Ammonia is actually toxic to some nitrifying bacteria at those levels and can reduce the population of bacteria that convert Nitrite to Nitrate. I assure you that it is temporary.
Try adding tiny amounts of fish food daily to keep the Ammonia consumers alive until Nitrite drops to zero.
If you're using the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals test kit for Ammonia I recommend throwing it away and getting a better kit. Order it online if you can't find anything else in your area. This site sells SeaChem which is better but personally I am a fan of Salifert.

 

[flower]

I got my ammonia up to 6 on my 90g I'm working on now. I put biozyme in mine. I had it on hand because I use it for the QT. Keeping the tank water at warm temps helps as well.

 

[geoj]

Hey guys.

So im in about week 2 1/2 of my 90g's cycle and i just want a second oppinion on my params (im using a brand new API master testkit, no one sells salifert around here >.> )

temp: 85-89 ( i read that higher temp will speed up bacterial metabolim)
Ammo: 0-.25ppm (i think im getting a false .25 because when i test brand new mixed water, i get .25, same on my 20g nano.

)
Nitrite is off the chart, highest reading at 5.0ppm
Nitrate is around 20-30 ppm.

Do these look like normal params? i cycled the beast with a large jumbo cocktail shrimp, and never removed it ( i let it sit for 4 days and it dissolved by then :O )

Does the nitrate reading mean the nitrite reading is slowly falling and im just not seeing it because its over my tests max?

thanks for reading! help is appreciated!
Ammo: 0-.25ppm The older the kit the harder it is to read the difference from 0-.25ppm This kit also will read ammonium created then chlorine is detoxified. For cycling I would not waste money on a good test kit.
Nitrite is off the chart, highest reading at 5.0ppm and Nitrate is around 20-30 ppm. Makes me agree with Bang that there is a lag in converting to nitrate I would do a 20% water change. You don't need to but when I have had nitrate get stuck for a week, what I have seen is the small water change will help get things moving again. This may be that the levels are above the kits range and the water change brings it down so you can read it.
Does the nitrate reading mean the nitrite reading is slowly falling and im just not seeing it because its over my tests max? Depends if the ammonia reading is correct if so then your numbers make perfect sense as decomp or your water source keeps adding ammonia which would keep nitrite up.

 

[w glint]

Allright, tomorrow i will take a sample and bring it to my lfs for testing. Right before work tonight, i noticed what appear to be 7-8 small clusters of some red sponges... i saw it and at first i thought the rock was stained with some left over coraline algae, but appon further inspection they were swaying in the current, so i grabbed my tongs and prodded one and it popped off and started floating around. like i said, it on a few different pieces, but very small, maybe the size of a pellet gun BB. All my rock was dead/ dry when i got it, so how the hell did they make it in? are they good or should i remove them? and what do the say about my water chem.?
also, i should'nt have any chlorine, due to the use of DO/DI water.
also, ide like to clarify that i THINK they are small sponges, cannot be sure. i will post a picture tomorrow when i get the chance.

 

[lcaldwell85]

Did you cure your rock before you placed it in the tank? Depending on how long your rock has been "dead/dry", you could have some hitchhikers surviving in the inner moisture of the not completely dried rock.

 

[w glint]

No, it was in a box for the last 2 years at this guys house whom i bought it from, took it home, gave it a 5 hour vinegar bath, and scrubbed the hell out of it, and then rinsed it for another 5 hours and let it dry for 3 days before i put it in, so im not sure how ANYTHING could have made it. i do have a picture below. its kind of baffling. I will run another set of water tests when i get home later and post my findings.

 

[mr. limpid]

Its a somebody I see little technicals on it. It's amazing how these creatures survive. If you watch the discovery channel you can see tube worms living at the base of volcanoes.

 

[w glint]

Just tested my water:
(on 3 different kits, API master kit, Mardel test strip, and LFS test )
0 amm
0 nitrite
around 20 nitrate
Skimmer did pull out some nasty sh*t though.
it has been 4 weeks, so things are looking great. Could be time for a CUC and a small fish!
and some WC of course

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by W Glint http:///t/391173/stalled-cycle#post_3468166
Just tested my water:
(on 3 different kits, API master kit, Mardel test strip, and LFS test )
0 amm
0 nitrite
around 20 nitrate
Skimmer did pull out some nasty sh*t though.
it has been 4 weeks, so things are looking great. Could be time for a CUC and a small fish!
and some WC of course
Right now place a sponge in you main tank or sump, and a piece of PVC pipe....Wait 1 week...ghost feed the tank all week. If the ammonia and nitrite remains at 0....you can set up your quarantine tank. Use the water from your main tank that you remove for the water change...get a penguin/cascade type filter and order that first fish. When the fish arrives...place the sponge in and piece of PVC pipe into the QT and leave the fish in there for 4 weeks to make sure it's healthy. Unless you have algae don't get a CUC yet...if you do have algae go ahead after the week and order some CUC...build the CUC slow so they have enough to eat....they can go right into the main tank (Some do, but I don't quarantine inverts)

 

[w glint]

thanks for the tips flower! i actuly already have my 'new' fish in QT for the past 4 weeks ( juvi yellow tang), and the other fish from my nano will be going in there aswell (small damsel, juvie maroon clown, and my juvie snowflake eel. but the wait a week with ghost feedings is a great idea, and i deffinitly will! No algae growth yet, so ill stand by waiting to order my CUC.
My addition plan is to basicly add the fish 1 per week untill i have them all in, starting with the tang, then the eel, and then my maroon / damsel. and i am aware of the 'most agresive last", and im trying to follow it as well as i can, seeing as my tang needs to go first because he is the most shy, and has been in a 20g qt for weeks, then my eel who is a big push over, and then my maroon and damsel are a tie, so yeah.
Also, my skimmer has just been a total beast so far, so im quite pleased with that, although, i have to add like... 5g of top off water ever like 4-5 days, so i may need to invest in a cover for my sump.... all thing in time