What constitiutes an ammonia "spike"

[jh1929]

During cycling, how high does ammonia and NO2 typically get? Also, should a tank be growing algae during its initial cycle? It gets a couple hours of daylight, but I haven't had the lights on.
Thanks,
Jayme

 

[demosthenes]

I'm not sure about the NO2, but the highest my ammonia level has ever reached was .5, and that was because in the original cycle I didn't check until 3 weeks into the cycle, as I had no livestock. I think that any level of ammonia constitues an ammonia spike, other than when the tank cycles, when it can be expected to reach anywhere from .25 upwards. HTH