 Re: Protein skimmer when cycling the Tank?
[quote author=DC5 link=board=Newbie;num=1073360974;start=0#9 date=01/07/04 at 13:15:24]I understand the Nitrogen cycle and all, actually I have read a couple books before I started. So how much of an ammonia spike would you see before the nitrite to nitrate bacteria starts working? A ballpark in ppm?? someone? [/quote]
The Nitrogen cycle is not a "once off" occurance. It is something that is happening continually depending on die off and bio load. Probably the biggest spike of Ammonia and therefore Nitrite that you will ever see is when you are first setting up your tank and going through the process of cultivating the bacteria. Once estabished the bacteria levels will rise and fall dependant on the amount of food ( Ammonia ) available.
Therefore it is not possible to give any sort of ballpark figure to Ammonia and Nitrite levels. Surfice to say however that if you do initially see an Ammonia reading and then a Nitrite reading then you know that the Nitrogen cycle is functioning.
John
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Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so...Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don't. Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it! | 
