Another noob cycle question !!

Bio spira which is what I used is Dr tims old formula before he switched companies. His new one is the "one and only" I think it's called.

 

Ok so I checked my ammonia, nitrites and nitrates tonight. Ammonia was at 0. Nitrites were at 0. The color was a little darker on the nitrate test. Somewhere around 5.0 ppm. I'm confused because I know after 10 days my cycle can't be finished. I've never seen any nitrites but I haven't been checking that everyday like I have with the ammonia. Haven't had any blooms of any kind either. I did take the shrimp out when it started stinking the house up but I added another piece last night. Any ideas what I got going on here ?

 

Water change and you're good to go.

 

So basically you are challenging the tank's bacterial filter again. It should complete the nitrogen cycle faster this time.

You started with live rock, so you were a significant step ahead.

No I would not say the tank is cycled just yet but well on the way.

Instead of adding stinky raw fish you can also add dry fish food, not as stinky. You want to feed the beneficial bacteria not overwhelm them.

In the interest of patience and to error on the side of caution I would let the tank run another week and see what values you have.

 

yeah I'll start feeding the tank today with some dry flake food and wait a week or two and see how it goes. Thanks.

 

If I've read everything correctly, then the live rock you bought was sitting in buckets. Hopefully the previous owner kept a bit of food in the buckets for the bacteria to feed on. If not, it's a good chance it's lost a bit of life to it. Not to worry though, it's probably not 100% dead. Now, the point about washing the rock in tap water is what made me cringe. That has a good chance of killing off a good portion of the bacteria instantly, if not the fresh water, then the chlorine your city may or may not add to your tap. To say it the safest way, I'd give it a good 6 weeks for your cycle, but if you see another ammonia spike after adding the latest shrimp, and it goes down again, you could be in the clear. Always keep in mind, tap water in this hobby is good for nothing, except maybe washing your hands after cleaning the tank, and fresh top off water should only come from an RODI filter. It's good you are waiting for the cycle, as patience pays off in this hobby. Best of luck.

 

Yeah I didn't know about washing the live rock with tap water. I should have with all the crap that's in it but I just rushed it and done it not thinking. Ill start putting in some flake food and watching everything for a few weeks and see how it goes. Also my test kit was used from the same lady I bought the rock from so I'm thinking to be on the safe side I'm going to get a new one this weekend. Hopefully I can find the seachem brand. Not sure if I spelled that right. Thanks for the help.

 

No worries. Please, keep us all updated on your progress. Glad to see another reefer in the hobby...;D

 

Just a quick update !! Tested again tonight. PH is low at a out 7.8. Will have to get something to get that up some. Ammonia was 0. Nitrites were 0. Nitrates were still around 5 ppm. So after having a piece of raw shrimp in for a day and a half and now ghost feeding the tank for 24 hours my parameters are still the same as the were before adding the shrimp and ghost feeding. So no changes after about three days of feeding the bacteria in there. Could be jumping the gun here but I'm starting to think my tank is close to being cycled.

 

I would not use any products to try and get pH up. Key is to make it stable. I may have missed this in the thread, but do you have a sump? Are you skimming currently? What is your light period right now? I only ask as low pH can be due to low oxygen, where a skimmer and even just a sump can help increase dissolved oxygen, which will in turn increase pH. Lighting will affect pH as algae will convert CO2 to oxygen through photosynthesis. Again, this will raise pH, which is why most tanks pH spike at the end of the day, and are lowest just before the lights come on. For a further explanation of why, higher CO2 levels increase carbonic acid, which has a low pH of course. Increasing O2 levels will decrease CO2 and so decrease carbonic acid. Someone more knowledgeable can chime in as well, but I at least want to get you thinking of why your pH could be on the lower side (although still not that "bad".