Cycle question

Discussion in 'New To The Hobby' started by Bloodkip, Mar 27, 2011.

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  1. Bloodkip

    Bloodkip Ritteri Anemone

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2010
    Messages:
    642
    Location:
    AZ
    Hello
    I been cycling my 20g LONG tank for almost two months now. Ammonia:0, Nitrite: 5.0, Nitrates: 20. My nitrites have been stuck at 5.0 for almost 2 weeks now. What should be my coarse of action? I'm cycling with a dead fish, unfortunately, my flasher wrasse jump and I used him to start the cycle.
    Thanks
     
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  3. dustin0479

    dustin0479 Peppermint Shrimp

    Joined:
    Jan 31, 2011
    Messages:
    416
    Can you give a full history, the setup and what you have in the tank?
     
  4. Bloodkip

    Bloodkip Ritteri Anemone

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2010
    Messages:
    642
    Location:
    AZ
    In Feb
    Cleaned tank with bleach and vinegar for a week.
    Added IO salt mix, gravel, 3 plants, and power filter
    My flasher wrasse jumped and I used him to start the cycle.
    March
    Ammonioa spiked now back to zero
    nitrite at 5.0 and haven't gone down yet.
    nitrates 20
    I didn't do any water changes or anything drastic.
    Tank is a 20G long.
     
  5. Bloodkip

    Bloodkip Ritteri Anemone

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2010
    Messages:
    642
    Location:
    AZ
  6. french4orlife

    french4orlife Spaghetti Worm

    Joined:
    Aug 3, 2010
    Messages:
    195
    Location:
    Albany, NY
    After this long with nitrites, I would do a 10% water change and see if that helps. You still don't have that wrasse in there right.............what about a skimmer...
     
  7. NITTINID

    NITTINID Astrea Snail

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2011
    Messages:
    63
    YOU HAVE A LOT OF LIVE STOCK FOR A 20 LONG...TANGS SHOULD BE KEPT IN A TANK NO LESS THEN 55 GALLON...ITS JUST CRUEL...AND PRETTY UNCOMFORTABLE FOR THOSE FISH IN A 20 GALLON. WHAT IS YOUR SET UP;FILTRATION ?DO YOU HAVE POWER HEADS FOR WATER MOVEMENT? WHAT TYPE OF LIGHTS DO YOU HAVE ? DO YOU HAVE A SUMP OR ARE YOU USING A NITRATE FACTORY "AkA" FLUVAL? DO YOU HAVE A SKIMMER? IF SO WHAT KIND AND WHATS THE GPH(GALLONS PER HOUR) ALSO WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU DID A WATER CHANGE?AND HOW MANY WATER CHANGES HAVE YOU DONE SINCE YOU BEGAN YOUR TANK? WATER CHANGES ARE VITAL TO A TANKS SUCCESS DURING THE FIRST COUPLE OF MONTHS... WHEN YOU INTRODUCED YOUR FISH...DID YOU INTRODUCE THEM ALL AT ONE TIME...OR DID YOU DO IT GRADUALLY OR DAYS APART?
    SOMETIMES WHEN TO MANY FISH ARE INTRODUCED INTO A TANK AT ONCE...THE BIO MAY NOT BE ABLE TO HANDEL THE WASTE FROM FISH.IF YOU ADD FISH BEFORE THE NITROGEN CYCLE HAS RUN ITS COURSE...THERE'S A BIG CHANCE THAT YOU MAY EXPERIENCE A MINI CYCLE...MEANING YOUR SETTING BACK YOUR TANK TO SQUARE #2 I.M.O...YOUR TANK NEVER FULLY COMPLETES ITS NITROGEN CYCLE AND IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU MIGHT BE OVERSTOCKING YOUR TANK BEFORE ITS REALLY READY.YOUR TANK IS STILL VERY NEW...ID BE A LITTLE PATIENT AND WAIT FOR THE TANK TO STABILIZE BEFORE ADDING ANY MORE LIVESTOCK.

    90 GALLON DISPLAY
    IN DISPLAY TANK;

    180 LBS FIJI PREMIUM LIVE ROCK
    90 LBS LIVE SAND
    (3) 50 GPH POWERHEADS
    (2) 1300 GPH POWER HEADS

    30 GALLON SUMP
    IN SUMP;
    40 LBS LIVE SAND
    55 LBS FIJI PREMIUM LIVE ROCK.
    PHOSBAN REACTOR(150)
    10 WATT U.V STEROLIZER (DONT HAVE AN ICK PROB)BUT JUST IN CASE
    CORALIFE SUPER SKIMMER(150)
    CORALIFE SUPER SKIMMER(65)
    THEY WORK GREAT FOR ME!
    (ELITE) 200 WATT HEATER
    LIGHTING IN DISPLAY;
    T5 NOVAS 48 INCH(6 BULB FIXTURES)
    48 INCH MARINLAND L.E.D REEF LIGHTING(18K)
    48 INCH (24) BLUE LED MOONLIGHT

    LIGHTING ;
    IN SUMP
    30-90 WATT FLOOD LAMP

    (MY UNDERWATER KIDS)...SAILFIN TANG,YELLOW TANG,YELLOW HEAD ANGELFISH,DIAMOND WATCHMAN GOBY,(2) BLUE GREEN CHROMIS
    (4) ATLANTIC SEA ANENOMES,(20) MEXICAN TURBO SNAILS,(6)CERITH SNAILS,(10)RED LEGGED HERMIT CRABS,(10) BLUE LEGGED HERMIT CRABS,

    IN SUMP;
    (2)GREEN EMERALD CRABS
    (5) BLUE LEGGED HERMIT CRABS
    (5) RED LEGGED HEMIT CRABS

    GOOD WATER QUALITY AND GOOD WATER MOVEMENT IS THE KEY!!!

    TO tHoSe WhO rOcK...WiTh A fiLTeR sOcK.....
    >>>>>>> I SOLUTE YOU <<<<<<<<

    iMa bE 90 YEaRs OLd DoIn a 30% wAtEr ChAnGe...jUsT HaNd ME My CaNe aNd My SYPhON HoSe....IMa bE rOcKiN TilL I dIe...
     
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  9. dowtish

    dowtish Horrid Stonefish

    Joined:
    Jan 29, 2011
    Messages:
    2,062
    Location:
    Nashville TN
    Dude, you gotta read the actual post. That list is his other tank...
     
  10. NITTINID

    NITTINID Astrea Snail

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2011
    Messages:
    63
    I'M SORRY I WASN'T READING CAREFULLY ....YOU HAVE A 75 GALLON...WITH ALL THOSE FISH AND NEW 20 GALLON IN THE WORKS...MY MISTAKE...BUT I STILL THINK YOUR TANK WASN'T FULLY DONE WITH THE CYCLE...AND THAT'S PROBABLY WHY YOUR NITRITES AND NITRATES NEVER LEVELED DOWN TO ZERO.ANOTHER QUESTION..HOW MUCH LIVE ROCK DO YOU HAVE IN YOUR 20 GALLON TANK?WHAT WOULD HELP YOUR 20 GALLON RECOVER FAST IF YOU ADD SOME LIVE ROCK FROM YOUR 75 GALLON TO THE 20 GALLON...IT WILL HELP THE CYCLE A LOT.THE MORE LIVE ROCK THE MORE STABLE YOUR TANK WILL BE.

    90 GALLON DISPLAY
    IN DISPLAY TANK;

    180 LBS FIJI PREMIUM LIVE ROCK
    90 LBS LIVE SAND
    (3) 50 GPH POWERHEADS
    (2) 1300 GPH POWER HEADS

    30 GALLON SUMP
    IN SUMP;
    40 LBS LIVE SAND
    55 LBS FIJI PREMIUM LIVE ROCK.
    PHOSBAN REACTOR(150)
    10 WATT U.V STEROLIZER (DONT HAVE AN ICK PROB)BUT JUST IN CASE
    CORALIFE SUPER SKIMMER(150)
    CORALIFE SUPER SKIMMER(65)
    THEY WORK GREAT FOR ME!
    (ELITE) 200 WATT HEATER
    LIGHTING IN DISPLAY;
    T5 NOVAS 48 INCH(6 BULB FIXTURES)
    48 INCH MARINLAND L.E.D REEF LIGHTING(18K)
    48 INCH (24) BLUE LED MOONLIGHT

    LIGHTING ;
    IN SUMP
    30-90 WATT FLOOD LAMP

    (MY UNDERWATER KIDS)...SAILFIN TANG,YELLOW TANG,YELLOW HEAD ANGELFISH,DIAMOND WATCHMAN GOBY,(2) BLUE GREEN CHROMIS
    (4) ATLANTIC SEA ANENOMES,(20) MEXICAN TURBO SNAILS,(6)CERITH SNAILS,(10)RED LEGGED HERMIT CRABS,(10) BLUE LEGGED HERMIT CRABS,

    IN SUMP;
    (2)GREEN EMERALD CRABS
    (5) BLUE LEGGED HERMIT CRABS
    (5) RED LEGGED HEMIT CRABS

    GOOD WATER QUALITY AND GOOD WATER MOVEMENT IS THE KEY!!!

    TO tHoSe WhO rOcK...WiTh A fiLTeR sOcK.....
    >>>>>>> I SOLUTE YOU <<<<<<<<

    iMa bE 90 YEaRs OLd DoIn a 30% wAtEr ChAnGe...jUsT HaNd ME My CaNe aNd My SYPhON HoSe....IMa bE rOcKiN TilL I dIe...
     
  11. DrTim

    DrTim 3reef Sponsor

    Joined:
    Jan 3, 2011
    Messages:
    29
    Location:
    California
    the nitrite 'sticking' is kind of common - try a water change of 25-30% that sometimes helps. Also my experience is that a nitrite of 5 or better inhibits the nitrite-oxidizing bacteria so bringing it down to 2-3 and you'll probably see some movement.
     
  12. Atticus818

    Atticus818 Eyelash Blennie

    Joined:
    Oct 19, 2010
    Messages:
    1,281
    Location:
    Southern California
    LOL What are you even saying? I'm so distracted by the TeXt BeIn AlL fUnKy

    On a thread related note, Dr. Tim nailed it IMO. Bring that nitrite down a bit and I think you'll see some improvement. Let us know if things stay the same!