Nitrates during Cycling

Hi all,,


my tank is in the 9th day of cycling (today) and everything is at it's highest spike, ammonia is now dropping and nitrites are going up so i would expect another week until i complete cycling.

my only problem is nitrates, they we're 5-10 when i first added the water (used tap water so i'm guessing that's the reason, will do water changes with distilled water...) yesterday my params we're:

Ammonia: 4.0 ppm
Nitrites: 3.3-33 ppm
Nitrates: 80 ppm


Today was:

Ammonia: 2.0
Nitrites: 3.3-33 ppm
Nitrates: 160 ppm

is that normal for nitrates to get that high? in a day or two? i will be making atleast a 80 water change after cycling.

incase it matters, i'm using Tetra for nitrites and API for others (test kits).

Thanks...

 

That does look pretty extreme, although it would depend on how much was in the tap water to begin with. For the sake of knowledge, I would suggest taking a water sample to your LFS and have them test it.

 

did you use live rock from an established tank? ive found that when i did this i had alot of die off in my rock and it was leaching out nitrates

 

Thank you for your replies,, i will take a sample to the LFS tomorrow.

The rock i bought live but i didn't keep them in water before i setup the tank, they we're atleast 1 week dried out.

What should i have the LFS test for? nitrates or all params?

my pH, kH, Phosphates params are under control and are stable.

 

Your seeing this rise most likely due to die off. Water change would be my fix. Oh and a lot of patience

 

This is 100% true, a small water change, and time will take care of all of it!!

 

Thanks again,, if i did know i would have that much die off i wouldn't of added fish food but i added food too early that bumped ammonia upto 2 ppm and after that the die off rised it more to 4 ppm, it's now down to 2, so i'm guessing 7-10 days my cycling would be over.


any advise on how much specifically to change? 60%-90% of water? a large after cycle water change wouldn't affect the bacteria colonization would it? 160 ppm nitrates is darn alot but not much of a shock when you have a small 5- gallon tank.

 

dont do a water change until the cycle is complete.....ammonia and nitrites at zero. Only then should you do a water change as you could start the cycle over again if you do it now. The best course of action at this point would be let it be, and be patient. Once you cycle I would do a 25% water change at first and go from there. Test the nitrate level after the water change and based on that result we can go from there.

You say it is a 5g tank......you are in for a handful. It is even more important wtih that size tank to go very slow as dramatic swings can happen very fast. How much rock do you have in there right now? I might go and buy another pound of rock to add to the tank that is fully cured.

 

Hi,

Yes i meant after the cycle completes, but isn't 25% too little? i have always thought large 40-60 %?

I don't know how much lb of liverock i have as i originally have 20 lb and used just a few in the tank that made it look nice and i can only add 1 more medium sized and the tank would IMO be too crowded with LR.

i'm currenty using an AC as a refugium and i'm planning already on having a tiny 2-3 gallon sump so i can improve water quality and have tons of space for a refugium and more live rock, maybe a small protein skimmer and that's it.

i'll get a picture soon for further details.

 

actually thinking about it more, there are a couple issues going on with the tank.
1. you used tap water.....did you do anytype of dechlorinator or prime with the water?
2. Your live rock was killed during the time it dried off. So there is a lot of die off on there causing a continual cycle. The ammonia is so high that whatever is alive on the rock is dying causing it to do the perpetual cycle.

My suggestion is actually going to change.
1. Do not use tap water. A 5 gallon tank is not difficult to purchase water at the store for ro/di. Buy a plastic gas can or a bucket and buy water from your store. Mine sell ro/di for 40cent gallon and salt water 1.09/gallon. well worth it imo if you dont have a filter (which for 5 gallons i would not buy one) go to the store and buy 5 gallons of saltwater from the store.
2. either buy a piece of lr rubble from the store or ask if you can have a handful of their sand from one of their tanks. Make sure they are not running copper but if not, just get a handful.
3. do a total water change, then add the live rock rubble or sand into the tank and restart the cycle. With the added live bacteria from the rock or sand you should cycle in a few days