My ammonia is at 0.0!!!

Well my biological filtration is moving right along. I set my tank up on 7/31/10 so I'm about 3 weeks into my 1st SW aquarium. I checked my parameters earlier today and they are at:

PH - 8.0
Ammonia - 0.0
Nitrites - 2.0
Nitrates - 80

So now my ammonia is where it should be, nitrites will soon follow, but what about nitrates? How long do these generally stay on the high side when starting the process, and what is a good place for them to be under ideal conditions?

 

Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates should all be 0.0. Nitrates at 80 says you've got a ways to go in the cycle.... that's fairly high. Cycle times depends on a lot, but your tank is only a few weeks old, so patience is key.

M

 

I was just excited that my ammonia was at 0. ;D

Thanks for the input.

 

I would do a water change, like 50%, and put a fish in. That way, you have nitrates of 40 (which is high, but not too horrible for fish), and you don't start losing bacteria due to lack of food. Then, keep doing changes every couple days until the nitrates get <10.

My nitrates took months to get to 0, TBQH. It takes a while to get the anaerobic areas necessary to have nitrates break down.

 

Agree with BlackRaven.... BTW... when I see parameters like 80 Nitrate, I typically predict algae blooms in the near future.

M

 

The algae blooms aren't a concern if there's no phosphates. Algae needs both to grow.

 

Blackraven, agree again..... I am really looking forward to seeing how this EcoBak works on both Nitrates and Phosphates. It would be awesome if it does well on both. Just started it yesterday, so we shall see.

M

 

BTW my signature shows specs for my tank.

Well before I found this great forum I already added fish (3 damsels and a spotfin squirrelfish), as I was not aware they should be added later. In my defense, my wife "surprised" me with some of them, so she's partly to blame. :-X

I lost one damsel last weekend, and another just disappeared the same day. Still not sure what happened to him, so I still have the spotfin and 1 damsel. I feel bad for adding them too soon, and I will change 50% of the water if it will reduce some of they stress they may be under.

If I understand correctly, ammonia rises first, then nitrites, then nitrates. Over the course of the cycle, ammonia will drop first, and the drop in nitrites and nitrates follow the same sequence.

 

Exactly what will put phosphates into the water?

 

I'm following you (and everyone else lol), if the results are good (at least, noticeably better than GFO). I have 0 nitrates and low phosphates, but algae creeps up a bit after I feed.

Phosphates are another nutrient that algae needs to grow, much like nitrates. You usually put it into the tank when you feed fish.