2 months cycling

[blawndie]

Newbie here.. I’ve been cycling for two months now w 100 gallon tank, 20 gal sump. Ammonia went down in about two weeks. Nitrites went up to 2.0ppm and now nitrates are 30ppm. I have had 2 clowns since week 2. I have a YWG doing fine since two weeks ago. Is it normal for my nitrates to still have not budged? Can I add a snail or some bangai Cardinals?

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Newbie here.. I’ve been cycling for two months now w 100 gallon tank, 20 gal sump. Ammonia went down in about two weeks. Nitrites went up to 2.0ppm and now nitrates are 30ppm. I have had 2 clowns since week 2. I have a YWG doing fine since two weeks ago. Is it normal for my nitrates to still have not budged? Can I add a snail or some bangai Cardinals?

Your tank has "cycled" - aka it has enough nitrifying bacteria to handle the current bioload. Add snails if you have algae for them to eat. You can add more fish but I recommend a few at a time to give the bacteria population time to grow and catch up to the new increased bioload.
Much of the time, nitrates do not go down by themselves. If you don't export them somehow, they continue to increase. If yours are holding at 30, that's not a problem - especially if it's fish only and no coral yet.

Sounds like you're off to a great start! Pics?

 

[blawndie]

Your tank has "cycled" - aka it has enough nitrifying bacteria to handle the current bioload. Add snails if you have algae for them to eat. You can add more fish but I recommend a few at a time to give the bacteria population time to grow and catch up to the new increased bioload.
Much of the time, nitrates do not go down by themselves. If you don't export them somehow, they continue to increase. If yours are holding at 30, that's not a problem - especially if it's fish only and no coral yet.

Sounds like you're off to a great start! Pics?

Would love to send pics! I have 7 kids under 8 ‍ and it’s almost 11pm here, so I will tomorrow. Fish store told me I’d prob be ok doing their special, which was 29 for $20 snails/crabs. I did it and introduced them tonight. One arrived dead. You know, they scooped them up and as they were tucked in, hard to tell. Either way, what specific pics? Sand? Rock? Fish? Thank you for your reply!

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Would love to send pics! I have 7 kids under 8 ‍ and it’s almost 11pm here, so I will tomorrow. Fish store told me I’d prob be ok doing their special, which was 29 for $20 snails/crabs. I did it and introduced them tonight. One arrived dead. You know, they scooped them up and as they were tucked in, hard to tell. Either way, what specific pics? Sand? Rock? Fish? Thank you for your reply!

Full tank shot

 

[strich]

Welcome to the forum! Consider making a tank thread to show off pics and where you're at!

 

[blawndie]

Full tank shot

Ok!

 

[AquaLogic]

Your tank has been cycled for a long time. As soon as your tank converts ammonia to any amount of nitrate, you are cycled. As long as it can convert the bio load that you want to add, it's good to go. Add fish slowly, they are the primary culprits when it comes to adding waste to the tank, so you need to give bacteria levels time to adjust when you increase bioload.

You can add whatever you like. You manage nitrates through nutrient export. Water changes, protein skimming, filtration, refugium etc.