moulton1853
Active Member
I have had the tank running for about 3 weeks now. The ammonia level has finally hit 0 but the nitrites and nitrates are through the roof still. Do I wait it out or start doing partial water changes to lower those levels?
Another cycling question
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ngvu1
Valuable Member
I would let that going for another week or 2. I am cycling new rocks in a brute also. The nitrite should drop to zero and the nitrate should stop rising. After that doing water change and watch the nitrate for another week or 2
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moulton1853
Active Member
thank you! I have been doing so much reading and some say to add more ammonia to the water to feed the bacteria growing. I'm not sure I want to do that as it just went down. Really concerned about the extremely high nitrite and nitrate levels at the same time. I was under the impression they would follow one another but this doesn't seem to be the case.
ngvu1
Valuable Member
I think you can add bacteria to shorten the cycle time. I just got busy at work so I let nature takes its course. I dumped my old water from the current tank to the rock bucket and that was it ;-)
The water got bad smell and turned yellow at first, like p water but then the smell goes away and it is not yellow any more.....
The water got bad smell and turned yellow at first, like p water but then the smell goes away and it is not yellow any more.....
Do not worry about the pH, the value does not need to be treated at this point, if you had corals then you might begin to investigate the cause but now it's just not important. You have to measure pH at the same time each day and then compare values, random pH tell you little. You can try to increase surface agitation though.
What is your nitrate and nitrite values?
What is your nitrate and nitrite values?
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moulton1853
Active Member
They are over 3.3mg for nitrite and over 110 mg for nitrate. My test doesn't go higher to give exact number
Give it another 4-5 days and see where the values are, if they do not move or go up you might need to intervene. Even though it seems like forever three weeks in to the cycle or tank life is really nothing. Did you use any live rock or bacterial products to seed the tank?
If the values remain high you can proceed one of two ways, I like both methods. You can add a bacterial product, personally I like Brightwell Microbacter7 and Dr.Tim products, or you can try a small water change.
You do not need to add any more ammonia or organics at this point.
If the values remain high you can proceed one of two ways, I like both methods. You can add a bacterial product, personally I like Brightwell Microbacter7 and Dr.Tim products, or you can try a small water change.
You do not need to add any more ammonia or organics at this point.
Ok well, all you can do is wait.
It takes roughly 6-8 weeks for a system that used dry base rock to cycle. It sounds like the tank is right where it should be.
Tons of fun stuff to research between now and then, and planning.
Some will encourage you to add a Damsel but the easiest way is not best way in this scenario. If you become too frustrated you can add some cured live rock, just make sure there are no pest such as Aiptasia.
It takes roughly 6-8 weeks for a system that used dry base rock to cycle. It sounds like the tank is right where it should be.
Tons of fun stuff to research between now and then, and planning.
Some will encourage you to add a Damsel but the easiest way is not best way in this scenario. If you become too frustrated you can add some cured live rock, just make sure there are no pest such as Aiptasia.
