Cycle problem

[Deanster12]

Hi am new to this marine hobby, I have a 100 litre tank with one clownfish in
I have been cycling for two weeks now,
Ammonia is 0.2
Nitrites are 6
Nitrates are 60
Salinity is 1.026
Ph is 8.0
Is this a good sign my tank is cycling or have I got a problem

 

[Spare time]

The tank is cycling without an issue (other than the fish in water with ammonia). You know this since you see ammonia, then nitrite, then nitrates. A tank has completed its initially cycling phase when ammonia and nitrite are 0.

Keep in mind that many common test kits are nearly impossible to read at ultra low levels so if you can't decide between 0 and 0.2 or so then it is likely 0. These test kits likely are not nearly as accurate as we would hope them to be. If you for sure know it is not 0, then I would do one of the following.

You could do a big water change since your nitrates are pretty high. This would get rid of that ammonia to a safer level if it is present and allow the bacteria to catch up with the fish (that is if you are sure you have 0.2ppm ammonia).

You can get some cycling bacteria (especially if you haven't already) and dump the whole bottle in (which will finish the cycle and get you better ready for another fish if you'd like). Another option is prime will (for 48 hours while the bacteria go to work to) make that ammonia non-toxic to the clownfish if you are worried about that. Ammonia is toxic to (at least certain types of) clownfish at 0.57ppm+ and nitrite 25ppm+. Nitrate toxicity really is not well understood and seems to vary dramatically but most people like to stay under 20ppm just to be safe.

 

[Reef.]

Buy some Fritz turbo start and add that, not a good idea to have a fish in there when the tank is cycling it will be a stressful experience for the fish, the Fritz will help the cycle a lot.

I wouldn’t suggest adding Prime to a cycling tank as that will stop the cycle. Add the Fritz.

 

[Deanster12]

I am adding seachem stability everyday for 7 days with prime every other day, I was just worried that my nitrites being between 6 to 8 ppm and my nitrates are between 60 to 80 ppm that it’s stalling or somethings going wrong, I don’t want to do a water change until I see nitrites and ammonia clear then hopefully the nitrates come down once I’ve done a 50% change.

 

[Reef.]

Mate stop adding the Prime!!!!!!

 

[Deanster12]

Okay is stability still okay, I was only using prime because of the clownfish

 

[elorablue]

Was it your LFS that advised you to cycle this way? Just wondering

 

[Deanster12]

Yes as the fish is the source of ammonia with the food and waste it produces which will start a fish in cycle

 

[elorablue]

This practice has to stop. Not picking on you at all, since this ancient practice is still employed by many people. Tell your LFS that it's 2021 now.
Best of luck, looks like everything is going according to plan, however with no added bacteria the cycle may take a while.

 

[Deanster12]

Isn’t stability a bacteria booster

 

[elorablue]

I just read Seachems blurb on this product and they are certainly promoting it that way.

 

[Suohhen]

Stability is Seachems bottled dormant bacteria. It takes longer to establish than live bacteria but has a much much longer shelf life. There are lots of different brands of live and dormant bacteria and that is basically the run down on the difference. Regardless Stability only takes a few days to start working and the fact that you are seeing nitrate confirms that. Prime can interfere with the ability for certain test kits to register properly but it is effective at protecting fish during cycling so I don't get all the hate it receives. The one caveat is that it merely binds up the chemicals and allows them to still be available for consumption by bacteria which is a good thing however some worry that it can prevent uptake by coral or other beneficial organisms, but that is hardly proven and there shouldn't be coral in a cycling system anyway. I find it funny that people get touchy about the interference with testing since new people who rush the cycle are at best using API to test anyway which couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with it without the prime.
I use Stability + ammonia to cycle my QT every time I set it up and Stability + Prime for a few days every time I add fish to QT and I have seen no negative side effects with at least 10 fish and shrimp. It is hilarious to think that we expect someone new to the hobby to walk into a fish store and somehow follow these convoluted processes for cycling a tank without fish. Should we encourage cycling with fish, no. But should we stand blindly by and blame the fish store and demean products like Prime?

 

[Suohhen]

edit: boy I'm in a mood, sorry. Also I do not prophelactically treat with copper. There is suspiction that prime and other like substances can make copper more toxic. I know people also like to say it isn't QT without treatment but I simply don't know what else to call it without confusing most people.