Cycle Questions

capchad03 · Sep 4, 2013

Hello,
I have a new set up and am "trying" to start the cycling process. I am 12+ days into it and I cannot get my ammonia higher than .2-.4ppm. My nitrites and nitrates are at 0. My ammonia source is 1 shrimp and 2 pieces of fish that were raw. They are definitely decaying. My question is why is my ammonia not going up. Here is a list of my equipment and what I am running. FYI I did put two 32oz bottles of fritz zime 9 in system 2 days after I put shrimp
202 gallon tank (52x30x30)
Dry rock, Dry sand (Approx. 180 lbs rock in DT, 30 lb in sump, 120 lbs sand in DT)
Approx. 40 gal. elite aquatic custom sump w/ 3 4'' filter socks
Reef Octopus 3000 int. skimmer (running)
2 next reef mr1 reactors. 1 carbon 1 phosphate. (only carbon running now to clear cloudy water)
2 Ecotech Mp 40 (running)
2 Gen. 2 Radions (running a normal 10hr cycle)
Apex controller
150 w cobalt heater. temp stays between 77.5-78.0 never higher or lower
Here are the parameters I have as of now.

Salinity: 1.025
Ph: 7.85
Temp: 77.5-78.0
Alk: 9.5
Ammonia: .2-.4
Nitrate:0
Nitrite:0

Reefing Madness · Sep 4, 2013

You have ammonia, your tank is in cycle. If you want more Ammonia, throw in more Shrimp or raw fish. You have a sizable tank, with the one shrimp thats usually only for a 55 or 75 ish tank load. The more ammonia you have, the higher you can get it. The Nitrites and Trates will come, no worries there.

capchad03 · Sep 5, 2013

Thanks. Do you think I should keep running my skimmer?

Reefing Madness · Sep 5, 2013

I tell people to run everything right from the start, as if its been running for years. If you want to build everything up to higher numbers so the bacteria count is huge for a much bigger bio load at the end of the cycle, then no, you should not be running the skimmer.