Cycled with no nitrate???

[Mele__Reef]

hey gang,

This is my 23rd day in the cycle and I have already been through an ammonia and nitrite spike. I just tested a few minutes ago my nitrite is at 0 ppm as well as my ammonia. But my Nitrate has been stuck at 10ppm for the last few days. I began the cycle with Dr. tims nitrifying bacteria along with Dr. Tims ammonia drops. I also have marine pure spheres in my sump. Is it possible that MarinePure kept nitrates in check. I'm a bt confused. I always presumed that once nitrite goes down nitrate shoots up. Any help is appreciated.

 

[Mele__Reef]

Here is a pic of the results

 

[enveetie]

nitrates don't automatically spike after ammonia and nitrite spikes. if your set up is of any reasonable size, and without a real bio load overwhelming your bacterial cultures (my assumption since you're cycling), there wont be any build up of nitrates. my new set up has been up for nearly a year, a flurry of small fish (13) and i have had 0 nitrates from the start. in fact, i add nitrates to my tank to keep it around 5ppm.

now if you neglect water changes, over feed, and let detritus build up... over time you will have a build up of nitrates.

 

[Mele__Reef]

@enveetie so does that mean that I'm cycled ? Or should I wait longer ? This was a Fish less cycle.

 

[enveetie]

i always hesitate to say if someone else's tank is cycled or not because if i'm wrong it could be an expensive lesson for you. but im going to assume you properly used dr tim's products. i assume you properly tested for ammonia and nitrites since you say you saw them both spike, and your pic appears to show 0 ammonia and nitrite (although the lighting makes me second guess the nitrite test). and you mentioned it has been 23 days, so based on all that i would be comfortable with saying its cycled.

have you been adding any food or fish to the tank to keep the cycle going? the cycle is an on going process. the bacteria is consuming ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates but you should no longer be able to detect any levels from your test kit from here on out. you'll have to feed the bacterial population something so it can sustain itself, like food or fish waste products.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

How did you do the "cycling"?

That is, what source of ammonia, how often and how much?

 

[Mele__Reef]

Thanks @enveetie.

 

[Mele__Reef]

@Randy Holmes-Farley thank you for the help. I began the cycle with Dr. tims nitrifying bacteria and added dr tims Bottled ammonia. I added the recommended dosage which was, 1 drop per gallon.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Just one time for ammonia dosing? If so, I'd do it again to verify that ammonia stays low.