Cycling Parameters

[Landoh17]

Hey folks! I am 4 days in to Dr Tim's fishless cycle and I have followed the instructions they gave me. My tests are as follows....
1st test:
Ammonia - 2 ppm
Nitrite - 0ppm
Nitrate - 0ppm
Ph - 8.0

2nd test:
Ammonia - 0.5
Nitrite and Nitrate - (some color in test but not enough to read properly so I called it 0.0)

3rd test (today):
Ammonia - 1.0 ppm (after i dosed back to 2ppm yesterday)
Nitrite - 0.5 ppm
Nitrate - 25ppm
Salinity - 1.023

Is this how it should look or how it is to be expected? I feel like my nitrites should be higher because I'm getting nitrates. Maybe my nitrites are co certing faster than I can test?

 

[Quietman]

25 ppm nitrates seem high for number of days and amount of ammonia. Nitrite looks ok. Might want to resample nitrate.

 

[Idoc]

Looks good, just let it run its course.

 

[Idoc]

Also, nitrate tests will read high sometimes because they also read nitrites into their total amounts. I wouldn't worry... just let the ammonia get to zero. Then bump it up again to 1-2ppm and see if it can clear that amount in 24hrs.

 

[ReefRy]

Im at about the same point, Landoh. I started cycling 8 days ago with my first test yesterday. Ammonia was 2.0, nitrite .5, nitrate 5.0. This is my first time using bacteria in a bottle (Brightwell's Bacter 7), so the numbers seem a little all over the place to me as well, but Im going to let it do its thing in the dark for another week and retest.

 

[Landoh17]

Also, nitrate tests will read high sometimes because they also read nitrites into their total amounts. I wouldn't worry... just let the ammonia get to zero. Then bump it up again to 1-2ppm and see if it can clear that amount in 24hrs.

Phew, that's comforting to know. Thought I did something wrong lol. I'll ride it out a bit and retest in 2 days!

 

[Landoh17]

@Idoc Today I tested my parameters again. Ammonia dipped to 1.25ppm, Nitrite went to 1.00pm and nitrates shot up to 50ppm

Is it normal for bitrates to be that high that quick? (Using Salifert)

 

[Quietman]

As long as the nitrites and ammonia are behaving like they should nitrates less important. You can always do a water change...some say don't, but I felt keeping my nitrate down less than 10-20ppm helped prevent algae build up after cycle. So I WC all the way through cycling. You're going to end doing a large water change or series anyway so again not critical.

 

[Landoh17]

Okay, i just dont quite know what to expect so I just refer to here. I looked at all the graphs and what not. Thanks!

 

[Quietman]

To be honest it does seem a tad high on nitrates but your system is in flux with cycling. Once it finishes and you do your wc to get your nitrates down then you can evaluate and see. You may have an issue, you probably don't. No sense worrying until things stabilize in a week or so.

 

[Landoh17]

I'm going to do a 20% WC tonight and ghost feed a tad to see if a carbon compound will help the bacteria colonize

 

[ReefRy]

I tested mine two days later and it was the same thing. All my Red Sea kits maxed out; ammonia 2.0, nitrites 5.0, nitrates 50. When Ive cycled freshwater in the past I knew it took about 23 days, so I never tested til I thought it'd be safe for fish, meaning after a month...and a 50% water change. This being my first foray into the saltwater world Im testing everything often, with a particular emphasis on phosphates, so its crazy to see the numbers all over the board like this. Pretty cool, though.

 

[Landoh17]

@ReefRy Yeah, my ammonia seems to juat stay shy of 2ppm but my nitrites are slow and I cant figure out why I have so much nitrate

 

[ReefRy]

Me either, but Im not worried about it. This could very well be how it always happens, give or take, in fresh and saltwater for all I know. Im just trying to exercise patience and keep to my plan of cycling for three months before even considering adding coral. Hopefully everything has stabilized and water quality is where I want it. Anything before then is a bonus.

 

[Landoh17]

@ReefRy My goal is to get 2 fish and a coral by month 6

 

[Idoc]

@Idoc Today I tested my parameters again. Ammonia dipped to 1.25ppm, Nitrite went to 1.00pm and nitrates shot up to 50ppm

Is it normal for bitrates to be that high that quick? (Using Salifert)

That is a bunch of nitrate for only a couple weeks of cycling. But, don't worry about it... the level of nitrates during the cycle is not important. Only be concerned about ammonia reduction. When you have zero ammonia, dose back up to 2ppm. Then, test 24hrs later...if zero, then you are cycled! If you can't clear the ammonia in 24hrs, then let it go a couple more days and repeat the ammonia dosing again.

Once cycled, you will want to do a 50-75% water change and that will resolve your nitrates! Some do water changes during a cycle...I don't...I don't see any reason to do that during the cycle and only possible issues and delays in cycling from doing it.

 

[Landoh17]

That is a bunch of nitrate for only a couple weeks of cycling. But, don't worry about it... the level of nitrates during the cycle is not important. Only be concerned about ammonia reduction. When you have zero ammonia, dose back up to 2ppm. Then, test 24hrs later...if zero, then you are cycled! If you can't clear the ammonia in 24hrs, then let it go a couple more days and repeat the ammonia dosing again.

Once cycled, you will want to do a 50-75% water change and that will resolve your nitrates! Some do water changes during a cycle...I don't...I don't see any reason to do that during the cycle and only possible issues and delays in cycling from doing it.

Thanks for the info! Its only been up for 6 days now!