Is my cycle Stalled?

[Aqau_Dude]

Hey Everyone,

So i started my new tank with all new marco rock and caribsea special grade sand. I added ammoniam chloride powder and dr tim and one only to start with. My amonia was around 4ppm and is now back to 0.2 my nitrates went to 15 and has gone down to 12. My nitrites still are around 0,5 for a week now. I also added Microbe Lift Special blend. So my nitrates are on their way down but nitrites are still staying at same spot. Im testing this using Mastertronic with the Fauna Marina test kits.

What is the best thing to do? I want add some fishes because at the moment i have 2 tanks running. The new tank already has my corals and they are all doing great.

This is my second week of cycling.

 

[Troylee]

If your nitrites are still showing it would give you a false “high” reading on the nitrates.. if ammonia is down you should be good to go, which it appears to be.. nitrite is harmless to marine fish either way! It is lethal with fresh water fish but the exact opposite in saltwater.

 

[Aqau_Dude]

If your nitrites are still showing it would give you a false “high” reading on the nitrates.. if ammonia is down you should be good to go, which it appears to be.. nitrite is harmless to marine fish either way! It is lethal with fresh water fish but the exact opposite in saltwater.

Dear Troylee,

Thank you for the reply. Do you recommend doing a 30% waterchange before introducing fish?

 

[Troylee]

Dear Troylee,

Thank you for the reply. Do you recommend doing a 30% waterchange before introducing fish?

It’s not needed if your nitrates aren’t elevated.. I’d think it would do more harm then good as you’re taking out good bacteria for the time being.. I’d go slow with the fish you just can’t load 10 in there over night.. depending on size on qaunity I’d say like 2 fish every 4-5 days. Unless there small and you got a large tank

 

[Aqau_Dude]

It’s not needed if your nitrates aren’t elevated.. I’d think it would do more harm then good as you’re taking out good bacteria for the time being.. I’d go slow with the fish you just can’t load 10 in there over night.. depending on size on qaunity I’d say like 2 fish every 4-5 days. Unless there small and you got a large tank

Thank you, its a 100 gallon waterbox frag and i only have 4 small fish. I will start with 1-2 wait a few days before adding the other 2

 

[Troylee]

Thank you, its a 100 gallon waterbox frag and i only have 4 small fish. I will start with 1-2 wait a few days before adding the other 2

Should be fine!

 

[Aqau_Dude]

Thanks for your help man, really apprecaite it.

 

[RocketEngineer]

Before you panic like this, consider the type of testing methodology you just used: a hobby kit. Inexpensive, easy to use, mass produced. But importantly, not very accurate. The best kits we use in this hobby are orders of magnitude away from actual lab equipment. So take their results with a grain of salt, don’t panic, and watch for trends, not necessarily for specific numbers.