New tank cycle question

[Vuuduu]

Hey guys, this is my first time setting up a tank from scratch, with all dry rock i cured. It's aprox 120g system, and i filled it up and started the cycle process 3 weeks ago. I tried the red sea reef mature system....wasn't what I expected really, the daily numbers on my tank didn't match what red sea said they should be close to, and i know all tanks are different, but they weren't even close. Anyways after 3 weeks in, my Ammonia is finally at 0!! BUT my nitrites are showing around 5 ppm, and nitrates were around 100ppm on my test kit, I tested my other tank that's been up for 2 years to verify the reagents were ok, and I had 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and 15 nitrate which is the norm for that tank.

So my question is, is this normal/ok to have 0 ammonia, but still have nitrite at this point in a cycle? Is there something else i should be doing? Can/should I add a hardy fish like a chromis to help?

 

[Crabs McJones]

Hey guys, this is my first time setting up a tank from scratch, with all dry rock i cured. It's aprox 120g system, and i filled it up and started the cycle process 3 weeks ago. I tried the red sea reef mature system....wasn't what I expected really, the daily numbers on my tank didn't match what red sea said they should be close to, and i know all tanks are different, but they weren't even close. Anyways after 3 weeks in, my Ammonia is finally at 0!! BUT my nitrites are showing around 5 ppm, and nitrates were around 100ppm on my test kit, I tested my other tank that's been up for 2 years to verify the reagents were ok, and I had 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and 15 nitrate which is the norm for that tank.

So my question is, is this normal/ok to have 0 ammonia, but still have nitrite at this point in a cycle? Is there something else i should be doing? Can/should I add a hardy fish like a chromis to help?

If you're showing 0 ammonia but still registering nitrites, it means your nearing the end of your cycle. I'd give it a couple more days, and then add 2ppm ammonia and if after 24 hours your reading 0, youre all set to go

 

[Vuuduu]

ok cool, so everything normal? for the ammonia, i dont have an ammonia bottle to dose, could i just add some food and let it decay for the ammonia to test it?

 

[Crabs McJones]

ok cool, so everything normal? for the ammonia, i dont have an ammonia bottle to dose, could i just add some food and let it decay for the ammonia to test it?

Should be able to

 

[ilyad]

Yes, the numbers you are experiencing are quite normal. During the cycle stage, you first get a spike in Amonia, which is then consumed by bacteria, creating Nitrite. Then a different type of bacteria consumes the Nitrite and produces Nitrates. What your numbers are telling me is that its in the end stages of the cycle. I would say a week or 2 from now, both ammonia and nitrites should read 0. Also, depending on your tanks lighting, filtration, amount of organic sources, etc will all vary how long the actual cycle takes. Typically for me, it takes from 4-8 weeks to finish cycling. I also give it an extra week or two to make sure that I dont have any odd spikes.

That being said, I personally also dont like to put any livestock into the tank until it is finished cycling. Its not fair for the livestock because of our own impatience.

 

[Vuuduu]

Thanks for the info guys. It was just a lot different than when I started my first tank (which I used live rock from a buddies aquarium). It was great i learned a lot, and I love the tank, but I don't like bristle worms and some other stuff that came with it lol, which is why I went with the dry rock this time.
I definitely have the patience, and don't want to put anything in that might suffer and die..... been setting this tank up for about 14 months now, few more weeks is nothing