New tank cycle question

[Zachary Thibodeaux]

So I began cycling my tank 5 days ago using the dead shrimp method. The tank consists of dry rock, live sand, and I used bio spira to seed the tank. I’ve tested my ammonia levels daily and have yet to see them rise above 0. However, tonight I got home and tested both ammonia and nitrites and my ammonia level was once again 0 but my nitrites have now risen above 0. I also checked my pH for the hell of it and it has risen from 8.0 to 8.3-8.4. Is it possible that I missed the ammonia spike? Has anyone ever experienced something similar?

 

[redfishbluefish]

Sit back and relax! The nitrate you're seeing is coming from the rock curing....nothing to do with the cycle.

You can test if the Bio Spira is doing it's thing by adding 1 - 2 ppm ammonia and waiting to see if it is consumed .

 

[Zachary Thibodeaux]

Sit back and relax! The nitrate you're seeing is coming from the rock curing....nothing to do with the cycle.

You can test if the Bio Spira is doing it's thing by adding 1 - 2 ppm ammonia and waiting to see if it is consumed .

I think I’ll try that. Do you know why my pH would make a leap like it did?

 

[WWIII]

Wait and see approach here. It is possible that the biospira is working on the little ammonia that the shrimp is releasing so far, but it should spike. I'd at least give it another week to see where it's at then.

Did you test the ph at the same time of day both times? Ph can vary by that much from morning to night. Usually lowest in the morning and highest after the lights have ran all day (in the evening).

Congrats on the new tank!!! And Welcome to R2R!!!

 

[Zachary Thibodeaux]

Wait and see approach here. It is possible that the biospira is working on the little ammonia that the shrimp is releasing so far, but it should spike. I'd at least give it another week to see where it's at then.

Did you test the ph at the same time of day both times? Ph can vary by that much from morning to night. Usually lowest in the morning and highest after the lights have ran all day (in the evening).

Congrats on the new tank!!! And Welcome to R2R!!!

That’s what I was thinking. I was just confused as to why my nitrites would rise before the ammonia ever rose above 0. Still in the process of learning so any tips or knowledge is appreciated

Yes I tested the pH at about 8:30 pm both yesterday and today.

Thank you!!

 

[WWIII]

The bacteria from the biospira could very well be turning the ammonia into nitrite already. If that's the case you should see more of a spike in the nitrites and then after time they will come back down to 0. Sometimes the nitrites to nitrates part takes much longer (relatively) to cycle than the ammonia to nitrite.

That's kinda weird about the ph, but all of the readings you report are very good. Wouldn't worry about it, or think to much into it at this point. It's fine to test for, but no need to do anything about it.

I'd just keep doing what you're doing. Testing to get used to testing, waiting and researching! It's actually a pretty fun time in this hobby to be setting up a new system, even though it can seem pretty boring at times!