New tank set up, quewtions

[cpschult]

Man U are in a hurry for some reason. Brew has given u everything to do since the beginning and u have hardly listened to him. He has more patience then me(cause HE is retired). I mean u are cycling it is from ur rock. Hey come to my house grab a sponge throw in another bottle of bacteria but ur still going to have ammonia from r rock. I know u are in a rush and everything but if u have this 120 on hand that isn't cycling get a acclimation box and leave the two new fish in that till the new tank cycles. Sit back and relax man the more U keep tinkering with it the longer it is going to take. I hope everything turns out great for u but u have to relax. Slow down u will get there faster

.... Have you read the entire thread?

I started cycling my rock over two months ago. When I added the rock and sand to my new set up I also added 3 different bacteria additives that I had laying around. It's clear that the nitrite fixing bacteria are working from the 40ppm nitrate the API test shows. My main concern is still having such high ammonia. I won't be adding fish until it reads zero. I appreciate everyone's comments in regards to the test results.

I shouldn't still have ammonia coming from the rock if I've been cycling it for that long. Either there was a failure in the original cycling (there shouldn't have been, ammonia source, heat and powerhead), or the ammonia is coming from another source (sand?).

I picked up the fish today and put into the 40g breeder frag tank that I have hooked up to my 125g system.

The bacteria in a bottle will mess with your test kit. Even though it's bonded and safe your bacterial population hasn't grown enough to remove it. Listen to @Brew12 and drink a brew! Stay Crispy!

Prime is different from the bacteria in the bottle. Either way I'm waiting for the bacteria population to grow. Bummed.

 

[justingraham]

.... Have you read the entire thread?

I started cycling my rock over two months ago. When I added the rock and sand to my new set up I also added 3 different bacteria additives that I had laying around. It's clear that the nitrite fixing bacteria are working from the 40ppm nitrate the API test shows. My main concern is still having such high ammonia. I won't be adding fish until it reads zero. I appreciate everyone's comments in regards to the test results.

I shouldn't still have ammonia coming from the rock if I've been cycling it for that long. Either there was a failure in the original cycling (there shouldn't have been, ammonia source, heat and powerhead), or the ammonia is coming from another source (sand?).

I picked up the fish today and put into the 40g breeder frag tank that I have hooked up to my 125g system.



Prime is different from the bacteria in the bottle. Either way I'm waiting for the bacteria population to grow. Bummed.

Yes I have read and as brew has stated several times It didn't cycle right.
He has asked u what else is in it besides sand and rock and u have not answered him it's not the new sand u put in so what Elese could it be? it's ur rocks that were outside for two months supposedly cycling.
Well we're telling u it didn't cycle somehow that's the only logical explanation. And all I was saying is slow down yes u have added multiple bottles why? Cause ur trying to make nature do something it doesn't want to do. We're here to help u and have told u the reasons why we think it still has ammonia and all u keep saying is that u cycled the rocks. Then if u cycled it u wouldn't have ammonia were not attacking u. Brew also asked u to take the rocks out. And u just keep saying it isn't the rocks. So I don't know then I don't it's weird and I have never heard of cycled rocks with brand new live sand have ammonia spike like u have had. I used dry rock and live sand 2 bottles of bacteria and I did not have a cycle at all. So whenever u find out what is causing it please let us know so we can help someone else if it happens to them.

 

[Brew12]

Guys, let's keep this friendly. I understand the OP's frustration. We can all learn from each other. I have already learned something from him on this thread!

I shouldn't still have ammonia coming from the rock if I've been cycling it for that long. Either there was a failure in the original cycling (there shouldn't have been, ammonia source, heat and powerhead), or the ammonia is coming from another source (sand?).

I know it isn't what you want to hear, but I encourage you to look into this more. If this old rock came from a healthy tank it will have a huge amount of organics in it. Because of how deep into the rock the organics can get, and how thick they can be within it, it can take many months for it to decay. If the water or rock still smelled like sulfur, it needed more cure time. The higher quality the rock (more porous) the longer the process can take. That is why many people use bleach. It helps break down the organics much more quickly.
Please don't confuse this process with cycling. It doesn't matter if the rock cycled in the container. Had the rock come out with absolutely no bacteria in it because it hadn't cycled in the least you would have fixed this problem by adding the bacteria in a bottle. The fact that you have almost no nitrites show the process is working. You greatly improved your surface area issues. The fact that you have consistent ammonia and rising nitrates shows that you have additional ammonia being added to the system.
If you really think it could be coming from your sand, vacuum your sand out and do a water change. That would clear it up almost immediately.

If it is your rocks, you have a few choices. Pulling and bleaching them is one option and what I would recommend. You can also leave them in and wait until you get enough bacteria in your system to be able to consume the ammonia at the rate it is being produced. That could happen any day (you must have a huge bacteria population already!) or it could take weeks.

Have you tested for phosphates? If it is decaying matter in your rocks your bacteria can eventually handle the ammonia. Unfortunately, that decaying matter will also produce phosphates which can fuel an algae issue in the future. It is something I would test for soon if you haven't already.

 

[justingraham]

I was trying to be nice sorry if it doesn't seem that way I to am trying to help the op figure this out that is all

 

[cpschult]

Rock and sand- a skimmer, a return pump, a heater (skimmer isn't on). I pulled rock from my DT and sump and placed outside, turning occasionally- rock was white.

I took white rock and placed in my basement for 2 months in saltwater with a heater and a powerhead. Used aquavitro and tossed in a few pellets to keep cycle going. I never once tested this water for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates. I did do two complete water changes to cycle out phosphates if there was any in the water. That isn't a supposed cycle process. I used the three bottles of bacteria in the DT because I had them laying around and I planned on taking the two diamond tail wrasse my friend was holding for me straight into the DT.

I'll test for phosphates and see what I end up with. Won't be able to do that until tomorrow.

I'm just going to ride it out at this point. Once ammonia drops I'll do a big water change to bring nitrates down to something manageable and so I feel more comfortable about adding corals.

Fish are in my other system and will be fine until this one is cycled. Now I need to decide if I want to re-quarantine them before adding. I plan on everything going into this system being quarantined and dipped if a coral.

 

[cpschult]

Needed wife help but looks like .25 P. Lot of something in the water. I'm beginning to wonder if one of the bottles I laying around was completely dead and fouled.

 

[cpschult]

Bought 40lbs of fine live sand over the weekend. Cycle seems to be getting worse?