Nitrates dropped 35 points overnight

[Reefertime]

Hi guys started a tank a week ago and on the first two days of buying real rock “live rock” levels for nitrates where zero so I figured nothing was happening and the live rock was not live at all it was wrapped in paper in a real rock box looks like it just got there to the lfs as it was still damp, took it home and put it in my tank along with like 4 pounds of dry Fiji pink I had lying around, and I tested first two days were testing zero so I added a bottle of bio spira bacteria by instant ocean just in case, the next couple days i started getting reading of 40 ppm nitrate and today it dropped to only 5 ppm overnight I’ve been ghost feeding brine shrimp every other day only a couple of tiny pieces, is my tank cycled?

 

[Lasse]

This is - at least nowadays - the classic question about cycling. Your first nitrate levels is a false reading because of interference with nitrite levels. What you have seen is a typical nitrite spike - please see here for explanations what´s happening. IMO - it seems like your tank is cycled (including the second step of the nitrification process) at least for a low bio load. If you ad a fish now - please see this article for some tips.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Reefertime]

This is - at least nowadays - the classic question about cycling. Your first nitrate levels is a false reading because of interference with nitrite levels. What you have seen is a typical nitrite spike - please see here for explanations what´s happening. IMO - it seems like your tank is cycled (including the second step of the nitrification process) at least for a low bio load. If you ad a fish now - please see this article for some tips.

Sincerely Lasse

Good information here, in the past I have always tried to have a deep sand bed and natural Pourous Fiji rock because I believed in the power of anerobic bacteria this is the first tank I’m starting with manmade Rock that’s essentially dry and dry sand and I barely put enough sand so called aesthetics , and a really nice lfs owner told me that lots of sand and rock only contributes to so called “nitrate factory’s”. But is this true also can I add another piece of dry rock once the tank has been established without the tank crashing? Thanks I’m advance

 

[Lasse]

This with "nitrate factories" is among the most ridiculous statement in reef keeping I know off -IMO. If you talk about the importance of holding down the ammonia concentrations - you must rely on the nitrification process. The endpoint of the nitrification process is just nitrate. The nitrification process is the factory - not where it takes place. This is most important in newly started aquarium with no other pathways for ammonia removal. To name a filter or sanbed - nitrate factory - is just to state that here is a place where the nitrification is working very well

In a mature aquarium - photosynthetic organism often use ammonia before the nitrification process can use it - the nitrification cycle gets lesser ammonia to process - result lesser nitrate.

The aeration in skimmers also helps in the ammonia removal. Especially at high pH:s. Total ammonia consist of two different components that is two sides of the same coin. Ammonia gas (NH3 or ammoniac - the toxic compound) and ammonia ions (NH4 or ammonium - the non toxic compound) The ratio between them is mostly depended of pH and temperature. At pH 8 and 25 degree C around 5% is as gas (NH3) - at pH 8.5 around 15 % is as gas. The gas form can be ventilated out through the skimmer and when it is happen - the rest of the total ammonia will directly go back into the percentage the pH and temperature decide. In this way - it is possible with help of a huge skimmer ventilate out rather much ammonia before the nitrification process can reach it and therefore will produced lesser nitrate.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Reefertime]

This with "nitrate factories" is among the most ridiculous statement in reef keeping I know off -IMO. If you talk about the importance of holding down the ammonia concentrations - you must rely on the nitrification process. The endpoint of the nitrification process is just nitrate. The nitrification process is the factory - not where it takes place. This is most important in newly started aquarium with no other pathways for ammonia removal. To name a filter or sanbed - nitrate factory - is just to state that here is a place where the nitrification is working very well

In a mature aquarium - photosynthetic organism often use ammonia before the nitrification process can use it - the nitrification cycle gets lesser ammonia to process - result lesser nitrate.

The aeration in skimmers also helps in the ammonia removal. Especially at high pH:s. Total ammonia consist of two different components that is two sides of the same coin. Ammonia gas (NH3 or ammoniac - the toxic compound) and ammonia ions (NH4 or ammonium - the non toxic compound) The ratio between them is mostly depended of pH and temperature. At pH 8 and 25 degree C around 5% is as gas (NH3) - at pH 8.5 around 15 % is as gas. The gas form can be ventilated out through the skimmer and when it is happen - the rest of the total ammonia will directly go back into the percentage the pH and temperature decide. In this way - it is possible with help of a huge skimmer ventilate out rather much ammonia before the nitrification process can reach it and therefore will produced lesser nitrate.

Sincerely Lasse

In other words since my take is so small and no room for a skimmer, the aid of a small air stone would help greatly in the nitrification processes, and also to add a deep sand bed and more bio media would be more Benificial than a nuisance (algae factory)