Am i cycling wrong?

[zacheyp]

ok so i think im about halfway through my cycle and my kit just arrived
parameters are
ph 8.3
amonia o
nitrite 5
nitrate 10ish

i had a shrimp in there for 4 days but then took it out because i was told it wasnt needed

i have 30 pounds of cured live rock

i dont know if i ever had an ammonia spike and am i in the midst of a cycle or a minnie cycle

so what should i do, thanks as always!
Btw tang is 20 gal long and has been cycling 4 2 weeks

 

[zacheyp]

please help i am so clueless

 

[needmorecowbell]

Did the shrimp smell horrible once you took it out? If so, you most likely passed the ammonia peak and are finishing up tue nitrate and starting the nitrate. Start doing small water changes weekly when there isn't any nitrite readings left.

 

[zacheyp]

the shrimp smelled so horrrible that u couldnt go in the room, so are u saying once trites are gone and i do a few pwc's i am good to go?

 

[needmorecowbell]

Yep as long as trates are below 20 or so.. I would be safe and say 10 though. And I don't mean do the pwc's all at once or something, maybe 10% once a week or every 4 days

 

[zacheyp]

so u think im in a cyclye not a minnie cycle

 

[needmorecowbell]

Yep two weeks sounds okay, you had cured live rock so I think it's the cycle

 

[zacheyp]

what do others think?

 

[zacheyp]

without killing anything, how would i check if i hd a cycle or a minnie cycle

 

[zacheyp]

should i assume it was a cyclye cuz the shrimp smelled and the rock was cured

 

[needmorecowbell]

You would wait a month to see if you have a spike in ammo or nitrite again

 

[Gti_Leo]

you're supposed to keep the shrimp in until you see not trace of ammonia or nitrites, as this way you know the rock is doing its job breaking down the ammonia through the stages of the nitrogeon cycle.

you can still even leave the shrimp in there because it will eventually break down and get turned into nitrates

 

[zacheyp]

i think im done cycling, just tested the water and the results were
amo and tritres 0
trates 10
ph 8.3
i also have diatoms and alage growth
should i do a pwc now?

 

[Gti_Leo]

yes you will have diatom growth and yes you can do a PWC

 

[zacheyp]

i plan to get my clownfish on wendsday

 

[zacheyp]

also, my pwc will be 20 percent

 

[needmorecowbell]

I would check the water a day after tue pwc to see if everything is okay.

 

[zacheyp]

doing pwc now if everything is ok, will get clowns wendsday

 

[zacheyp]

just did a 205 when would u test the water and when would u get the fish

 

[needmorecowbell]

The same time the next day is what I would do, and then if all params are balanced buy one of the hardier fish in like 1 or 2 days. A clown or damsel would be good but damsels are aggressive. Then you could buy your clean up crew.