Ammonia up, still no nitrate.

[RandyRhoads]

25gal 1 snowflake moray, 1 lion, + cleanup crew. 20 # LS 12 pounds LR.

It's been 3 days since I fed and the ammonia is at .5ppm. I still see no nitritate or nitrite, but I am using the crap test strips. The guy at the LFS still swears that I may not see them at all in such a small tank, and if I do it will be a few months. If it isn't cycled, why isn't it after 2 months, and what do I do to get it cycled? I've been changing 5 gal every week/ other week. is that too much, too little? Should I do a water change since the ammonia is at .5ppm or let it ride? Should I not feed until it goes down?

 

[Terrance]

Do you have any powerhead aiming at the live rocks? You have very little live rocks and it takes a few months for the live sand to work. Your biological filtration doesn't seem adequate.

Your tank is still cycling. Change the water to make test reading to 0.25ppm or less ammonia to increase your fish's chance for survival.

 

[RandyRhoads]

So just change the water once or twice a week until it's done? When I "cycled" it I saw the ammonia go up, then down, but never any nitrate/trite

The guy at the LFS seems to think 8 pounds of live rock was plenty. But you're not the first on here to say it's not enough. So I bought more today along with some base rock.

 

[RandyRhoads]

Oh, and I forgot to mention. In my new to this hobby mistake I changed the filter 3 times in the first month, because it looked dirt. I didn't know I could just rinse it off. I also had to remove the filter for 10 days for a red slime remover treatment, could this have messed it up?

 

[Terrance]

Your live rocks and/or base rocks could be adding ammonia to your tank. For established tanks, its a good idea to put it in a bucket with heater and powerhead for cycling. Does this mean you have more than 12lbs of rocks now?

Yes throwing away the filter pad would have depleted your tank of much needed beneficial bacteria. Change the water until you see 0.25 ammonia or less. Better to change a lot of the water at one time than a bunch of small water changes.

 

[RandyRhoads]

They are cured can they still add ammonia? I had 8 pounds but decided to get 4 more, along with a bunch of base rock, since the LR is SO expensive.

Does rinsing in freshwater or drying the filterpad also kill the good bacteria?

 

[Terrance]

If they are cured, there should be no ammonia.

Yes rinsing in FW or drying the filter pad kills the good bacteria. Rinse the filter pad in your old salt water from the tank. There are some available when you do a water change. Siphon water out of a tank and into a bucket. Then rinse the filter pad in the water in the bucket. Then put the pad back into the filter and keep it submerged in water inside the filter.

 

[54seaweed]

never rinse rock or filter media with fresh water it kills needed bacteria use your old salt water you siphon out of your tank
1 to 1 1/4 pounds of rock per gal is recommended
your tank is young still hasn't built up a good bio load
12lbs doesn't even frost the cake
any rock you add from here out needs to be totally cured first
or you will have many issues you don't want to deal with