Fishless Cycle... Update...

[AH-99p]

Hello,

10 days ago i started a fishless cycle in a 35gallon tank with 14kg of liverock. I used a raw, headless, peeled king prawn. During this time, i have seen the PH rise, and the ammonia + nitrites go up and down. My Nitrates have stayed stead throughout the cycle.

Today, my readings are:

Ph: 8.2
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0.5
Nitrate: 160
Salt: 1.024

My water levels have dropped slightly as a result of the evaporation... i guess this is why my salt levels are still high. With regards to the nitrate, the LFS suggests that once i add a skimmer the level will drop?

As my cycle has progressed, i've seen algie die off, come back etc, i've seen many many critters and find it a joy to watch at night even though there are no fish around... yet

I'd be very very grateful to anyone who could comments on the process of my cycle / the levels that i'm reading today?

 

[hackteck]

sounds like your cycle is almost done

 

[melosu58]

It`s on the way. Probably by midweek you can do some pwc to lower your nitrates and be good to go.

 

[AH-99p]

thanks for the reply hackteck...

what do i need to keep an eye on to show the cycle has completed... and once i think the cycle has completed how should i go about lowering the nitrate... should i get a skimmer or do a water change to try and lower it?

 

[Wood_Dog]

Nearly there, lower the nitrate with pwc and then the fun starts!

 

[sonoma2nv]

when you see ammonia 0 and nitrite 0 then you should be done.i would do a 20% wc and check the levels 4-5 days later to make sure everything is still 0