clr_newbie
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Week 1
Set up tank on day 1 with live sand and saltwater purchased from LFS. Tested water daily and noted ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate at 0. Ph was around 8.2
Week 2
Added 10lbs cured live rock and 2 damsels(I read about cycling without live fish after I had done this so please don't chastise me). Tested water daily and noted ammonia at 0, nitrate at 0, nitrate went from 0 to 5 at the end of the week, and PH dropped to 8.0.
Week 3
Added 10lbs cured live rock. Tested water daily and noted no trace of ammonia, nitrite still at 0, nitrate still at 5, PH dropped to 7.8
Week 4
Tested water daily and noted ammonia at 0, nitrite at 0, nitrate rose from 5 to 10 at the end of the week, and PH at 7.8. I lost both damsels at the end of this week. They looked as though they were breathing very hard for 1 1/2 day before they died.
This Week
Did a 40 percent water change on Monday. Tested water daily and noted ammonia at 0, nitrite at 0, nitrate dropped to 5 with water change but has crept back up to 10, and PH at 8.2
I have never seen the ammonia or nitrite go above 0 in my tank but the nitrate climbed to 10. Why is the nitrate at 10 but I have never seen any presence of nitrite. When will my tank cycle?
Set up tank on day 1 with live sand and saltwater purchased from LFS. Tested water daily and noted ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate at 0. Ph was around 8.2
Week 2
Added 10lbs cured live rock and 2 damsels(I read about cycling without live fish after I had done this so please don't chastise me). Tested water daily and noted ammonia at 0, nitrate at 0, nitrate went from 0 to 5 at the end of the week, and PH dropped to 8.0.
Week 3
Added 10lbs cured live rock. Tested water daily and noted no trace of ammonia, nitrite still at 0, nitrate still at 5, PH dropped to 7.8
Week 4
Tested water daily and noted ammonia at 0, nitrite at 0, nitrate rose from 5 to 10 at the end of the week, and PH at 7.8. I lost both damsels at the end of this week. They looked as though they were breathing very hard for 1 1/2 day before they died.
This Week
Did a 40 percent water change on Monday. Tested water daily and noted ammonia at 0, nitrite at 0, nitrate dropped to 5 with water change but has crept back up to 10, and PH at 8.2
I have never seen the ammonia or nitrite go above 0 in my tank but the nitrate climbed to 10. Why is the nitrate at 10 but I have never seen any presence of nitrite. When will my tank cycle?