Getting there... I think?

[nicolea]

So heres a brief hx of my tank....
Been up and running for about 2 weeks. 36 gallon bowfront; argonite substrate; 32lbs live rock.

I put a raw shrimp in and yesterday my Ammonia was at 8.0
I removed the shrimp and my ammonia is already down to 0.25
Is this normal? here are my other readings...

Here are my readings for today:

pH - 7.8 (its always been this not been changing a whole lot)
ammonia - 0.25
nitrites - 5.0
nitrates - 80
specific gravity - 1.025 (a bit higher than normal) should I dilute some of the tank?


--just want to know if im on the right track and if my levels and their changes are normal for this point in the stage.

---thanks guys

 

[Sniperhank]

Keep the shrimp in. It decaying will be providing the continued ammonia source, rather than having to dose ammonia everytime that level reaches 0. When I cycled with the shrimp, I let it completely rot and get eaten by hitchhikers. Took about a month to fully cycle.

You used tap water to fill up your tank I'd assume. Nitrates are way too high for a tank to only be on day 2 of cycle.

 

[nicolea]

Keep the shrimp in. It decaying will be providing the continued ammonia source, rather than having to dose ammonia everytime that level reaches 0. When I cycled with the shrimp, I let it completely rot and get eaten by hitchhikers. Took about a month to fully cycle.

You used tap water to fill up your tank I'd assume. Nitrates are way too high for a tank to only be on day 2 of cycle.

Okay its not day two of the cycle, i may have confused you. The shrimp has been in for 5-6 days...

I didnt use tap water for the whole thing, maybe 10% was tap water; the rest was demineralized & distilled water.

 

[nicolea]

From what I understood from previous advice, was to wait for the ammonia to spike, which it did to 5; than let it come back down along with the nitrates/ites; and that should conclude the cycle. Did I misunderstand the cycle?

 

[daney90]

Ok for ammonia to be gone that fast is kinda weird unless your tank is fully cycled. PH is a bit low but that's fine cause you're still going through the nitrogen cycle. For specific gravity I have mine at 1.024 and I think yours is fine too.

Btw, glad to see someone from Ontario in this forum lol!!!

 

[nicolea]

Ok for ammonia to be gone that fast is kinda weird unless your tank is fully cycled. PH is a bit low but that's fine cause you're still going through the nitrogen cycle. For specific gravity I have mine at 1.024 and I think yours is fine too.

Btw, glad to see someone from Ontario in this forum lol!!!

Oh nice, Im in SW Ontario!

--the ammonia was sitting around the 4 mark and spiked yesterday to 8... so i took the shrimp out last night and its that low already (this afternoon) The rocks were in the tank for about 2-3 days before I put the shrimp in.

 

[daney90]

Did you use live rock? I also did the shrimp method and had the same prob. So I took out the shrimp after more than a week but my ammo remained very high and it gradually decreased.

 

[nicolea]

Did you use live rock? I also did the shrimp method and had the same prob. So I took out the shrimp after more than a week but my ammo remained very high and it gradually decreased.

Yes I've got 30lbs of live rock in there now. I put it in monday.

 

[Elude82]

Arg! Cycling can be a pain. I always use Smart Start, to give my new tanks a boost! Also, you might want to get a ph buffer for the future, that way you can maintain a constant 8.3/8.4. If you use the smart start wait a week, because it will give false parameters at first. Good luck on the aquarium. And btw, this was just my opinion

 

[nicolea]

Arg! Cycling can be a pain. I always use Smart Start, to give my new tanks a boost! Also, you might want to get a ph buffer for the future, that way you can maintain a constant 8.3/8.4. If you use the smart start wait a week, because it will give false parameters at first. Good luck on the aquarium. And btw, this was just my opinion

Thanks I might just give it a week and see where it's a at. Than ill try that stuff. So that ammonia and nitrite spike doesn't count as a cycle once it comes down correct ?

 

[daney90]

Nope.. I would suggest dosing a pure ammonia. I bought a pure ammonia at homehardware for $3 and use it to complete the cycling process. Make sure it's a pure ammonia. To test it, shake the bottle, open the lid and there shouldn't be any foamy bubbles. Then dose your tank to 4ppm. I had to put 9ml on my 55 gal to have 4ppm ammo. So I suggest putting 5ml first and check your ammo after 3 hrs. Hope that helps

 

[nicolea]

Can anyone identify this thing?

 

[Sniperhank]

Yeah, that is aiptasia.

 

[nicolea]

I'm having trouble reading my chemistry... This is how I read it ?..


Ammonia 0
Nitrites 5.0
Nitrates 80
PH 7.8

Let me know what you guys think.

 

[nicolea]

Yeah, that is aiptasia.

Good bad? There's quite a few growing in my new tank.

 

[obscurereef]

It's bad. They are small anemones that can multiply quickly and sting corals. You can use something like aiptasia juice or lemon juice. You can get a peppermint shrimp to eat the small ones that you prob. won't find.

 

[nicolea]

It's bad. They are small anemones that can multiply quickly and sting corals. You can use something like aiptasia juice or lemon juice. You can get a peppermint shrimp to eat the small ones that you prob. won't find.

Oh boy. Lol. Ok I didn't want shrimp. But I will try it. Now that I look real close. Wow I've got lots growing already also I posted on my other thread I think I found a crab in a rock. I posted pics there too.

How do I get my hands on aptasia juice? I'd like to get rid of the problems before I add fish

 

[okapizebra]

I had aiptasia in my tank and I got a product called aiptasia-x. Try seeing if you can get it at your LFS. It's also online at amazon.

 

[nicolea]

I had aiptasia in my tank and I got a product called aiptasia-x. Try seeing if you can get it at your LFS. It's also online at amazon.

Thnx. I'll look for it tomorrow.

 

[obscurereef]

Did I say aiptasia juice? I meant a killer for this pest...like okapizebra said, aiptasia is popular and kills them effectively.