Ammonia, NO2 & NO3

[johnkristie]

What are considered high levels of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate for a salt water tank? What levels should I shoot for to safely maintain a tank? 8O

 

[WarOrks15]

well are you cycleing the tank? if not then you want them all to be 0. if you are cycleing the tank then just let then go up unless you are trying to keep the stuff on the rock. then do a water change every so offen to keep the level from getting too high.

 

[Biggen]

What are considered high levels of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate for a salt water tank? What levels should I shoot for to safely maintain a tank?

Ammonia - 0 ppm
Nitrite - 0 ppm
Nitrate - As low as possible. For reef you need the level < 5 ppm. For a FO, it can be higher (as high as 40 ppm) but you still need to strive to keep the level as low as possible. Remember, nitrate (in enough quantities) is toxic to fish.

 

[johnkristie]

I am just starting the cycling process. What levels can I expect to see during this process and when should the levels start to drop off?

How about salinity? What should I keep that at? I've heard that keeping the salinity a little low can help to keep diseases away?

 

[cmor1701d]

During the cycle the ammonia can go off the charts and then fall rapidly as the nitrites spike which will fall as the nitrates spike.
Then what Biggen said.
What are you using for biological filtration?
What method are you using for cycling the tank?
How big is the tank?

 

[Biggen]

I am just starting the cycling process. What levels can I expect to see during this process and when should the levels start to drop off?

How are you cycling your tank? We actually have articles in our articles section that describe, in depth, how to cycle a tank without fish. Here are the links:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=6
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=15

Cycling a tank takes approx 2-4 weeks. Some people's tank will cycle extremely quickly (mine took less than 5 days) while others can take up to a month.

How about salinity? What should I keep that at?

I keep my SG at 1.025. Anywhere from 1.023 - 1.025 is a good range.

I've heard that keeping the salinity a little low can help to keep diseases away?

It is much easier to simply QT fish before introducing them into your display tank. That way you won't have to every worry about this.

 

[johnkristie]

I've got a 220 gal with a sump full of enough bioballs to handle a 300 gal tank. I was planning on cycling it with shrimp as suggested by many other folks.