brineyone
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Ok, I got a 15 gallon tank for Christmas. I read, read, read until the middle of Jan. Then I decided to start cycling. I added a dead shrimp and let it sit in the tank until it smelled. I only got 0.5ppm Ammonia reading. I took the shrimp goo out of the tank on husband's urging. Bought clear store ammonia. Tried adding the 5 drops per 10 gallons of water. Needed way more and only got ammonia reading to go up to 2 ppm for three consecutive days. Added no ammonia today. Readings:
Ammonia 0.5
Nitrites 2
Nitrates 80
salinity 1.022
temp 80
Question: Could my tank be mid-cycle? Should I still be adding ammonia or just waiting and checking the ammonia, and nitrites until they fall to zero. I have 20 lbs of live sand in there, but think I killed the live part when I mixed the water/salt in the aquarium. (newbie mistake, but at least I don't have any fish yet...) Any help would be appreciated!!
Ammonia 0.5
Nitrites 2
Nitrates 80
salinity 1.022
temp 80
Question: Could my tank be mid-cycle? Should I still be adding ammonia or just waiting and checking the ammonia, and nitrites until they fall to zero. I have 20 lbs of live sand in there, but think I killed the live part when I mixed the water/salt in the aquarium. (newbie mistake, but at least I don't have any fish yet...) Any help would be appreciated!!