Tank Results/Question

[zacdl]

OK, leaving for Virginia for a week so I cannot test the water after today for a while.

Nitrite is off the scale and back and forth at 15
Alk is going back and forth, now at 6
Nitrate is now 30, highest yet.
PH is pretty steady, staying at 8.0-8.1
Ammonia is 0.7, I think it is dropping now, I am not sure. The little round yellow tester had two colors on it, a more green color (Green is less ammonia) and a blue on the edge (Blue is more) So I averaged it out, and stayed closer to the green (There was more green)

I think the ammonia should be falling and almost gone by the time I get back from the trip, and the Nitrites I hope would be high.

My question... How long after the ammonia drops does it take the tank to complete? 30 gal.

 

[MYTY1705]

All readings for nitrite nitrate and ammonia should be at 0 to consider a tank completly cycled.

Note that when adding fish and other things your nitare and nitrite numbers may come up and down but only after you have added your fist fish should the numbers move above 0.

 

[Phyl]

Your nitrate number may climb to greater than zero and does in a lot of tanks. That's the age old desire... to fight the build up of nitrates. Some people keep them in check with water changes, some people have good results by adding a fuge. Nitrates are usually high at the end of your cycle and are frequently handled with a large water change at the end of your cycle to try to bring them back into acceptable range.

As for how long it will take that is such an individual tank question. What's in it, where did you get that stuff from, etc. My tank cycled in about 2.5w. The topper was the live rock from LR.com. After I put that into my tank my numbers just fell off the charts. Some people fight the cycle for 6 weeks while others are still complaining that their tank hasn't finished after 2 months. I'm not sure what causes those stalls (but boy would that be annoying)! Good luck. Hopefully it will be all but over when you get back from your trip! The diatom bloom is a good indication that you're nearing the end. Hopefully you'll be out of town for most of that because boy is it ugly!