Is this normal?

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Darylb

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Mar 19, 2013
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western australia
I done this test today my tank is still cycling is this a normal spike in the tests or should I be doing something to bring it all down
 

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Everything looks like its working. What type of cycle are you doing? Fish in, fishless with a raw shrimp or pure ammonia?
 
I'm just cycling it with the live rock and seeing how it goes how long do you think it will be before the cycle is done? I have feather dusters and other little things growing in it now but no diatoms
 
How long has it been cycling? I would recommend putting a piece of shrimp in. You want to be able to turn 4ppm ammonia into nitrate within 24hrs.
 
There usually is some die off from the live rock to supply some ammonia. Just not sure if that will build enough bb to sustain fish.Every system is different, I've heard anywhere from a week to 6 weeks.
 
The die off from live rock isn't enough to cycle a tank successfully. The addition of one fish will produce more waste than normally comes in on live rock. I would suggest you put a cocktail shrimp into your tank to keep it going so you can build up enough of bacteria.

In terms of where your numbers are, that is how it should look as the cycle goes on. As things decay they create ammonia, which the bacteria then converts to nitrite and different bacteria then convert it to nitrate, which you then remove via water changes.
 
Yes, anything that will decay will do it. The only issue I would see is that the flakes will make a mess. When I cycle my tanks, I go into my grocery store and ask them for an uncooked shrimp. They are usually so confused as to why you only need one they will just give it to you. If not, it is a couple of cents. Just easier to put a shrimp into a filter sock or some cheap panty hose and throw it into the tank. Then when it comes time to remove it, you just pull it out.
 
The flake food will help but still won't be enough. Buy some cocktail shrimp from the grocery store, rinse it off in dechlorinated water and toss it in.
 
Okay no worries how long do I leave it in there for and I got some frozen fish that my neighbor caught in the freezer could I use that instead?
 
Okay no worries how long do I leave it in there for and I got some frozen fish that my neighbor caught in the freezer could I use that instead?

I wouldn't if it was me. You just don't know what the water source the fish was caught in has in it as far as toxins. Food grade shrimp are your safest bet. Their cheap and safe.
 
Diatoms feed off of silicate from your sand, or anything else that has silicate in it like silicon. They can show up during a cycle or even after in some cases. You will see a spike in nitrites, and then nitrates. When this stops, your cycle is done. This takes about a month.
 
Cheers mate they spiked a bit today does the spike usually last a few weeks I got the live rock on Tuesday and the LFS said to come in today to get some fish because apparently the rock is cured my ammonia levels have drop but nitrites and nitrates are still high
 
Hold off on the fish. Wait till your nitrates are really high. 60-80 Do a 75% water change pull the shrimp then test your water. You should still have some ammonia and nitrite at this point. It should be 0 on both within 24hrs of pulling the shrimp. If you still have over 20 nitrate do another pwc to bring it down to 20 or less.
 
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