Two questions.

[ultimatedc]

What is up with my cycle? I have a 10g nano FOWLR tank with a few nerite snails, a turbo snail, and a camelshrimp. Also a few blue leg crabs.

I have about 10lbs of live rock and marine sand which I'm assuming should come alive. The tank has been running for about a week. Unfortunately my damsel fish passed, I heard they where akin to the danio, IE, a cycling fish. Cruel and to be truthful, I will never do a fish-in cycle after watching him suffer. I felt so bad.

Anyway, I finally got an API test kit. My readings are kinda weird. Ammonia is high, PH is perfect, but there is little to no nitrate or nitrite. What gives? I have a 160 gallon powerhead and a 20 gallon 4 stage filter with carbon and floss.

My other question is, our tap water is crazy friggin hard, like, 8.8 PPM. I want to do a water change and I cannot buy RO water or an RO system as I'm flat freakin broke. Mixing in the salt with this hard water, along with my rock, would only make my PH sky rocket, right? Or would the salt and rock combo stabilize it?

 

[hackteck]

well to answer one of your questions if you just recently started your cycle and with inverts and fish it could take a few weeks for it to finish dont wanna sound preachy but next time you should do a fishless cycle its real quick and you wouldnt have lost any animals the ammonia will skyrocket then come down as nitrites spike then nitrites will come down and nitrates will come when both ammonia and nitrite read 0 your cycled you sound like your tank is at the beginning of the cycle

 

[ultimatedc]

Okay well what do I do about my water change?

 

[ocean]

Distilled water is fine to use....and it's cheap....a gallon for 69 cents. I know you said you were broke....maybe barrow a few bucks from family or friends.

 

[kurtyboh]

and get a source of ammonia, either raw shrimp or actual ammonia. If you want to dose ammonia check out post 43 here. http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f14/my-first-sw-tank-147708-5.html

 

[ultimatedc]

Just re-tested the tank after a 50 percent water change. Ammonia came down somewhat, but still no nitrate. :|

 

[Henry405]

How high was your ammonia?

You shouldn't be doing any kind of water changes during the cycle because there is no reason for it unless you have crazy amounts of something. If you do PWC during a cycle, your just removing the ammonia and nitrite which is needed to build a good bacteria colony.

Just post up your parameters and let the tank run its course. It takes time to convert ammonia to nitrite and then to nitrate since its a new tank

 

[kurtyboh]

If you do not have fish/inverts/coral in your tank there is nothing to harm so it does not matter how high your ammonia goes anymore.