Cycling Question !

[JsQuid]

Good evening you all, well a few days ago I had a good buddy of mine measure my parameters and after 8 days of cycling I had about 2.0 ppm of ammonia and no signs of anything else. Well today, 2 days later, I tested again and now my readings show no signs of ammonia and no signs of anything else as well. Can anyone offer any insight as to what's going on? My first question is, I'm cycling the tank with shrimp but it has since decayed and I'm assuming it's no longer giving off ammonia. Could this be the case and if so, should I remove the shrimp and add more?

 

[JsQuid]

I forgot to mention, there is 40lbs of dry rock and 30lbs of dry aragonite sand. However, I added about a cup of live sand from an established aquarium.

 

[Ingy]

Your ammonia test looks like it was a flawed test. It looks clear instead of lime yellow. Even in a perfect tank, the ammonia test will not give a clear result. Redo it

 

[AquaRick]

I agree your ammonia test is off. I'd add more shrimp. Even better yet I'd go with ammonia and add it directly.

 

[JsQuid]

That's what I was thinking with the clear result! I'm also paranoid, so I didn't want to seem impatient about the cycle. I'm going to retest the ammonia and add another piece of shrimp. Is the shrimp in the tank still producing ammonia?

 

[JsQuid]

Well after another test, there is ammonia in the tank. It is roughly about the same in 2.0 and still no signs of anything else. I'm wondering if I'll need more bacteria to help converting the ammonia or should I see a spike? Also, should I add another piece of shrimp or just leave what I have in the tank?

 

[Ingy]

That's fine for where you are. Afer a while, maybe 2 weeks of ammonia slowly rising, eventually you'll see nitrites start to form and ammonia will soon start to drop. Then the same process will start with nitrites and nitrates. as long as the shrimp is decaying, you have an ammonia source and won't need to add more if the amm is in the 2-4ppm range before the ammonia spike (the peak prior to is falling).
The cycle is done when the amm and trites are 0 and nitrates are climbing steadily.

 

[JsQuid]

Thanks for the clarifications! I greatly appreciate it.

 

[Rmckoy]

Thanks for the clarifications! I greatly appreciate it.

What size tank are you cycling ?

 

[JsQuid]

It's a 40 breeder with a 20 long sump ! Attached is a photo !