New Tank Cycle - Odd Results

[TheBirdsNest]

Hey folks!

I'm going through my first cycle in my 250L tank and I decided to use the Red Sea Mature Pro to get things going, but actually this seems to have over-complicated things and now I'm a bit lost.. I had been dosing according to the instruction manual and on day 10 the expected parameters were supposed to be 0ppm Ammonia, 0ppm Nitrite, 10ppm Nitrate.. Its now day 21 and I'm still at 2ppm Nitrite...

Thats not my concern however, I'm happy to wait and let nature take its course, however, the results don't seem to be moving and in some cases vary quite a lot day by day..
For example, the last 2 days, my Ammonia has been 0ppm but today its 0.25ppm! Nitrates seems to vary between 40ppm and 100ppm, the only constant is Nitrites which are stuck at 2ppm and have been for the last week.

I guess my question is... does that sound normal? Are things still going in the right direction or should I be doing something like a water change?

Last 3 day readings:

Day 19:
Ammonia: 0.0ppm
Nitrite: 2ppm
Nitrate: 80ppm

Day 20:
Ammonia: 0.0ppm
Nitrite: 2ppm
Nitrate: 40ppm

Day 21:
Ammonia: 0.25ppm
Nitrite: 2ppm
Nitrate: 20ppm

I'm using the API SaltWater Master Test Kit, testing from the sump at the same time each day 12:00..
I'm running my Skimmer (Red Sea Reef Skimmer 300), x2 Red Sea ReefWave 25's at 40%, x2 RedSea ReefLED 90's at 23k for 8 hours a day..
I'm also running my ATO which is currently topping up around 1.2 L of RO daily..

My other parameters have been pretty consistent over the last week: Temp: 26.2'C, Salinity: 1.025, PH: 8.0

I didn't see any diatom or Cyanobacteria really - well I did, but it lasted about 48 hours and was just little blotches.. Now nearly all the glass and rock are covered in a green hair like algae and has been like that the last 4-5 days.. Today it seems to be getting a little better on the glass.. That sounds like it's moving in the right direction!

Honestly, I am a little confused, I was expecting things to trend in a certain way but not sure thats the case and I think using the Mature Pro kit over-complicated it!

Any advice is much appreciated!

Thanks

 

[Garf]

Hey folks!

I'm going through my first cycle in my 250L tank and I decided to use the Red Sea Mature Pro to get things going, but actually this seems to have over-complicated things and now I'm a bit lost.. I had been dosing according to the instruction manual and on day 10 the expected parameters were supposed to be 0ppm Ammonia, 0ppm Nitrite, 10ppm Nitrate.. Its now day 21 and I'm still at 2ppm Nitrite...

Thats not my concern however, I'm happy to wait and let nature take its course, however, the results don't seem to be moving and in some cases vary quite a lot day by day..
For example, the last 2 days, my Ammonia has been 0ppm but today its 0.25ppm! Nitrates seems to vary between 40ppm and 100ppm, the only constant is Nitrites which are stuck at 2ppm and have been for the last week.

I guess my question is... does that sound normal? Are things still going in the right direction or should I be doing something like a water change?

Last 3 day readings:

Day 19:
Ammonia: 0.0ppm
Nitrite: 2ppm
Nitrate: 80ppm

Day 20:
Ammonia: 0.0ppm
Nitrite: 2ppm
Nitrate: 40ppm

Day 21:
Ammonia: 0.25ppm
Nitrite: 2ppm
Nitrate: 20ppm

I'm using the API SaltWater Master Test Kit, testing from the sump at the same time each day 12:00..
I'm running my Skimmer (Red Sea Reef Skimmer 300), x2 Red Sea ReefWave 25's at 40%, x2 RedSea ReefLED 90's at 23k for 8 hours a day..
I'm also running my ATO which is currently topping up around 1.2 L of RO daily..

My other parameters have been pretty consistent over the last week: Temp: 26.2'C, Salinity: 1.025, PH: 8.0

I didn't see any diatom or Cyanobacteria really - well I did, but it lasted about 48 hours and was just little blotches.. Now nearly all the glass and rock are covered in a green hair like algae and has been like that the last 4-5 days.. Today it seems to be getting a little better on the glass.. That sounds like it's moving in the right direction!

Honestly, I am a little confused, I was expecting things to trend in a certain way but not sure thats the case and I think using the Mature Pro kit over-complicated it!

Any advice is much appreciated!

Thanks

The nitrite is messing with your nitrate test. If your ammonia is low (a reading of 0.25 is low) you are good to go. Happy reefin’

 

[TheBirdsNest]

The nitrite is messing with your nitrate test. If your ammonia is low (a reading of 0.25 is low) you are good to go. Happy reefin’

Thanks Garf! Good to go as in start to get some CUC's in there? Do you think a water change is a good idea to try and bring the nitrites down? Thanks for the advice!

 

[brandon429]

question for practitioners of new cycling science:

what detail from the picture provided, not the stated test levels, that unequivocally proves the cycle is done


big brownie points for anyone who catches and relays the detail

even if he said his levels were higher for ammonia, let’s say api guessed at current levels = 1.0 (4x higher than stated currently) the detail is so prominent we’d ignore the non digital test reading and know the cycle is done anyway

there is not a condition in which a level guessed at by an api kit would outweigh what the picture shows regarding cycle completion

what was the tell for this cycle completion? It’s right there in the pic

 

[TheBirdsNest]

question for practitioners of new cycling science:

what detail from the picture provided, not the stated test levels, unequivocally proves the cycle is done


big brownie points for anyone who catches and relays the detail

even if he said his levels were higher for ammonia, let’s say api guessed at current levels = 1.0 (4x higher than stated currently) the detail is so prominent we’d ignore the non digital test reading and know the cycle is done anyway

what was the tell for this cycle completion? It’s right there in the pic

I guess the fact there is algae there?

 

[brandon429]

Agreed

you won’t see that pointed out from more than 1% of the population here because old cycling science is still prominent on all reef sites


there is no time in a cycle that benthic growths of algae, cyano, diatoms or dinos come before basic ammonia control is in place regardless of what api says, = the rule of benthic visual cycling clues.


the second non test kit clue that you’re cycled is that it’s been running 21 + days, new cycling science knows that’s a done cycle even without the pic


Nitrite doesn't factor in updated cycling science, only in the old rules. Whatever it's levels are in a given reef tank cycle it doesn't matter. The kit isn't necessary to own, we don't mind what it's levels are bc nitrite is rendered neutral impact in marine tank cycles only ammonia control matters

It's opposite in freshwater: nitrite is the concern and ammonia is rather neutral due to inherent chemistry differences in the two aquatic systems

new cycling science does not need estimated test levels to know when a cycle is complete

same example from here

bacteria

Good Morning, Reefer community my tank is now two running and cycling and have notice a green color grow on the sand and rock scape was told it was some time of Bacteria

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

API test kit almost always shows some ammonia. Nitrite is still high, even though nitrite doesn't affect marine life much, I would still wait a week before adding animals. You will want to invest in better test kits going forward.

You turned the lights on already? Why do you have algae already in 20 days? Is the tank near a window?

What kind of rocks are those ? They don't look like regular marine rocks, meaning they don't look porous at all. The best rocks have millions of holes and tunnels.

 

[Garf]

Do you think a water change is a good idea to try and bring the nitrites down?

If it makes you feel better, yes, lol. From a toxicity point of view it’s harmless. You just won’t be able to test nitrates until it’s zero, and that’s no big problem either.

The best rocks have millions of holes and tunnels.

Well that’s what folk think,lol. Mine are strictly non porous, until stuff starts growing on them. Ill attach a pic of some of my non porous rock from my old tank

 

[Subsea]

Hey folks!

I'm going through my first cycle in my 250L tank and I decided to use the Red Sea Mature Pro to get things going, but actually this seems to have over-complicated things and now I'm a bit lost.. I had been dosing according to the instruction manual and on day 10 the expected parameters were supposed to be 0ppm Ammonia, 0ppm Nitrite, 10ppm Nitrate.. Its now day 21 and I'm still at 2ppm Nitrite...

Thats not my concern however, I'm happy to wait and let nature take its course, however, the results don't seem to be moving and in some cases vary quite a lot day by day..
For example, the last 2 days, my Ammonia has been 0ppm but today its 0.25ppm! Nitrates seems to vary between 40ppm and 100ppm, the only constant is Nitrites which are stuck at 2ppm and have been for the last week.

I guess my question is... does that sound normal? Are things still going in the right direction or should I be doing something like a water change?

Last 3 day readings:

Day 19:
Ammonia: 0.0ppm
Nitrite: 2ppm
Nitrate: 80ppm

Day 20:
Ammonia: 0.0ppm
Nitrite: 2ppm
Nitrate: 40ppm

Day 21:
Ammonia: 0.25ppm
Nitrite: 2ppm
Nitrate: 20ppm

I'm using the API SaltWater Master Test Kit, testing from the sump at the same time each day 12:00..
I'm running my Skimmer (Red Sea Reef Skimmer 300), x2 Red Sea ReefWave 25's at 40%, x2 RedSea ReefLED 90's at 23k for 8 hours a day..
I'm also running my ATO which is currently topping up around 1.2 L of RO daily..

My other parameters have been pretty consistent over the last week: Temp: 26.2'C, Salinity: 1.025, PH: 8.0

I didn't see any diatom or Cyanobacteria really - well I did, but it lasted about 48 hours and was just little blotches.. Now nearly all the glass and rock are covered in a green hair like algae and has been like that the last 4-5 days.. Today it seems to be getting a little better on the glass.. That sounds like it's moving in the right direction!

Honestly, I am a little confused, I was expecting things to trend in a certain way but not sure thats the case and I think using the Mature Pro kit over-complicated it!

Any advice is much appreciated!

Thanks

Your tank looks healthy. The test results you posted makes sense and prove your nitrogen fixation cycle is progessing when you focus on nitrate. Most everything in marine ecosystem would prefer ammonia.

Nitrogen fixation bacteria double in density every 20 minutes which is how ammonia and nitrite reducing (aerobic) bacteria manage those elements. Anarobic bacteria take 16 hours to double in population due to energy required to break apart & consume the oxygen component of NO4. The by product of anaerobic bacteria consumption of nitrate is release of free nitrogen gas.

 

[Cell]

I dont think any of the effective bottled bac products can make nitrite go away by day 10. Nitrite always takes some time to drop. It's not harmful to marine livestock and it's presence is an indication ammonia is being processed.

 

[Garf]

I would add that the presence of algae alone does not indicate a cycled system. Once upon a time I grew an algae scrubber in a copepod culture which failed to adequately control ammonia or phosphate, for example. Although that was a long way from the tank pictured above.