Question about my Cycle

[TheWackyWiz]

Hi All,

I've had my nano macro algae tank up and running for a little over a week and am getting some strange results from my tests. I started with CaribSea live sand, a large chunk of cured live rock, some dry live rock from my LFS and Fritz Turbo Start. Since then I've been adding in fish food every day or so to give the bacteria something to eat.

What's confusing me is my ammonia has stayed at between .25ppm-1.00ppm , Nitrites have stayed at 0.0ppm but I just tested and my Nitrate came in at between 10-20ppm. My RO/DI water is testing 0.0ppm Nitrate. I've never had a tank (fresh or salt) register Nitrate without atleast registering some Nitrite first.

Is it possible that the food I am using to introduce ammonia is also introducing Nitrate?

Date	PH/HRPH	Salinity	Calcium (Ca2+)	kH	Phosphate	Ammonia	Nitrite	Nitrate
11/23/22	8.2	1.026	500	8	0	0.25	0	10

Temp = 76F

Thanks!

 

[Cell]

Likely a false positive ammonia test and you are cycled. Sufficient live rock provides a skip cycle.

 

[brandon429]

TWW
read this brief thread, it's your type of cycle plus some (macros uptake ammonia in addition to bacteria on lr)

A thread tracking pure skip cycle instant reefs, no bottle bac

THE GOLDEN EXAMPLE OF A SKIP CYCLE DAY 1 REEF https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/octo-high-end-sps-skip-cycle-build.713256/ read that entire thread before you read ours. that's the heart of skip cycling. Everything we do going forward in this thread reflects on that ability above, in the #1...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[brandon429]

post a picture of your tank

we will use visual benthic cue verification to prove you are done cycling, no tests needed.


things that attach to your live rock take much longer than cycling bacteria... a rule of order of ops. your picture is about to show several verification markers.

updated cycling science=cycling via pics.

 

[brandon429]

TWW

I learned from Dan in the chem forum as he reexplained Randy's ammonia article to me that .25 above is nh4, that's freshwater version of reading even though you have the marine kit

we need to convert to nh3 by estimate, see kit instructions. that's marine version we require

all stocked reef tanks run on exactly the nh3 reading your tank shows which is how a picture and what's grown onto rocks (pigments that aren't painted, spiky projections, algae, cyano, roughened areas, a sponge, a brittle star arm poking out_) all aligns to effectively make skip cycle reefs you see above. and at reef tank conventions. we expected it to be above zero/meaning that's done.

a fifteen year old reef tank will read that on api/searchable in google history posts