Tank Cycling Help

[CORYSTEMP]

I started cycling my tank at the end of November. Here is a chart that shows readings that I took occasionally to track the progress. Can anyone look at this chart at tell me if it is cycling correctly or not? I'm not really sure. From what I have read the Ammonia would go up then back down as the nitrites went up. Then the same for Nitrites to Nitrates but my tank doesnt seem to be doing that. There is some algea growing as well so not sure what that is a sign of. I think its because the Nitrates are high. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much in advance for your help.

 

[twilliard]

Are you adding anything during this cycle?

 

[CORYSTEMP]

Are you adding anything during this cycle?

I added live sand to kickstart the cycle when it was first set up.

 

[Coastie Reefer]

Your ammonia is way high... have you been adding it in liquid form?

 

[Coastie Reefer]

Also, what test kit are you using? Is it expired?

 

[CORYSTEMP]

Also, what test kit are you using? Is it expired?

Have not been adding any ammonia and it is a brand new test kit. API Saltwater master test kit. Doesnt expire till 8/21

 

[Frop]

you have water flow too right?

 

[CORYSTEMP]

you have water flow too right?

Yes plenty of flow through the tank.

 

[Frop]

Idk mine took about two weeks to cycle (0 ammonia 20 nitrates) In a 10 gallon. I used live sand, dry rock, and bio-spira. Usually I hear it takes longer to cycle than that though. But my fish is still kickin.

 

[a6walter1]

I would add some beneficial bacteria, like Dr Tim's One and Only, that will accelerate the cycle. The best way to test if the tank is ready is to dose a liquid form of ammonia (from Dr Tims as well) according to the directions on the bottle. Then test 24 hours later, if the test reads 0 you are ready.

 

[CORYSTEMP]

Idk mine took about two weeks to cycle (0 ammonia 20 nitrates) In a 10 gallon. I used live sand, dry rock, and bio-spira. Usually I hear it takes longer to cycle than that though. But my fish is still kickin.

Thanks, The tank is about 160 gallons total with the sump.

 

[Brew12]

Your cycle is coming along just fine. The problem isn't a lack of bacteria, it is too large an ammonia source. You went from 40ppm Nitrate to 80ppm Nitrate in 5 days. In a tank your size that takes A LOT of ammonia and a corresponding large amount of nitrifying bacteria to process it.

I'm not sure what your ammonia source is, but you have a big one.

 

[CORYSTEMP]

Your cycle is coming along just fine. The problem isn't a lack of bacteria, it is too large an ammonia source. You went from 40ppm Nitrate to 80ppm Nitrate in 5 days. In a tank your size that takes A LOT of ammonia and a corresponding large amount of nitrifying bacteria to process it.

I'm not sure what your ammonia source is, but you have a big one.

Anyway to to lower my Ammonia? When I stared the tank I started with some old live rock and crushed coral (been in a dry storage for about 5 years) and a bag of live sand from Petco.

 

[Brew12]

Anyway to to lower my Ammonia?

Not if you don't know what the source is. Either you are feeding your tank an ammonia source or something you put in your tank is decaying and generating ammonia.

Live sand typically isn't a huge ammonia source. What kind of rock did you use?

 

[CORYSTEMP]

Not if you don't know what the source is. Either you are feeding your tank an ammonia source or something you put in your tank is decaying and generating ammonia.

Live sand typically isn't a huge ammonia source. What kind of rock did you use?

Not sure what type of Live rock it is. It is all from the tank when it was setup years ago. Not adding any ammonia source, have added nothing other than the rock, crushed coral and live sand.

 

[Brew12]

Not sure what type of Live rock it is. It is all from the tank when it was setup years ago.

Sorry... I didn't read your previous post properly. Was a bit distracted.

I'm guessing you didn't do anything to cure the old live rock you had in storage. This is the source of your ammonia. All the dried out life from that old rock is now wet and decaying. We have no way of knowing how much material is in there to decay so it's hard to say how much of a problem it will cause. This is most likely the source of your algae, also. If you have a skimmer, I would run it as much as possible and keep up with regular water changes. This should help limit your nitrates.
As long as your ammonia stays below 5ppm you should continue to grow bacteria. If it gets above 10ppm your cycle could stall so you will want to either add Prime or do a large water change. If things start decaying at a rate that you can't keep it below 5ppm we may need to think about abandoning the cycle and doing something to treat the rock outside of the DT but I don't think it will get to that point.

Does that help? Every tank is different so I'm not sure I can add much.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

You sure the ammonia reading is 3 ppm (there's no mention of the units), not 0.3 or some other unit?

 

[CORYSTEMP]

You sure the ammonia reading is 3 ppm (there's no mention of the units), not 0.3 or some other unit?

Yes, it is ppm.

 

[CORYSTEMP]

Sorry... I didn't read your previous post properly. Was a bit distracted.

I'm guessing you didn't do anything to cure the old live rock you had in storage. This is the source of your ammonia. All the dried out life from that old rock is now wet and decaying. We have no way of knowing how much material is in there to decay so it's hard to say how much of a problem it will cause. This is most likely the source of your algae, also. If you have a skimmer, I would run it as much as possible and keep up with regular water changes. This should help limit your nitrates.
As long as your ammonia stays below 5ppm you should continue to grow bacteria. If it gets above 10ppm your cycle could stall so you will want to either add Prime or do a large water change. If things start decaying at a rate that you can't keep it below 5ppm we may need to think about abandoning the cycle and doing something to treat the rock outside of the DT but I don't think it will get to that point.

Does that help? Every tank is different so I'm not sure I can add much.

So since my Nitrates are so High, should I do a water change at this point to lower that? Then keep testing for a while and see how the levels go from here?

 

[Brew12]

So since my Nitrates are so High, should I do a water change at this point to lower that? Then keep testing for a while and see how the levels go from here?

I would, but you don't have to. It might slow down your algae growth.