WATER CHANGES DURING CYCLING????

[DOMINATOR]

Good or bad idea??? Nitrites high, ammonia at .5 ppm and dropping....should i flush some of this water out or just let it be???

[naesco]

Originally Posted by DOMINATOR

Good or bad idea??? Nitrites high, ammonia at .5 ppm and dropping....should i flush some of this water out or just let it be???

I think you mean nitrites.
No wait until your tank fully cycles and you are zero nitrite and ammonia readings.

Wait until for one month after your tank cycles before adding one fish and than one fish each month thereafter.
In the meantime enjoy what is happening on the rockwork and sand.
Get a small LED flashlight and study your tank in the darkness.

[marie]

I like to do lots of water changes during a cycle....you pay so much money to get live rock with lots of life in it that it would be a shame to kill it all off with high ammonia readings.....not to mention dying sponges and things release more toxins then just ammonia so I like to dilute that as much as I can

[Aquattro]

Agree with Marie, letting NH3 get too high during cycling can negatively affect the life on/in the rock. I've done both ways, and got better results doing water changes.

[DiverDude]

What if he's starting out with reefer (base) rock ?

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by DiverDude

What if he's starting out with reefer (base) rock ?

Then it would be a moot point. but with a NH3 reading of .5ppm, something died, so I'm assuming live rock.

[Myka]

I do waterchanges on cycling rock when ammonia goes over 1 ppm or nitrate goes over 5 ppm. Sometimes I'm fussier than that. Ammonia will kill off life hitching a ride on the rock, and nitrate will get absorbed into the rock (later releasing from the rock and causing nutrient issues like algae). Unlike freshwater, nitrite is non-toxic to marine life until very high range (think ~100ppm) so don't worry about nitrite.

Check the link in my signature for lots of info on cycling.

[DiverDude]

Good to know !

I didn't mean to hijack Dominic's thread but I'll be starting a new tank in the next little while and I'll have all reefer rock so this is of particular interest !

[Myka]

Dry base rock should ideally be "cooked" to leech phosphate and nitrate. Dry rock often has lots of trapped organics. Check out the link in my signature for that info too.