New tank question

[Reef Pilot]

Originally Posted by jason604

Can I buy a special chemical that will remove the remaining 0.25 ppm of ammonia? Lol

No, if your tank is properly cycled, then the ammonia would cycle through to nitrite and then on to nitrate, which would then show in your tank.

Is it possible your test kit is giving you a false reading of ammonia? In the past I have seen test kits that seem to show a small amount of ammonia, even in a fully cycled tank.

But what bothers me, too, is that you are not showing any nitrates, which to me indicates that your tank may not be fully cycled. That's why I say before adding fish, put in the rest of the live rock, and maybe some more dead shrimp, to see if any nitrates show up.

It is not right to put in live fish, if you are not sure the tank is ready. Ammonia is very harmful to fish. And if there is indeed some there now, a lot more will show up once more organic matter is added to the tank.

[jason604]

Yes u don't really understand either... A few days after I put a dead shrimp in my ammonia nitrite an nitrate spiked pretty high. Now it all drop.but still 0.25 ammonia. I'm using the API test kits from JL. The amonnia is very light yellowish tiny bit light green. From what the kit says it should be bright yellow for 0ppm. And I don't know why my nitrate is 0.. I'm pretty confused On what to do..

Originally Posted by Reef Pilot

No, if your tank is properly cycled, then the ammonia would cycle through to nitrite and then on to nitrate, which would then show in your tank.

Is it possible your test kit is giving you a false reading of ammonia? In the past I have seen test kits that seem to show a small amount of ammonia, even in a fully cycled tank.

But what bothers me, too, is that you are not showing any nitrates, which to me indicates that your tank may not be fully cycled. That's why I say before adding fish, put in the rest of the live rock, and maybe some more dead shrimp, to see if any nitrates show up.

It is not right to put in live fish, if you are not sure the tank is ready. Ammonia is very harmful to fish. And if there is indeed some there now, a lot more will show up once more organic matter is added to the tank.

[ckmullin]

Test kits can go bad... Is it expired? I'd suggest to grab a nice water sample and go down to your favorite local reef store and ask them to test it.

From what you've said it seems to me like the tank isn't 100% cycled. OR at least not a high enough bacteria population. Ammonia-->nitrite-->nitrate when cycled should basically be seamless. A basic test to see if your NEW tank is coming along is by a zero ammonia reading.

IMO...wait. Wait and read. Read till your eyes bleed. Then use toothpicks and read more. Check your readings again in one week and then after another week. In 2 weeks you've read enough to answer your 2 questions.

Regarding your two questions.

A baker/mechanic/web programmer/etc takes needed methodical steps to achieve a final desired product. Suggest to do the same in regards to this hobby. Take your time and add things slowly.

Your second question is the same as above. Take your time...no rush. If you do go out and spend big $ on stock for a brand new/not mature (possibly not fully cycled) tank it's just asking for a headache.


Just trying to help.

[reefwars]

whats hes saying is he cycled the rock outside the display , he had high everything and used all new water when putting his rock into the display except for about 10% of the water that was in his rock bin , this is why theres no nitrates and very little amonia.

by moving the rock to the new tank a mini cycle is happening again , let a week or two go by it should even out....no chems needed.

the fish and coral can stay in a bin for now provided water quality is very good and other needs are met like food,nutrtient export,flow,proper parameters, lights etc...


cheers

denny

[jason604]

Thx Denny for telling me about the mini cycle. Was my English retarded or something that ppl couldn understand me? Lol

Originally Posted by reefwars

whats hes saying is he cycled the rock outside the display , he had high everything and used all new water when putting his rock into the display except for about 10% of the water that was in his rock bin , this is why theres no nitrates and very little amonia.

by moving the rock to the new tank a mini cycle is happening again , let a week or two go by it should even out....no chems needed.

the fish and coral can stay in a bin for now provided water quality is very good and other needs are met like food,nutrtient export,flow,proper parameters, lights etc...


cheers

denny

[slakker]

To your original question, I would put in the additional LR now and let that cycle again... even though the rock may be "cured", some life will likely still die off during transport unless is transported with water and all (but even then). Things like sponges on the rock will die very quickly once exposed to air, and when put into you tank, it'll likely start a new cycle.

[jason604]

Yea I've decided I'm going to go slow and just get a clean up crew and some nice live rock with coral line on it first so I don't end up killing everything when purchased as a bundle deal even tho the price is amazing lol. I did some research and I think the reason why my tank still shows 0.25 ppm of ammonia is because I used tap water with a declorinator that I made instead of RO water. Other forums say the use of prime will show some ammonia but it actually is harmless

[slakker]

I notice you're in Vancouver, not sure which water shed you're fed from but I'm in the Coquitlam area and our water is pretty good (still not as good as RO/DI). You can pick up a system from eBay pretty cheap if you want, but with the water meters being installed, it may be pretty costly. Some systems use 3 to 4 times the water to make a gallon of RO/DI.

My buddy uses a simple carbon block and DI resin in series with good results and doesn't waste any water.

[jason604]

Is just leaving the water out for few hours good enough?

[Reef Pilot]

Originally Posted by jason604

Yes u don't really understand either... A few days after I put a dead shrimp in my ammonia nitrite an nitrate spiked pretty high. Now it all drop.but still 0.25 ammonia. I'm using the API test kits from JL. The amonnia is very light yellowish tiny bit light green. From what the kit says it should be bright yellow for 0ppm. And I don't know why my nitrate is 0.. I'm pretty confused On what to do..

Not sure what you think I don't understand.... I am trying to help. Based on the info you gave, I would not assume the tank is fully cycled. Like I said, I would like to see your nitrates show up, and be brought down by water changes, not a subsequent test. Sounds more like a bad test.

With testing, be sure to read the instructions carefully. With the API nitrate test, you need to really shake the solutions well for the specified times after each step, and wait the 5 min at the end, or again you will get false readings.