|  |  | 
May 1st, 2008
|
| | Fish Newbie
| havin trouble removing ammonia
my thak is now in its 7th week of cycle and still showing signs of ammonia.i have a 50g tank with40kg of live rock. nitrite and nitrate are zero.temp is 24.5c.2 weeks ago i did a 10g water change and 1 week ago a 15g change.yesterday i used 2 doses of ammonia remover.ammonia test results are 1.2, pH is 7.5. anyone with any thoughts on this | 
| | |
May 1st, 2008
|
| | Fish Addict
| Since you don't have fish in there I would not do any water changes or dosing of ammonia remover. Those will only prolong the cycle. Where did you get your live rock? Was it dead looking when you got it or full or critters and algae or what did it look like? Can you post a picture? | |
| | |
May 1st, 2008
|
| | Fish Newbie
| rock seemed good, no smells.there is some life on it now.will submit photo as soon as i can | |
| | |
May 1st, 2008
|
| | Fish Newbie
| a quick photo | |
| | |
May 1st, 2008
|
| | Fish Keeper
| What test kit are you using? | |
| | |
May 3rd, 2008
|
| | Fish Bum
| i would like to know the answer to that as well..
What kind of test kit are you using?
If your tank is in its 7th week, IMO it should be cycled..
when did you add the live rock?
If youre ammonia is high, your nitrites and nitrates shouldnt be at 0....
unless their is no beneficial bacteria in your tank to break down the ammonia...
It could be a faulty test kit....
Were you "ghost feeding" the tank in those 7th weeks?
or did you throw a piece of raw shrimp in it?
Or did you do what almost everyone does? Did you add a few damsels when you started? | |
| | |
May 3rd, 2008
|
| | Moderator
| There should be no need to feed the ammonia amount while there's live rock curing in the tank. The die-off will provide plenty of ammonia.
And not "almost everyone" uses damsels to cycle their tanks (at least not when using live rock). Folks around here generally dislike cycling with fish if they can avoid it, and with a readily available nitrogen source like live rock, why bother?
I'm guessing that the ammonia remover is the culprit here. If it's bound up, that means it's not available for the nitrifying bacteria to use to build the colony. | |
| | |
May 3rd, 2008
|
| | Fish Bum
| Quote:
Originally Posted by sirdarksol  There should be no need to feed the ammonia amount while there's live rock curing in the tank. The die-off will provide plenty of ammonia.
And not "almost everyone" uses damsels to cycle their tanks (at least not when using live rock). Folks around here generally dislike cycling with fish if they can avoid it, and with a readily available nitrogen source like live rock, why bother?
I'm guessing that the ammonia remover is the culprit here. If it's bound up, that means it's not available for the nitrifying bacteria to use to build the colony. |
The die off will provide plenty of ammonia? So youre saying that it takes over 7 weeks for live rock to cure?
and Yes... Almost everyone uses damsels to cycle their tanks...
Why you ask? I blame local fish stores... would do anything to make a buck.. and thats what they tell all the newbs to do... Me? well if i would of known better i would of used a raw piece of shrimp.
Live rock is "live" because of all the beneficial bacteria in it..... if there is nothing providing ammonia ... Hence where the "ghost feeding" comes in... all that bacteria will die off.....
and i agree that the ammonia remover has something to do with it. Atleast we agree on one thing.
anything else youd like to critique about the advice i give?
since this is the 3rd post youve done so. | |
| | |
May 3rd, 2008
|
| | Fish Keeper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Jesses89 The die off will provide plenty of ammonia? So youre saying that it takes over 7 weeks for live rock to cure?
and Yes... Almost everyone uses damsels to cycle their tanks...
Why you ask? I blame local fish stores... would do anything to make a buck.. and thats what they tell all the newbs to do... Me? well if i would of known better i would of used a raw piece of shrimp.
Live rock is "live" because of all the beneficial bacteria in it..... if there is nothing providing ammonia ... Hence where the "ghost feeding" comes in... all that bacteria will die off.....
and i agree that the ammonia remover has something to do with it. Atleast we agree on one thing.
anything else youd like to critique about the advice i give?
since this is the 3rd post youve done so. | Jesses89, LR does produce ammonia during the curing process, When the rock is transported some of the living critters on the rock will die. These dead critters act in the same way as placing a dead shrimp/prawn in the tank.
"Almost everyone uses damsels to cycle their tanks" Most use the LR, dead prawn or ammonia methods to cycle their tanks.
A lot of the issues that people have when cycling comes from adding things to the tank in an attempt to rush the cycle, and having a good test kit and understanding how to use it helps | |
| | |
May 3rd, 2008
|
| | Fish Bum
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Peterpiper Jesses89,
LR does produce ammonia during the curing process, When the rock is transported some of the living critters on the rock will die. These dead critters act in the same way as placing a dead shrimp/prawn in the tank.
"Almost everyone uses damsels to cycle their tanks" Most use the LR, dead prawn or ammonia methods to cycle their tanks.
A lot of the issues that people have when cycling comes from adding things to the tank in an attempt to rush the cycle, and having a good test kit and understanding how to use it helps |
No, i agree that LR does produce ammonia during the curing process.... BUT it doesnt cure for 7 weeks. The original poster said his tank was in its 7th week.
When people get started in the saltwater hobby... they get most their advice from the LFS they are buying stuff from... what do you think that LFS tell them? OH just let the live rock cycle your tank? No, they try to sell/make money and tell them to buy a few inexpensive hardy damsels to cycle it. Thats where i get the most from. | |
| | |
May 4th, 2008
|
| | Moderator
| This is what we know about the tank.
1. There is no livestock in the tank, according to the user's own "my aquarium" link.
2. The tank has been running for seven weeks.
3. There is ammonia in the tank, and it has not shown a drop at all.
If nitrifying bacteria doesn't convert the ammonia, it will stay in the tank forever. So what robbie is seeing most definitely could be left from the die-off. It shouldn't be, but any tank that's showing no drop in ammonia after the 7th week isn't going by what should happen, so we need to start looking at alternatives. | |
| | |
May 4th, 2008
|
| | Fish Newbie
| my test kit is a nurafin test kit.didnt use damsels,or raw shrimp.just tryed natural cycle | |
| | |
May 4th, 2008
|
| | Moderator
| I would suggest stopping with the ammonia remover and do a couple of water changes over the next week. Depending on the chemicals in the test, they might be registering the ammonia that is bound up in ammonia "remover", and this is what you're seeing. You may also want to feed the tank a small amount of pure ammonia to give the live rock something to eat.
Keep doing small weekly water changes to get all of the bound ammonia out of the tank so you can get a true reading on what's going on.
This is just my opinion, of course.
The good news is that you took the high road, have remained patient, and are cycling without fish, so there are no large lives dependent on what's going on right now.  | |
| | |
May 5th, 2008
|
| | Fish Newbie
| hey,thanks.your advice seems the soundest and i,ll do just that.thanks again | |
| | |
May 5th, 2008
|
| | Moderator
| It's mostly based on what the more experienced folks in the above situation discussed, and then just put together into a coherent piece. I'm a decent problem solver is all.
Glad to be of help, and hope everything goes well.
Feel free to come back with questions, or, conversely, to share your experience with others. | |
| | | |
Similar Aquarium Fish Forum Threads 
