What's Wrong??

[Kalib]

Still cycling my tank. I'm in the 3rd week of cycling already.

Today when i tested the water, the nitrite turned out to be higher than yesterday. The nitrite has been steadily declining to as low as below 0.1mg/litre yesterday(but not 0). Today when i tested the nitrite, the level had increased to somewhere between 0.1mg/litre to 0.25mg/litre.

Had add in 3.5kg of LR in the 2nd week of cycling(Think it was 6-8-2003).Did an ammonia test yesterday and the result was 0. To confirm my guess that the new LR caused this, is it posible the 3.5kg LR introduced in week2 caused a smaller ammonia spike resulting in the sudden nitrite increase that i got today? Or is it something else?

No livestock or LR has been introduced to the tank in the past 1 week+. At about slightly past week1 of cycling the ammonia has tested to be 0 and i stopped the daily ammonia testing. The ammonia testing stopped before the new LR was introduced.

[Achilles Tang]

Your cycling period is still going thru the initial phases. Your nitrite will continue to build as the bacteria that processes toxic ammonia is still doing its work while the bacteria that processes nitrites to nitrates is still building up. Be patient.

I usually recommend that all the LR should come in at one time to reduce ammonia spikes/mini-cycling. By introducing new ammonia sources from uncured LR, you are basically prolonging the completion of your nitrogen cycle.

[junyong84]

Still cycling my tank. I'm in the 3rd week of cycling already.

Today when i tested the water, the nitrite turned out to be higher than yesterday. The nitrite has been steadily declining to as low as below 0.1mg/litre yesterday(but not 0). Today when i tested the nitrite, the level had increased to somewhere between 0.1mg/litre to 0.25mg/litre.

Had add in 3.5kg of LR in the 2nd week of cycling(Think it was 6-8-2003).Did an ammonia test yesterday and the result was 0. To confirm my guess that the new LR caused this, is it posible the 3.5kg LR introduced in week2 caused a smaller ammonia spike resulting in the sudden nitrite increase that i got today? Or is it something else?

No livestock or LR has been introduced to the tank in the past 1 week+. At about slightly past week1 of cycling the ammonia has tested to be 0 and i stopped the daily ammonia testing. The ammonia testing stopped before the new LR was introduced.

dun worry lar... my new tank has been cycling for 3 weeks too and the ammonia is still not zero...

dunno if there is sth wrong wif my test kits...

juz be patient lor...

[Kalib]

Yeah would wait longer and let the bacteria do its work. Anyway situation has improved, today the nitrites have dropped to below 0.1mg/litre again. I guess the LR was the main culprit here.

In future i better remember to either add in LR at the start of the cycling or to cure them before adding in to prevent the prolonging of the cycling period. Forgot about the mini-cycle which would prolong everything

[junyong84]

enjoy ur reef keeping...!

good luck!

[Chris]

Congratulations, you have started correctly and well. You'll enjoy the hobby more and spent less than others who rush in.

Keep it up.

[finch1945]

Your cycling period is still going thru the initial phases. Your nitrite will continue to build as the bacteria that processes toxic ammonia is still doing its work while the bacteria that processes nitrites to nitrates is still building up. Be patient.

I usually recommend that all the LR should come in at one time to reduce ammonia spikes/mini-cycling. By introducing new ammonia sources from uncured LR, you are basically prolonging the completion of your nitrogen cycle.

dear Achilles Tang sir, when i was reading the tips and trick in ur forum , about adding in a whole lot of live rocks in my newly set up (2ftX1.5ftX1.5ft). i was told to add in bit by bit.

as if i add in too much will kill all the LR.

which of course i wouldnt want that to happen.

and my tank is newly cycle for around 1 week before i added some LR in yesterday.

and dear Achilles , what is the recomanded max. amount of LR for my tank size? and how do i tell if my LR is blooming or alive in my tank? ur advise is greatly apperciated.

and thank you for having such a wonderful forum.

cheers.

[diabolus]

harlo finch..

where did u get the idea dat adding too much LR will kill them?

its better than u add in all the LR u wanted all at the same time.

as wat AT has explain above, no point having ammonia spike again to prolong the cycling period.

As to how much LR u can put in ur tank, certain aspects u have to look into..

your thickness of the tank and the stand have to be taken into consideration.

otherwise, it all depends on the way u want to aquascape your tank....theres no hard and fast rule abt it.

cheers!

[lima16_sg]

hi finch

the amt of LR that generally being quote is 1-1.5lb/g or 0.6kg/g

however, own exp is if i follow the rule, there won't have much swimming space left

anyway, had bought the "required" amt and will "stick" with it till the cyling complete...then see how lor

[Achilles Tang]

If you follow the Berlin method (no substrate/plenty of LR)... then the amount of LR you have to add to become an effective biological filter will be ALOT! but you will still need a good skimmer and minimum bioload.

Using the DSB method, you can reduce the amount of LR but sacrifice 4 to 6 inchs of depth for very fine sand substrate.

Properly setup, the Berlin or DSB method will help to control nitrates over time.

As for your question whether your LR is alive... well... if it doesn't smell, has lots of coralline algae growth on them or other microlife... then it's considered as LR. Even dead rock will become LR over time...

You can add in LR all at once but you have to ensure that your tank will not crash due to lack of oxygen due to poor/no water circulation as a massive dieoff could overwhelm your tank. That is why people recommend getting cured LR. Uncured LR with lots of dead/dying organisms on it will help kickstart the cycling but too much of it could cause a crash.

It is good practice to scrub off/tear off any sponges or algae matter on uncured LR as they are certain to die off during the cycling period.

[compass]

Dear Achilles,

i started my tank about 3 weeks ago with live rocks (mainly the branches type). most of the brown and redish brown stuff on the rocks "dropped off" and the rocks are beginning to look bleached. are the live rocks dying? what do i need to do?

at this point, there are only sands and rocks in the tank.

plse advise.