Guest vatbrew February 4, 2007 Share February 4, 2007 In all my readings about tank cycling, they all stop at nitrates. "once you get significant readings of nitrate, your cycle is over" My nitrates are spiking now in the 60-80ppm range. I did a 20% water change yesterday, and the nitrates are still that high this morning. Will they ever go down, or do I have to keep doing water changes to get em out? Do corals care much about nitrate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flowerseller February 4, 2007 Share February 4, 2007 You may actually still be cycling some then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason the filter freak February 4, 2007 Share February 4, 2007 They should drop down and stay down after the completion of your cycle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest vatbrew February 4, 2007 Share February 4, 2007 I certainly hope so. The guy I bought the setup from had a TON of bio balls in the sump and was using an Aqua-C Urchin Pro. So I purchased a used C-Urchin pro and got rid of the bio balls. I don't think that skimmer can handle a 125. I only got it cause his tank before he broke it down, looked really good. He said he only ran the skimmer a couple times a month too?!? Skimmer right now is filling up once a day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 February 4, 2007 Share February 4, 2007 Nitrates are the last step in the cycle as they rely on anaerobic bacteria, basically the ones that don't use oxygen. Healthy live rock and either a deep sand bed of some sort can help, as can having macroalgae in your tank or a refugium. Basically, the first two methods will have bacteria that eat it up and recycle it, part of which is the release of methane, kind of like a landfill, and with the macroalgae, you basically let it grow and then prune it back and toss it (nutrient export). Patience is what you'll need, though. I'd give it some time and see if those nitrates do get taken down so that you let your bacteria re-establish in the tank. Doesn't hurt to add macroalgae if you have completed the aerobic portions of your cycle, though, and water changes won't hurt it that much either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanman February 5, 2007 Share February 5, 2007 Yes! I had the same question a few weeks ago. I loaded up my first saltwater tank (24-gallon aquapod) with 28 pounds of VERY FRESH java live rock. The cycle started - it stunk to high heavens... I had ammonia WAY up there for weeks. It finally went down, nitrites went up, then down, nitrates were up... and same as you - all of the instructions kind of stop at high nitrates. With statements like "nitrates turn into free nitrogen". When? How? Patience, grasshopper - it took 6 weeks, but my nitrates dropped to 5ppm, where it has stayed. Of course, I have a lot of corals, but only one small fish. bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest vatbrew February 5, 2007 Share February 5, 2007 Thanks for all the replies. I will just hold off on fish til they go down Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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