im not getting any ammonia reading in my cyclinc process

[Guest Maynard]

hey guys... i need help.!!! im not getting any ammonia reading in my tank.....its already been 3 weeeks...and i put uncured and cured rock in my cycling tank....i even got some used filter sponges from roozens nursery from there tank...and also got some sand from them. until now im not getting any ammonia signs....

 

wat could b the issue? i even throw in some frozen beef hearts in the tank like every day.

[YBeNormal]

Drop the beefheart. It's fatty and not really good food for most fish anyway. Drop in a shrimp or some flaked foods instead.

 

What test kit are you using? What are your nitrite and nitrate readings?

[trble81]

When I cycled my tank, I never got any ammonia reading. I used LR that I got from another member (which was ~1 year old). I started to get nitrite readings, showing that there was some ammonia but not the typical long spike. I still cycled it for ~ 4 weeks prior to any fish being placed in the tank.

 

Is that the norm? I would say no. It's always safe to let it cycle like 5 weeks or so to make sure. But I would agree with using shrimp or flake food as the ammonia source.

 

 

--Mike

[Guest JasonD]

I never have seen ammonia, nitrite or nitrate in my tank since it's been set up. I also used fully cured LR. The cycling process in my FW tanks has always taken weeks to complete.

 

I added my clean up crew after about 10 days and my first fish 2 weeks after the tank was set up. I knew the nitrogen cycle was running because algae was growing strong in my tank after only 3 days. The ammonia was there, it was just being converted to nitrate and feeding the algae.

[lanman]

hey guys... i need help.!!! im not getting any ammonia reading in my tank.....its already been 3 weeeks...and i put uncured and cured rock in my cycling tank....i even got some used filter sponges from roozens nursery from there tank...and also got some sand from them. until now im not getting any ammonia signs....

 

wat could b the issue? i even throw in some frozen beef hearts in the tank like every day.

Okay... is this a joke? Beef hearts weigh about 2 pounds each. Throw a few of those in every day, and you're going to have SOMETHING in your tank, alright - but Ammonia would be the least of your worries.

 

"Dude! What the heck is that??" "It's my collection of rotting steer hearts in brine!" "AWESOME!"

 

Okay... If the uncured rock was really fresh, and shipped carefully, the already cured rock might very well have been enough to keep it from dying off. Can you see from one end of the tank to the other? I did a real man's cycle... 24-gallon tank made the whole house smell like a 10-day-old beef heart! I couldn't see more than 6" into the tank for a month. If the water is clear, and you don't have any ammonia - your rock is probably doing a great job. Now - check for nitrite and nitrates. When nitrates drop, your sand bed is doing a good job, too!

 

2nd tank - all well-cured live rock. No measurable cycle at all.

 

3rd tank - three large pieces of uncured, but healthy rock, and the rest cured rock from tank #2. Barely noticeable cycle. This is probably what you had. Knock the nitrates down to near-zero, and start stocking!

 

bob

[Guest Maynard]

so my nitrate and nitrite are all zero.....and also my ammonia readings are zero....im kinda worried now...its ben like 3 weeks now

[Guest Maynard]

so my nitrate and nitrite are all zero.....and also my ammonia readings are zero....im kinda worried now...its ben like 3 weeks now

[Guest JasonD]

I'd go ahead and add your clean up crew.

[Guest Maynard]

I'd go ahead and add your clean up crew.

 

im kinda worreid tho....my damsels died....is my clean up crew gonna die too?

[trble81]

If you that worried, you can always dump a small container of flake food in the tank and let it rot. You'll probably stink up the joint but you'll be assured that there was some ammonia in your tank.

[lanman]

im kinda worreid tho....my damsels died....is my clean up crew gonna die too?

Add about 2-3 snails, and 2-3 hermits. Drop them a bit of food once in a while. If they are still alive, and reading still good after a week, I don't think there's a problem. Lord knows what killed the damsels - what's your salinity? <Salt? you're supposed to add salt??> (may seem like a smart remark, but I was topping off with saltwater for about a week before I realized my salinity readings just kept getting higher... and higher... and higher... )

 

bob