Tank won't cycle

[reefrunner]

I really wish one of us thought to have you test your source water A LOT sooner.

I disagree with the source water being a problem. You were dosing to 4ppm ammonia anyway before right? Doing a water change with .25ppm ammonia shouldn't make a difference... that amount should be cleared up no problem, assuming the cycle is working.

I know that you've said that you're using multiple test kits... have you used multiple people to read your test results? Is it possible that you're either interpreting the results incorrectly or can't distinguish between the colors properly. The fact that your LFS tested the same water and got (I assume) 0 on ammonia (which is what we're expecting) points to either your tests, testing methodology, or ability to properly read the tests. I think I read that you have the API test kit... just for kicks, try testing with that and having an innocent bystander read the results. Follow the directions to the letter and don't tell them what you've been reading. See what they say.

Lol, innocent bystander. My daughter and I almost always read them together and my wife usually chips in her opinion as well. The test will read 0, I've just never seen it with saltwater. The LFS said the ammonia was fine, they never said it was 0, and their nitrite test agreed with mine. I would love for this to be a testing issue, I just am not convinced.

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[reefrunner]

Do you have a carbon reactor, if not, I'd start.

I don't have a sump to run reactors in, is there a hang on the back or closed loop type? And what would that do for me? I run carbon in a filter cartridge (cleaned weekly).

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[oneate7]

The LFS said the ammonia was fine, they never said it was 0

Yeah... I had a feeling you'd say that. Any amount of ammonia is not "fine" but, you never know what they're thinking.

I'm all out of ideas... nothing that is going on with your tank makes any sense . I think that you can probably hold off on the water changes until the ammonia and trites hopefully get down to zero. Your trates are back down to an acceptable level for cycling.

For what it's worth, I don't buy into the "a water change sets your cycle back two weeks" bit. We change 25% in our tanks all the time and don't see any reduced efficiency in the cycle. The majority of the bacteria reside in the sand and on the rock.

 

[reefrunner]

Thanks, I am going to do one more change and let is sit for a week and see what happens, hopefully we will get somewhere with this tank.

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[dmatt88]

I'm with ya on the wc. It does not disturb the cycle.

..........tequilla is not my friend anymore

 

[sk8rdn]

I'm with ya on the wc. It does not disturb the cycle.

..........tequilla is not my friend anymore

+1

If Sas were here he'd say pee in the tank to see if that makes a difference...LOL...

I'm with ya, at this point you gotta try something to get things going...

...Moving On, Moving On...

 

[reefrunner]

Tonight the numbers appear to be.

Salinity 35ppt
Ammonia ~ .25
Nitrite >.25 but < .5
Nitrate between 40 and 80, I would say closer to 80
Ph 8.0

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[oneate7]

I hate your tank ;-).

What brand of salt are you using?

 

[reefrunner]

I hate your tank ;-).

What brand of salt are you using?

I started the tank with VERY (like 8 years old) oceanic salt. Went to instant ocean, then went to red sea coral pro salt, now I am using reef crystals, which is most likely what I will stick with.

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[reefrunner]

Tonight's numbers

Salinity 35ppt
Ammonia ~ .25
Nitrite >.25 but < .5
Nitrate 40
Ph 8.0

Did one more water change tonight, that should do it unless the nitrates go back up.

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[reefrunner]

Still having this issue, according to my kits still has low level ammonia and nitrite and even with a very low bioload the nitrates continue to rise within a few days. For example I had nitrates down to about 30-40 last week (5 days ago) to 100-120 today.

It occurred to me, that I live in an agricultural area, in recent years the light smell of ammonia has become prevalent in the area (the dairy farmers will tell you it smells like money), we have pretty much gotten used to the smell, so it didn't occur to me. So now I wonder if airborne ammonia isn't my problem. I set up the qt tank last night to start cycling it and the ammonia level is higher now (with no effort on my part, just filled the tank and turned on the sponge filter) than when I set it up last night.

So is this theory of mine valid?

Is there any hope for this tank?

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