Ammonia levels in nitrogen cycle

bogdanghit · 04/27/2017, 09:42 AM

Hello, I've been a long time lurker on the forum after setting up my first reef tank a few years ago. About two years ago I took that tank down and I just recently set up a different one. I cycled my first tank using a deli shrimp and live rock and everything worked as expected. On the current tank which is a 68 gallon I decided to go with dry sand and dry rock (BRS ReefSaver) and like before, I threw in a deli shrimp. It has been close to two weeks and I'm not getting ammonia readings over .25 ppm, 0 nitrites and 0 nitrates. I expect the ammonia to be higher as I can see the shrimp decomposing, but it's been static at .25 for almost a week. I'm not running the skimmer yet. Is this normal? I'd like for ammonia to go higher so that more beneficial bacteria is produced. I'm using a brand new API Saltwater Master kit. Thanks in advance!

mcgyvr · 04/27/2017, 10:24 AM

If 1 shrimp = .25 then 8 shrimp = 2

Many have been just adding ammonia (no surfactants/scents) up to 2ppm and going from there vs the shrimp route..

bertoni · 04/27/2017, 02:26 PM

To Reef Central

0.25 ppm is fine, and I wouldn't spike the level any further. You won't get significantly more bacteria, not for any period of time. Once the food goes away, the bacteria are killed, die, or go dormant, and the extra nutrients will just delay the process.

I would get a second opinion on the test kit though. Does it measure 0 for RO/DI? Ammonia kits often fail and read small amounts of ammonia in everything.

04/27/2017, 09:42 AM	#1
bogdanghit Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 1	Ammonia levels in nitrogen cycle Hello, I've been a long time lurker on the forum after setting up my first reef tank a few years ago. About two years ago I took that tank down and I just recently set up a different one. I cycled my first tank using a deli shrimp and live rock and everything worked as expected. On the current tank which is a 68 gallon I decided to go with dry sand and dry rock (BRS ReefSaver) and like before, I threw in a deli shrimp. It has been close to two weeks and I'm not getting ammonia readings over .25 ppm, 0 nitrites and 0 nitrates. I expect the ammonia to be higher as I can see the shrimp decomposing, but it's been static at .25 for almost a week. I'm not running the skimmer yet. Is this normal? I'd like for ammonia to go higher so that more beneficial bacteria is produced. I'm using a brand new API Saltwater Master kit. Thanks in advance!

04/27/2017, 10:24 AM	#2
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	If 1 shrimp = .25 then 8 shrimp = 2 Many have been just adding ammonia (no surfactants/scents) up to 2ppm and going from there vs the shrimp route.. __________________ Who me?

04/27/2017, 02:26 PM	#3
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	*To Reef Central* 0.25 ppm is fine, and I wouldn't spike the level any further. You won't get significantly more bacteria, not for any period of time. Once the food goes away, the bacteria are killed, die, or go dormant, and the extra nutrients will just delay the process. I would get a second opinion on the test kit though. Does it measure 0 for RO/DI? Ammonia kits often fail and read small amounts of ammonia in everything. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni