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Unread 01/28/2012, 03:09 PM   #1
mguiling
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Nitrogen is disappearing

My tank is still cycling, nitrites are off the scale, but nitrogen peaked at 40, the next day it was at 20, today it is 5. I add 1 tsp of ammonia daily to keep the cycle going. Is this normal?

TIA,
Mike



Last edited by mguiling; 01/28/2012 at 04:06 PM.
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Unread 01/28/2012, 03:59 PM   #2
seapug
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Not sure what you mean with "nitrogen", but I would cease the ammonia additions if you've been doing them for some time. Let nature take over now.


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Unread 01/28/2012, 04:05 PM   #3
mguiling
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Nitrogen = NO3. I don't have fish yet, so there won't be any food for the nitrifying bacteria if I cut off their ammonia.

Just noticed I had nitrates off the scale in my original post, I changed it to what I meant, ie, nitrites. Sorry for the confusion.


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Unread 01/28/2012, 04:30 PM   #4
uncleof6
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NO3 = Nitrate

Take the water and have it tested at an LFS. The nitrate level is not going to decline unless you have considerable algae growth, or or some anaerobic bacteria activity going on.

The "ammonia method" of fishless cycling has some drawbacks.

First shake your ammonia supply, if it foams, it has soap in it and will kill your tank; and, if the live rock has life in it, the ammonia will likely kill it off.

3 - 5 drops of PURE ammonia per gallon, to bring the level up to 3 - 4 ppm.

Repeat this, each time allowing the ammonia to lower to "safe" levels before re--adding. (This may not be everyday)

Continue till the ammonia level drops to zero within 8 - 12 hours, nitrite should also drop to zero.

Nitrate should continue to rise after the Nitrite starts to drop.

This takes from 3 - 6 weeks, depending on how well the tank was seeded with AUTOTROPHIC bacteria.

What you need:

Pure Ammonia (I used to use ammonium chloride, dissolved in distilled water, from a pharmacy)

Quality, reliable test kits -- Elos, Salifert, LaMotte, Merck, Tropic Marin

Patience


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Last edited by uncleof6; 01/28/2012 at 04:44 PM.
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Unread 01/28/2012, 06:29 PM   #5
mguiling
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Mystery solved. I found a thread http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aqua...p/t-16851.html
talking about the same thing. Went to lfs and my nitrates were 80. The conclusion there was the API Nitrate test doesn't work above 40, which has been confirmed for me. All the other readings did match my API results. I hope this doesn't turn into a mindless anti-API thread.
Thanks!


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Unread 01/28/2012, 06:45 PM   #6
mguiling
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oops



Last edited by mguiling; 01/28/2012 at 07:39 PM. Reason: never mind
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