Ammonia How High

[rcranf1]

How high are my Am levels supposed to go before there done.

so far my tank has been up 5 days and here are the am readings
day1
0
day2
0
day3
0
day4 1.0
day5
0.25

trites have been
day 1 2 3
0
day4
0.25
day5
0.25
any thoughts???

[seapug]

you're done when ammonia and nitrite are undetectable with a test kit. It usually takes about 30 days for things to really settle down.

[MinnFish]

Without knowing the amount and condition of the LR. Thats a difficult question to answer.

[rcranf1]

so theres no certain point that the ammonia has to reach before its cycled? The highest it has been was yesterday at 1.0 and now its at 0.25. I see some people say theres went to 4.0

[rcranf1]

the lr came uncured my LFS had it curing for me for a week and a half before I got it. so its been curing for about 2 weeks now. I have a 125g tank with 130lbs LR and 50 LBS base rock

[seapug]

It can and will go up and down for a while. If you are registering ammonia with a test kit you are nowhere near being done with your cycle.

There are two major steps in the cycling process:
Step one: Ammonia goes to zero.
Step two: Nitrite goes to zero.

Wait until both are undetectable for a few days before adding livestock.

[rcranf1]

ok

[BurntOutReefer]

"Without knowing the amount and condition of the LR. Thats a difficult question to answer."""
???????????

[rcranf1]

Tell me what you think so far, any thoughts???

IMG]http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn158/rcranf1/DSC00378.jpg[/IMG] http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn158/rcranf1/DSC00379.jpg http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn158/rcranf1/DSC00380.jpg http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn158/rcranf1/DSC00381.jpg http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn158/rcranf1/DSC00359.jpg http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn158/rcranf1/DSC00393.jpg http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn158/rcranf1/DSC00394.jpg http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn158/rcranf1/DSC00396.jpg http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn158/rcranf1/DSC00398.jpg http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn158/rcranf1/DSC00399.jpg

[rcranf1]

bump

[rcranf1]

got my lights:D

more pics
http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn158/rcranf1/DSC00407.jpg http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn158/rcranf1/DSC00408.jpg http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn158/rcranf1/DSC00409.jpg http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn158/rcranf1/DSC00410.jpg

anyone know what this is growing on the rock
http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn158/rcranf1/DSC00412.jpg http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn158/rcranf1/DSC00415.jpg http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn158/rcranf1/DSC00416.jpg http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn158/rcranf1/DSC00413.jpg

any thoughts???

anything thats growing thats not good?

[PVChick12]

Looks fine, just have paitience.

But IMO I would probably scape your rocks differently if its going to be FOWLR. Make caves and stuff for the lil fishies to swim through or be shaded in...Plus you might be able to use a little bit more rock. Maybe some shelf pieces or something to stack at an angle to make more interesting formations. You just don't want to completely rescape AFTER your cycle because then you may have to wait again after stirring everything up. Take a look at how other people scape to get some ideas. Just a thought...
=]

[PVChick12]

And as for the levels in the tank, why are you testing everyday at the beginning of a cycle? Just let the rock sit 4-6 weeks THEN start testing see what shows up. Time, my friend, is on your side. =]