Nitrite spike

[Ricardo Jaber]

I have a RSm 130D currently cycling..

I started 5 days ago with 35 pounds of LR and dry sand. The LR came from my LFS and I was told it was fully cured (they took it out from a display tank) and was put into my tank right away.. (the LR was out of the water for 10 minutes at the most) I added a deli shrimp as an ammonia source that same day and the recommended dose of API Stress Zyme+ as additional bacteria (my LFS said that i could help and never harm).

Today, day 5, I have the following readings..

pH: 8
Ammonia: 0.25
Nitrites: 5.0+ (off the chart of my API Test Kit)
Nitrate: 10
Salinity: 1.025
Temp: 81 ºF
Phospate: 1.0

I started with LFS RO/DI water, but after reading the nitrate levels, I tested the fresh RO/DI water that I have for Top Off and It tested:

Ammonia: 0
Nitrites: 0
Nitrate: 10

So i think that I will be changing my RO/DI water supplier while I get my RO/DI system of my own..

Now.. I believe that I will not have an ammonia spike, and my Nitrites are currently spiking, and I have no Nitrates created from the cycle (as I think they came from the RO/DI water) I'm I in the correct path? Is 5 ppm of Nitrites safe for the cycle or will it stall? Should I do a WC or leave it take its course?

All help will be greatly appreciated

[yh1185]

Just leave everything as is. The cycle is Ammonia -> NitrItes -> Nitrates. Since you've got a nitrites spike, it means the population of the bacteria that convert nitrites to nitrates is not sufficient in your system yet. Give it a bit of time, and it will grow and then you'll see ammonia 0, nitrites 0, and nitrates some number. Once that happen do a nice big water change to remove some nitrates, and do it again if your nitrates are still a little high after another couple of days. Then you'll be good to go once you see an algae bloom. Good Luck!

[bellis31]

Your tank is cycling, sit back and relax until your ammonia and nitrites read 0. Once that's done you can start a CUC and begin your regular maintenance schedule.

[Ricardo Jaber]

Thanks yh1185 and bellis31 for your replies.. now is only waiting and being patient, it is soo hard =)

so, is it safe for the cycle to have readings of nitrites above 5 ppm? I ask because i read somewhere that leves to high can stall the cycle.. and since the reading is off the chart.. i was wondering

[Ricardo Jaber]

Another question that I have.. Should I be running the skimmer? It has been off since day one

[poakley723]

Yep cycling. Can you send me one of those rocks to get my 10 day old tank to make ammonia. its killing me.

Good luck and be patient with your reef and everything will be beautiful!

[hollister]

I would not run the skimmer untill u need it like after a few fish are in there.

[yh1185]

Stalling a cycle is not a bad thing. It's just part of the cycle. It stalls when there aren't enough bacteria to convert the nitrites to nitrates. It's safe to have any level of ammonia + nitrites/nitrates during the cycle, as long as you have no fish/invert/corals in the tank. You just want to make sure all of the parameters are correct before you add fish/inverts/corals.

As far as skimmer. If it's new, i would have it running, so you can break it in during the cycle. If it's used, you could probably wait until the final couple of days, or a week or two before you think the cycle will be finished. It won't hurt, but there's no real advantage to have it running either. Good Luck!

[Ricardo Jaber]

Thank you for the tip!


Now, another question, I was away for the weekend and came back to very cloudy and smelly water.

I ran the test and got the following:

pH: 8
Ammonia: 0 - 0.25 ppm
Nitrites: 0 - 0.25 ppm
Nitrate: 20
Salinity: 1.024
Temp: 81 ºF

I read that normally cloudy water during cycling is a sign that there ir a bacterial bloom going on, and this normally happens during the first stages of the cycle.. Since and I already had what I think was a Nitrites spike and now I get almost 0 readings I'm a little bit confused of where I'm at.. some LR are getting what I think are diatoms (turning brown) and one corner of the substrate has some "brown dust" over

The rotting shrimp is still in the tank, half consumed and still not running the skimmer

Anyone have an advice?