BretCreager
03/23/2013, 10:00 PM
So i just finished my third week of the cycle.
I have been pulling my hair out over the api test kits and ended up driving to 4 different LFS last one about 45 minutes from me and I finally found one that I was impressed with. Knowlegeable, happy to be working in the store, lots of nice equipment and displays, everything was clean... great experience over all. The store was called Aquarium Center in Blackwood NJ if anyone is looking.
Anyway while I was there I bought a RedSea test kit and went through all of them.
If I am correct, and I will test again in the morning, It looks like my ammonia is at zero now and could have been there for a while. With the API test I was bouncing between .1 and ~.4 every test I would do. The first test with the redsea and I really would not think it was anything other than zero.
my nitrates appear to be around a 7ppm, Nitires are zero, alk is 8, ph somewhere between 8.2 (redsea) and 8.4 (hanna checker but I havent ever calibrated it since I got it second hand)
my temp holds steady right around 79 +-.5 and my salinity is 1.026.
so could I be done my cycle already? i would think if the api test was wrong and I havent had my spike yet then there would atleast be more than zero showing on the redsea. I know the nitrates still need to come down, but my thinking is if i test for the next 7 days and get zero ammonia, and my nitrates with any luck come down to zero then by next week I can add my CUC? also I never had much of a spike with nitrates (again with the API test) the most I would guess would be around a 10ppm
the api test was given to me second hand and could easily be more than 2 years old. so i should have jumped on a new test kit sooner.
thanks for the help, im starting to get wishful thoughts over here, I hope that I am just about done the waiting process.
Im not pushing to get fish in there right now (need to save up a little more) Im just exicted to get some snails and crabs and what not moving around in there.
I have been pulling my hair out over the api test kits and ended up driving to 4 different LFS last one about 45 minutes from me and I finally found one that I was impressed with. Knowlegeable, happy to be working in the store, lots of nice equipment and displays, everything was clean... great experience over all. The store was called Aquarium Center in Blackwood NJ if anyone is looking.
Anyway while I was there I bought a RedSea test kit and went through all of them.
If I am correct, and I will test again in the morning, It looks like my ammonia is at zero now and could have been there for a while. With the API test I was bouncing between .1 and ~.4 every test I would do. The first test with the redsea and I really would not think it was anything other than zero.
my nitrates appear to be around a 7ppm, Nitires are zero, alk is 8, ph somewhere between 8.2 (redsea) and 8.4 (hanna checker but I havent ever calibrated it since I got it second hand)
my temp holds steady right around 79 +-.5 and my salinity is 1.026.
so could I be done my cycle already? i would think if the api test was wrong and I havent had my spike yet then there would atleast be more than zero showing on the redsea. I know the nitrates still need to come down, but my thinking is if i test for the next 7 days and get zero ammonia, and my nitrates with any luck come down to zero then by next week I can add my CUC? also I never had much of a spike with nitrates (again with the API test) the most I would guess would be around a 10ppm
the api test was given to me second hand and could easily be more than 2 years old. so i should have jumped on a new test kit sooner.
thanks for the help, im starting to get wishful thoughts over here, I hope that I am just about done the waiting process.
Im not pushing to get fish in there right now (need to save up a little more) Im just exicted to get some snails and crabs and what not moving around in there.