How Long to Start Seeing Nitrite?

[Koop]

Hi,
I have my rock in a brute garbage can with a pump and heater to cycle. Temp is a round 80 degrees. I have been ghost feeding to build up ammonia. I am a little more than three weeks in and still see no trace of nitrites.

I used RO/DI water and reef crystals with SG at 1.025. Is this normal.

I am coming from the freshwater world where my cycle was usually complete after 3 weeks.

Thanks

[RayAllen3422]

Was the rock live or dry when you got it? What test kits are you using?

[PAXpress]

It does take quite a while and then all of a sudden you will have TONS of nitrite. You are seeing ammonia I assume?

[Koop]

Rock was used on craigslist. I washed and scrubbed it. Then I bleached it and then soaked in prime water.

I am using the API test kit that came from the same guy I got the rock from.

I am seeing ammonia, about 3.0 at the moment.

[RayAllen3422]

Rock was used on craigslist. I washed and scrubbed it. Then I bleached it and then soaked in prime water.



I am using the API test kit that came from the same guy I got the rock from.



I am seeing ammonia, about 3.0 at the moment.


Do you know how old the test kit is? They expire so you may want to check that. I have never had luck with API kits even for the cycle. I went with Salifert.

[rags111875]

i too have an API test kit for ammonia and am just completing (i think) my cycle in ~ 2 weeks in my 220g. Nitrites high. Yesterday, there were none- or very low. i dosed straight ammonia (bought from Stop and Shop). Thru reading, i found that straight ammonia is the stuff in the bottle that you shake and dont see bubbles; if you see lots of bubbles when u shake, then dont buy it. Anyway, tossed in a full frozen shrimp, which has since disintegrated. I would recommend speeding up the cycle with straight ammonia.

[Koop]

Checked the expiration date. Good until 2018.

[CStrickland]

3ppm is plenty of ammonia. There's some that say higher than that will slow things down.

I'd probably throw in some kind of bacteria booster like Biospira, Dr. Tims, or Seachem Stability. People say you don't need it, that there's plenty of bacteria in the air and that it doesn't work. But other people say it works almost over night. You killed all the bacteria with the bleach, after 3 weeks I'd be looking at ways to jump start it. Opinions on this vary widely.

[thegrun]

You usually do not see much in the way of nitrites until the ammonia starts to decline (the bacteria start to break down ammonia into nitrites). I would stop adding any food at this point, you have a strong ammonia level, you don't want it to go any higher or it will both slow down your cycle and the end result when the cycle is complete will leave you with higher nitrate levels. The bacteria that breaks down ammonia to nitrites can live a year or more without food so you do not need to worry about starving the bacteria, it will be fine without any more ghost feeding. You usually see the ammonia start to come down around the second to third week, so you are almost there.

[Koop]

What the heck?? Tested again today, its been about 4 days since the last one. Still no nitrite but ammonia spiked to 8.0 ppm. I have not ghost fed since the last test. Any thoughts? What do I do now?

[CarrieB]

Wait a couple of days and test again? Sooner or later the nitrite is going to show up. The only other might be to throw in some of that bacteria booster or some live rock.

How much rock is it?

[bat21]

Cycling with dead rock takes a while. Mine took easily 6 weeks. I remember waiting a while for nitrite, and then a while for the nitrite to go down to zero.

[Koop]

Hi Carrie

Don't know the weight of the rock but in terms of volume the can is full to the top with rock.

[CarrieB]

Any update?