Cycle question

[Phistick]

My QT tank has been cycling for about three weeks now. My nitrites and nitrates and ammonia were at 0 so I decided to add a couple raw shrimp to see if I would get an Ammonia spike. The first day after the reading was 1 ppm and the second day 2 ppm. How long do I leave the shrimp in there?
Do I wait till it tops off and goes down or remove them at the peak?
Thanks for your help.

[nereefpat]

2ppm is high enough. Take the shrimp out now.

You will see ammonia drop, while nitrite rises and then drops. Cycle is over when ammonia and nitrite read zero. Cycle didn't actually start until you added the shrimp. It will take another couple weeks at least.

[Phistick]

Thank you

[mcgyvr]

yep.. 2ppm is plenty.. remove it..

[billdogg]

Although I agree that 2ppm is plenty, unless you are planning on keeping the QT running all the time, I don't see the need to cycle it at all.

My 20L QT sits on a shelf in the fish room with all it's pieces parts clean and dry inside. If I happen to find something to put in it, I can have it up and running while the bag is floating in my FT's sump. Water changes are done every other day by using water from the FT and then just replenishing the FT as needed, so in effect, a 2 for 1 water change.

[Uncle99]

billdogg is 100% correct.
No cycle of QT is needed, just a temp home

[Phistick]

Thanks for the help. I do plan on keeping the QT running year round so I wanted to set it up as a permanent fixture.

[Phistick]

So my QT has run it's cycle and is all set to go as far as I can tell however I continue to get a low reading of ammonia most of the time, around .25. Is there a way to remove this trace amount completely? I've done several water changes and it still stays consistent.

I know the test kit will sometimes read a little ammonia but I tested the RO/DI water with it and it showed zero ammonia. The DT also reads no ammonia.

Any changes I can do to my filter setup? I am running charcoal now but plan to stop when I start medicating new arrivals. Would a skimmer help?

I plan on putting a full time resident in there maybe a Pj Cardinal or something so I want the tank dialed.

Thanks for any help.

[mcgyvr]

API test kits are notorious for registering ammonia like that... Ignore it..