crushed coral and nitrite readings

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nichole

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Apr 13, 2003
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I have been fishless cycling now for over 2 months. I had a ph & kh problem and added crushed coral to my tank. I have been burning through ammonia but have been stuck with really high nitrites for several weeks now. My question is does anyone know what effect crushed coral could have on my nitrite test reading?? Or any idea as to why after I have done two large water changes (for lack of knowing what else to do) in a week my nitrites would still be around 5ppm. Before the first water change my nitrites were so high they weren't even reading on the test result sheet. I have absolutely no idea what to do at this point. Am I so messed up that I just need to start over with the cycle???
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 

Andy16

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Dec 10, 2002
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2 MONTHS?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? have u added cocktail shrimp of anything? that will help get some of that beneficial bacteria going. the crushed coral shouldnt have done anyhting unless it was from somebody elses tank.
 

thom336

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Dec 17, 2002
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I may be wrong, but if the tank was set up with fish, grosely overstocked (compensating for amounts of ammonia added), and no filter was cleaned or water changed carryed out, then surely there would be a high nitrite reading then? See if you can make anything from that...
 

carpguy

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Jul 15, 2002
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The crushed coral isn't slowing down your cycle. Its buffering the tank and keeping your pH from crashing. If you're KH and pH are getting very high you may want to adjust, but its not whats producing the long nitrite spike.

Shrimp are just another ammonia source. I'd stick to regular ammonia and avoid the rotting seafood smell.

As frustrating as it may be, I think you have to look at the idea that you started from scratch after the pH crash. If its been less than 4 or 5 weeks since then, you're really not that far off schedule. In general the ammonia spike seems to take about half as long as the nitrite spike. High ammonia doses (to 5ppm) also seem to retard the nitrite-eaters and produce long nitrite spikes… did you cut the ammonia dose back to 2-3pmm?

About three weeks passed between the day I hit zero ammonia and the day I hit zero nitrites.

HTH
 

wetmanNY

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Since you seem to be killing off the nitrite-respiring bacteria with the amount of ammonia you're "burining through" why not just reduce the dosing to whatever gives you just enough NH3 to register on the test you use?-- and no more.
,,,but haven't I suggested this already...
 

nichole

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I didn't think the crushed coral was affecting the cycle I just wasn't sure if it could be possibly affecting the test kit readings. I don't even know if that makes much sense. I guess I am pulling at straws. I was just thinking maybe I was really cycled and the crushed coral was just making the test results for nitrites askew.
I have cut back on the amount of ammonia I have been dosing since someone suggested that weeks ago. So I have only been adding enough to get the ammonia up to about 2 ppms. I am going to try wetmans advice and only add enough to get it to register on my test kit.
I also wasn't sure if I actually did start the cycle over when the ph crashed. I thought I had but wasn't positive and I don't think anyone confirmed that.
So I will just keep following all of your good advice and hopefully it will cycle soon.
 

carpguy

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Jul 15, 2002
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I wasn't sure if you'd started from zero again during the original thread and it sounded like maybe you'd at least had some ammonia-eaters going. I think maybe everyone was trying to be hopeful. But it seems like you went pretty far back.

The nitrite spike lasts for a while. The ammonia spike seems to clear through fairly quickly and gives you the false impression that everything is just breezing along. And then you sit with nitrites that seem to go on and on. When they do finally drop you may see it happen fairly quickly. For me it wasn't a gradual decline, it was more like they hung and hung and one day something caught on and they went.

The coral is just boosting your KH (and pH) to a level that is higher than your tap. Other folks have your boosted level or even higher as normal for their tap. The nitrite test works at these different levels, but I can understand the frustration. I'd be frustrated after so long. :(

Keep us updated! You've got a little cheering sction going out here…
 

wetmanNY

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Rah! Rah!

The crushed coral is nothing but calcium carbonate (well, a little magnesium carbonate too). Its effect on the cycle is just that it buffers the pH, and low pH depresses those nitrite-eating bacteria that you're trying to cheer up. Ammonia depresses them too-- but your ammonia-eating bacteria are already hard at work.

It's all easier with planted tanks. Really...
 
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