How long before ammonia spikes?

Well, my understanding of the cycle is that the ammonia will rise untill it hits a peak when it then gets converted into nitrITE, so i may be missing something here, but that is only the same as putting in pure ammonia? if my chemistry background is correct...And i dont see why we need to rush the cycle to get started as we dont put fish in for a good ammount of weeks anyway..Just let nature runs its correct course...

Niko
 
Wrench - if you do decide to go with the pure ammonia method, here's how you would do it:

Add 5 drops of ammonia per 10 Gallons into the water on a daily basis. The Ammonia might rise up to 5 ppm. As soon as nitrites are measurable, reduce the ammonia input to 3 drops per day. Nitrites will rise to similar levels. Keep adding 2-3 drops until the measurements of ammonia and nitrites come out with 0 ppm. Once this happens, the tank should be completely cycled.

However, please make sure you use pure ammonia, without any additives or perfumes and I told you in your other thread.

You might not ever see a huge spike in the ammonia or nitrites given the amount of LR you have in your tank. Take the readings daily though. Once you have 0's on the NH3 and NO2 for a few days straight, I'd dose the tank one last time with 5 drops/10 gal. Then, watch to see how long it takes for the ammonia and nitrites to zero out. If my case, they disappeared overnight. This will pretty much assure you that your tank is cycled.

Hope this helps,
Yash
 
Also, please note that ammonia may vary in strength from brand to brand, so the exact amount you need may differ slightly, depending on which brand of ammonia you're using.
 
Good point there Ms. Bubbles. Wrench - just to be on the safe side, I would add maybe only 3 drops/10 gal to start with and see how much of a spike it creates. You definitely don't want to stress your tank out too much by having ammonia rocketing off the charts. That's another reason why I prefered the shrimp method - its more natural and controlled IMHO.
 
I am with the cocktail shrimp folks......drop in a couple....watch them disintigrate without ever having to touch your water.......measure for ammonia.....once registering....remove the shrimp (believe me by this time they are just about disintigrated anyway).....measure for nitrites......and as you have a good amount of live rock, you may never see a true spike.....especially if it was cured rock......also you could try purchasing some glade plug ins.....they help......max time for the shrimp is only a couple of days.....
 
The shrimp came out this morning. The odor was too bad and the last thing I need to do is **** off the folks. I had some 100% pure ammonia and I added a capful this morning which is 1/4 tsp. I just tested for Ammonia and it's still 0 along with Nitrite. I just dosed 3 drops/gallon and I'll test in the morning. I wanted to do the shrimp method because it seemed more natural but I'm sure this will work out in the end. I will keep you posted.

Thanks again for all the help!
 
Well turns out the ammonia I put in this morning has been taken care of by the bacteria. Ammonia is 0, nitite is .2 ppm and nitrate is up to .3ppm. Is it time for a water change already?
 
Ammonia has all but disappeared at this point. Nitrites are steady, and high at 5. Nitrates are sky rocketing to 25. Time for a water change? I had a brown algae bloom yesterday I'm guessing as a result of the Nitrates but overnight it seemed to have calmed down with no lights. Should I do a water change to get the Nitrates down or let nature do it's thing first?
 
Let nature do its thing mate...Just do a good water change after the cycle has finished..

You will get an algae bloom, its just part of the process, you will probably get a brown diatom bloom and it should eventually turn to green...I personally never stopped using my lights through-out my entire cycling...The bloom soon goes..Your cycling is going in the right direction..Just keep an eye on your nitrATES to make sure they DO start to come down...If they dont, then yes, a water change may be in order..As i said though, try and let nature run its own course if at all possible

HTH

Niko
 
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