Nitrite Wont Go Down!!

I have read that you have to be careful when using the shrimp method. You cant just use any old shrimp, you need to use raw non farmed as the farmed or cooked ones can introduce pathogens into your tank. All I've used for cycling my 2 tanks was the live rock
 
tamz273 said:
hey guys, thanks for all the reply's... ive been ontop of all my reading, and you guys where right theres ALOT to learn before i get started...
ive starting cycling my tank again though, and the shrimp is in to start creating ammonia hopefully...
im waiting for my ammonia reading to get up to 4ppm until i can remove the shrimp and let the tank keep cycling without any fish...

i will keep you guys posted on all my reading as they improve/get worse!

thanks again for all the help again guys! couldnt have done anything without you guys!
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Excellent news:) I hope this works out better for you
 
I just hate the idea of rotting flesh to cycle a tank I want healthy inhabitants in. I know a lot of folks do it but NIMFT.
 
alright guys, the latest update is that there is still baaarely any ammonia in the tank, and teh shrimp is still chilling in there! its a 79Gal tank, so i think itll take a bit longer to get the ammonia up... but im waiting!! i havent done any other tests either as theres no point yet since the ammonia hasnt even gone up yet! but yeh, im waiting and hoping to get a reading soon!!

will keep you all posted!!

ALSO! i looked at an RO unit at my LPS and it was EXPENSIVE!!! :'( and what is the difference between an RO unit and a Protein Skimmer??

thanks again!
 
tamz273 said:
ALSO! i looked at an RO unit at my LPS and it was EXPENSIVE!!! :'( and what is the difference between an RO unit and a Protein Skimmer??

thanks again!
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An RO unit fits to your water supply and is used to filter out contaminates from your water leaving it without any garbage in it (no nitrates/phoshates/heavy metals etc) that would do harm to your tank livestock
A protein skimmer removes dissloved organic matter from your tank using foam fractioning, the skimmer collects the dissloved organics in a collection cup after the foam has risen up the riser tube (skimmate).
 
tamz273 said:
As to Starla, im not sure what RO water is, but I initially filled it with Tap Water and added salts and minerals to the tank. Then I did my water changes with drinking water and kept balancing the salinity of the water by adding salts as the salinity dropped...
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definitely mix salts and water in a separate bucket. never add the dry salts directly to the tank.
 
hey guys!
once again, thanks for all the reply's!
ive learnt more here than i have anywhere else! its GREAT!!
as for the update, the ammonia level IS rising, but very very slowly!! the shrimp is still in there and im still waiting for it to decompose, as its simply NOT!
its been a week now and my ammonia PPM is around 1... still hoping itll shoot up any day now!!

thanks again and ill keep everyone updated!
 
just keep at it...no need to rush anything...
the longer it takes, the more stable your tank will become..
this is not an instant reward hobby, and the more patience you have, the happier you will be in the long run!

I cycled with LR, and my ammonia anly went up to 1 ppm, then nitrates went up to around 15-20 ... I never saw a nitrite spike...
once you get some nitrate showing up, that means your bio base is establishing itself..
Just make sure to keep testing for all 3.. amm, nitrite, and nitrate, and once your ammonia is 0, and you have nitrate, wait a week, and watch for any nitrite spike...
if you dont get one, and amm is 0, and trates are present..add some clean up crew, then wait some more....
 
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