questions about cycling

[tims55gallon]

My tank has been up for 8 days now and everything looks great. My PH is great, salinty great, and my ammonia level is starting to rise. My question is that I am testing for nitrite and I am getting a zero reading, shouldn't my nitrite levels be rising as well?

[tinyreef]

your nitrite will start to show up after a couple of days. the ammonia needs to be converted to nitrite which will then be converted to nitrate and so on.

 

i believe there's an article on cycling in the info tab at the top of the webpage. saltaquarium.about.com also has some very good step-by-step articles on that and almost everything actually. give the tank a couple of days and good flow and your cycle should be moving along.

 

embrace the cycle, be the cycle, nananananana

[Physh1]

He's right on. You won't see any trite till the ammonia starts getting "processed". Sounds like everything is going along fine so far.

 

Cameron

[Acoustic]

One thing of note for ya tim55 is that even though your biological cycle is over you are not done. Everyone goes buck crazy like a midget being chased by a bull when thier readings level out. You will also go through a algal cycle:

 

1) Cyanobacteria

2) Hair Algae

3) Other weird algaes from your live rock

4) THEN the good stuff calcerous red algae.

 

Take it slow after your biological cycle so you don't send one of your algal cycles crazy.