ninhsavestheday Posted December 1, 2003 Share Posted December 1, 2003 i believe my cycle is done, but i want to make sure. so i threw in a dead shrimp. if ammonia doesnt shoot up that mean its done right? is this a good way to check weither the cycle is done or not? Link to comment
tinyreef Posted December 1, 2003 Share Posted December 1, 2003 no, the shrimp will rot and add new ammonia and so on. the shrimp just adds a new nutrient source that forces more bacteria to grow to handle its addt'l waste. once your ammonia and nitrite levels shoot up and then taper down to zero your bene bacteria has been established and your cycle (the main part) is completed. just go by your test results, they are your best indicators. Link to comment
caja Posted December 1, 2003 Share Posted December 1, 2003 so sayeth the voice of reason. Link to comment
ninhsavestheday Posted December 1, 2003 Author Share Posted December 1, 2003 when the shrimp rots and add ammonia, ammonia shouldnt be detected because ammonia would be converted to nitrite and so on... Link to comment
nalbar Posted December 1, 2003 Share Posted December 1, 2003 except your ammonia will not be converted fast enough because your tank was not used to that large of an increase. that is why you put stuff in your tank SLOWLY, so you do not overwhelm the beneficial organisms. nalbar Link to comment
palaegic Posted December 1, 2003 Share Posted December 1, 2003 when the shrimp rots and add ammonia, ammonia shouldnt be detected because ammonia would be converted to nitrite and so on... Don't do it! Fundamentally your logic is correct - the ammonia released by the decomposing shrimp will be broken down into nitrogen constituents by bacteria. But in practice, it is not a good way to determine the status of your cycle. If you leave the shrimp in, you will likely see another ammonia spike, and then the process of denitrification will settle in. Problem is, your not carrying the equation all the way out. The end product for your rotting shrimp will be nitrate - an overwhelming amount of nitrate (along with other equally polluting dissolved organics), which the algae (that you are trying to avoid) will be most grateful for. Granted, my description is an oversimplification of the pain you will cause yourself if you leave a rotting shrimp in your nano. In short - lose the shrimp. Pronto. Link to comment
ninhsavestheday Posted December 2, 2003 Author Share Posted December 2, 2003 ahh thanks for telling me. well i left it in the my tank for 5 hours... and i threw out .. hopefully it didnt rot.. thanks for the warning.. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.