Spike or no spike

[theheaddon910]

My tank has been cycling for 16 days now and tested the water on day 3 and now on day 16. The test said the ammonia was 0, nitrites 0, and nitrates 15.

 

My question is was there a spike in nitrates with in those 12 days or has it not spiked yet? Does it seem really soon?

 

Running standard 10g, bio-wheel 200 with only filter pad no bio-wheel, koralia nano 240, 10lbs live sand, 5lbs base rock which is probably live now, and 5lbs live rock.

[Sunstar]

My tank has been cycling for 16 days now and tested the water on day 3 and now on day 16. The test said me ammonia was 0, nitrates 0, and nitrates 15.

 

My question is was there a spike in nitrates with in those 12 days or has it not spiked yet? Does it seem really soon?

 

Running standard 10g, bio-wheel 200 with only filter pad no bio-wheel, koralia nano 240, 10lbs live sand, 5lbs base rock which is probably live now, and 5lbs live rock.

 

my tank was doing that too. nitrates generally indicate there was a cycle and it's running. Spike... ugh, don't let something meaty die. I just went through a near catastrophy this week with my month and a half old tank. My nitrates were at 110 at least at the start of last week.

[FishStrings]

Yes you've had all the spike you're going to get, and the only way your cycle is broken is if you get an ammonia or nitrite reading later on. An ammonia or nitrate reading would mean your tank is converting way too slow. Cycling never ends, its continuous. Unless something crawls in there and dies, or something inside dies randomly your cycle shouldn't be running too slow. If you start getting ammonia or nitrite readings, something is wrong. Start off slow with adding livestock, especially shrimp. Maybe one animal a week unless its cleanup crew or filter feeder.