PaulP Posted February 28, 2004 Share Posted February 28, 2004 My JBJ nanocube has been up and running for one week today. The water has been pretty cloudy although it may be clearing slightly. My ammonia reading has been off the scale for the last five days and I still don't get a reading on the nitrite level. Do I have a problem? smell has dimished slightly but still there. Should I not begin to get a nitrite reading and shouldn't the ammonia at least be coming down slightly. Every test I've done, it is so dark green it's off the scale Salinity 1.025 Temp: 80 Lights: 8 hrs Can anyone offer any suggestions or assurance? Thanks Paul P :( :x :*( Link to comment
1fish2fish Posted February 28, 2004 Share Posted February 28, 2004 Patience... These things take time and every tank will cycle at a different pace. You may still see ammonia for a week or two more. Until you see nitrites the ammonia will still read off the scale. Tanks that take as long as six weeks to cycle are not unheard of, but I doubt that will be your case. Do you have some live rock? Did you use live sand? If not, get some live rock at least. It will help speed your cycle along. Tanks cycled without liverock take much longer. Trust me, we have all been through the "Why won't it hurry up and cycle?" stage at some time. It's frustrating when you want your tank to look sooo cool, and there it sits empty. It will happen, and when it does it will be worth the wait. Link to comment
Razin Kane Posted February 28, 2004 Share Posted February 28, 2004 Sounds right on schedule to me, be patient and this time next week you'll probably have nitrite levels off the chart! Link to comment
PaulP Posted February 28, 2004 Author Share Posted February 28, 2004 Thanks you guys for the re-assurance. I am reminded of a poster I once saw of three vultures sitting on a cactus. The caption read "patience, my ass, I'm going to kill something" Paul P Link to comment
Aiptasia Posted February 28, 2004 Share Posted February 28, 2004 Yes, add cured liverock or you can try using Fritzyme #9 or Cycle to give you some beneificial bacteria. Link to comment
MillerLite Posted February 29, 2004 Share Posted February 29, 2004 Also, if you add more live rock or live rock for the first time, I would recommend removing anything that smells bad or looks like it is dying or dead with a new unused toothbrush. Scrub the rocks now and prevent more ammonia from building up in your tank. You can also add some bacter vital (marc Weiss I think). THere is fresh and saltwater versions. I have heard that this can help speed up cycles. Link to comment
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