[ChocolateChipStar]

After years of freshwater aquariums, this is my frst reef tank.

Due to the cost of live rock, I bought half about 3 weeks ago and then the other half about a week ago. When I added this last 45lb of rock, my ammonia & nitrites spiked again, but they aren't yet decreasing. My nitrate is off the charts, too.

My question is: Is the cycle complete because I have extreme nitrates, or do I still need to be patient & wait for the ammonia & nitrite to fal back to zero? I just don't know if I screwed up the process by adding the rock in two different parts.


Thanks!
Shannon

[WILLIAM1]

Originally Posted by ChocolateChipStar

After years of freshwater aquariums, this is my frst reef tank.

Due to the cost of live rock, I bought half about 3 weeks ago and then the other half about a week ago. When I added this last 45lb of rock, my ammonia & nitrites spiked again, but they aren't yet decreasing. My nitrate is off the charts, too.

My question is: Is the cycle complete because I have extreme nitrates, or do I still need to be patient & wait for the ammonia & nitrite to fal back to zero? I just don't know if I screwed up the process by adding the rock in two different parts.


Thanks!
Shannon

Hey Shannon you do need to let your ammonia,nitrate fall back to zero. Was the second batch of live rock from your local fish store or was it bought online? If it was bought online theres going to be some die off from the trip which in turn would lead to a spike in ammonia, and nitrates. But since your cycling your tank anyway just be patient and hang out they will go down soon.

I always try to buy my LR from the LFS so I dont have that problem. Sounds nice tho do you have any pics yet.. I with I would have takin pics from the very first step the LFS hahaha sounds stupid but...

[pogodzib]

You'll need to wait until the ammonia and nitrites fall back to zero. Since all three levels are elevated and you say that your nitrates are extreme, it might not be a bad thing to do a small water change now and a 10-20% water change once your ammonia and nitrite levels come back down to zero. Doing that should help keep your nitrates down so that any critters that came with the LR will survive and your first inhabitants won't be exposed to un-normally high levels of nitrate. Usually, LR alone isn't enough to bring existing nitrates down, but it can prevent it from showing up in the first place if you have enough of it.

BTW - Are you using tap water or RO/DI water for your tank?

[ChocolateChipStar]

Thanks, William. I bought the birst batch from the LFS, but the second batch came from Fosters & Smith online. I'll get some pics posted tomorow (gotta work later today). I'll continue being patient, but I'm ready for some cleanup crew at the least, because we have algae everywhere!

[ChocolateChipStar]

Thanks, pog...

I'l try a small water change tomorrow, then. Should I expect that to set me back a little in the cycle?

[ChocolateChipStar]

Pog....when we filled the tank for the first time, I used tap water. I'm looking for a distiller right now to use for future use.