10g Nano - High Nitrites(NO2) ~5ppm+, No ammonia & minimal Nitrates(NO3) ~<6ppm

[alishahlakhani]

Hey fellow reefers,
I've very new to aquarium hobby and I have a (maybe stupid) cycling question. I've had my tank cycling for past 3.5 weeks and now my Nitrites(NO2) are extremely high(full purple) for past 1 week. I have very minimal to low algae growth.

Equipment used.
- Dry rocks and Dry sand
- No lifestock yet.
- HOB filter (Dophin ~local brand~ filter)
- Coral friendly lights (Blue and white spectrum)
- Test kits (Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, Alkalinity, Salinity, TDS & Temp)
- Nitrifying bacteria(API Quick Start Microbe Lift Nite Out 2)

Also please do guide me if there's any other essential equipments that I would need to start my reef keeping journey. Thanks alot Reefers

 

[Tahoe61]

Nice little system, sharp looking.
Tanks started from dry rock are going to take longer to cycle. In the next week or two you should see the nitrites drift down.

 

[alishahlakhani]

Nice little system, sharp looking.
Tanks started from dry rock are going to take longer to cycle. In the next week or two you should see the nitrites drift down.

Thanks. So I guess when people say "patience is the key" they actually mean it

 

[Tahoe61]

Thanks. So I guess when people say "patience is the key" they actually mean it

Times 10!!!!!

 

[alishahlakhani]

Times 10!!!!!

So it turns out my tank stalled. The No2 and No3 stayed at that. I donno what to do now. Any tips?

 

[fjpod]

3.5 weeks is still not quite a fully cycled tank,but having nitrates means you are almost there. I would add one small hardy fish to finish it up.

 

[alishahlakhani]

3.5 weeks is still not quite a fully cycled tank,but having nitrates means you are almost there. I would add one small hardy fish to finish it up.

I went and got myself 2 yellow tail blue damselfish 5 days ago. What should be my testing/feeding schedules after doing so?

I see fishes are not eating the pallets I'm feeding them. They ate only once in 5 days.
Are they gonna be okay? Are they okay in general? One of them also has this huge eye thingy which I donno what it is.

 

[fjpod]

I certainly can't answer all your questions without knowing more, but 2 YT damsels will likely survive. I would test daily until nitrites disappear, but then you still need more time for nitrate export to begin. Initially you may get a nitrate spike. Keep it under 40 with water changes, media changes such as carbon, maybe chemipure elite. In another month try to keep it under 20. Then add another fish.

My damsels don't particularly like my Ocean one mini pellets. I have to grind them up a bit. They accept frozen mysis better.

 

[brandon429]

Your tank is not stalled. Nitrites dont matter in cycling, we have been told that so we will buy more bottle bac redundantly. Cycles do not stall in reefing. Bottle bac and or live rock transfer allows five hundred tanks to start on the same date at MACNA. Cycles don’t stall or they’d stagger start.

any tank that has algae growing is cycled, you have multiple confirmations. A fish living past ten hours...they wouldn’t in an uncycled tank, many confirmations are in place.

notice how only testers are saying you’re in trouble, but no aspect of the visual field says it? Fish pant at the top and die overnite in an uncycled tank.

The way we’ve been misadvised to drive retail purchasing is this: yes the bacteria that regulate nitrite, and many other compounds are always adjusting and at the start, taking several weeks to build up. The key is, they’re a neutral measure. They have no consequence other than in test reports.

ammonia control is the only factor that matters in cycling


how does MACNA pull it off? Use their never-stalling start dates to see the truth in cycling.

 

[fjpod]

So... How have your damsels made out? How's your cycle?

 

[alishahlakhani]

So... How have your damsels made out? How's your cycle?

Unfortunately my 2 damsels died because of internal parasites and bullying. I didn’t knew which medicine to give. I wasn’t QTing them.
I have one more clown who has internal parasites :/ lFS said nothing I can do but I believe there’s a medicine for it(API General Cure, please advise)
I’m planning to get it and add it in DT for now since I don’t have QT, I’ll later add carbon.
My cycle had definitely progressed. No2 has lowered and changes are visible. I also got diatoms. No3 is still low which for now is fine.
Ammonia is 0