High nitrates after cycling tank.

[Paul31733]

Hey everybody.
I have been fishless cycling my tank (Im sr-60) for three weeks now using the dr tims method.
I got it to where if I dose 2 ppm ammonia it is gone in 24 hours.

Anyways. I am supposed to add fish tomorrow so I just did a 100%(of what I could get with siphon) water change.
My nitrates are still up at 50-100 ppm.

Do I have to do another large water change?
Or did I do something wrong?

Thanks.

 

[Azedenkae]

Hey everybody.
I have been fishless cycling my tank (Im sr-60) for three weeks now using the dr tims method.
I got it to where if I dose 2 ppm ammonia it is gone in 24 hours.

Anyways. I am supposed to add fish tomorrow so I just did a 100%(of what I could get with siphon) water change.
My nitrates are still up at 50-100 ppm.

Do I have to do another large water change?
Or did I do something wrong?

Thanks.

If you do that big of a water change, you really should not be seeing so much nitrate. :O

 

[Paul31733]

If you do that big of a water change, you really should not be seeing so much nitrate. :O

This is why I am here.... Lol

 

[Azedenkae]

This is why I am here.... Lol

Try measuring a sample of freshwater and see what it reads.

 

[Paul31733]

Try measuring a sample of freshwater and see what it reads.

I use rodi water I make myself and use in my other tank upstairs... But I will do this anyways you never know.

 

[neonreef3d]

I use rodi water I make myself and use in my other tank upstairs... But I will do this anyways you never know.

you may want to see if the rock you are using in the tank is giving off the nitrates.

 

[Azedenkae]

I use rodi water I make myself and use in my other tank upstairs... But I will do this anyways you never know.

Yeah I doubt the water itself has any nitrates, so actually more so just want to see if there is an issue with the test kit itself (reading nitrates where there is none).

 

[Paul31733]

you may want to see if the rock you are using in the tank is giving off the nitrates.

Thanks. I used Stax dry rock. Can they produce nitrate?

I did use live sand. But I rinsed it first.

 

[Simsung]

What test kit are you using? Are you sure you are following the instructions? (sorry to ask, I just seen many people reading the salifert test kits from the side of the vial)
Did you check your rodi water for nitrates?
You could have flushed some nitrates out of the sand when doing the wc, how many gallons is your tank?

 

[Paul31733]

What test kit are you using? Are you sure you are following the instructions? (sorry to ask, I just seen many people reading the salifert test kits from the side of the vial)
Did you check your rodi water for nitrates?
You could have flushed some nitrates out of the sand when doing the wc, how many gallons is your tank?

I am using salifert test kit.
This is a picture of my rodi water tested.

And this is a picture of nitrate test I did just right as I type this.

This is the same test kit I use to keep my other tank at 2 ppm.

 

[Simsung]

I would read this as lower than 50 from it's appearance on the photo.
How large is the tank? That's high after a 100% wc

It could be your nitrites showing as nitrates on the test.

 

[Paul31733]

I would read this as lower than 50 from it's appearance on the photo.
How large is the tank? That's high after a 100% wc

It could be your nitrites showing as nitrates on the test.

It is a 60 gallon AIO. It has about 45 gallons in it.

 

[Paul31733]

I would read this as lower than 50 from it's appearance on the photo.
How large is the tank? That's high after a 100% wc

It could be your nitrites showing as nitrates on the test.

Nitrite appears to be 0.5ppm to 1ppm.

 

[Paul31733]

So is it ok for me to do another 50% water change to try to bring it down?
I have more saltwater ready.

 

[Simsung]

I think your tank is not fully cycled yet
I would give it a little bit more time before making another WC.

As to getting fish... As long as there's no ammonia, fish will be fine, as nitrites or nitrates in this amount are not toxic.

I would be very careful about an ammonia spike, so please keep testing after you add them, do WCs if it does spike.
Dr Tim has the "one and only" live nitrifying bacteria which you could use in an emergency (ammonia spike)

Good luck!

 

[ApoIsland]

So is it ok for me to do another 50% water change to try to bring it down?
I have more saltwater ready.

No harm in more water changes. Hope you test the freshly mixed salt water before adding to the tank so you can be sure that is at 0.

Patience is not a virtue I posses so regardless what the result is though I would still ad the fish as they could care less about nitrate.

 

[Paul31733]

I think your tank is not fully cycled yet
I would give it a little bit more time before making another WC.

As to getting fish... As long as there's no ammonia, fish will be fine, as nitrites or nitrates in this amount are not toxic.

I would be very careful about an ammonia spike, so please keep testing after you add them, do WCs if it does spike.
Dr Tim has the "one and only" live nitrifying bacteria which you could use in an emergency (ammonia spike)

Good luck!

Thanks I added Dr tims 3 weeks ago to start my cycle... I currently have seachem stability I have been adding a little bit.

What are signs I should look for in the fish to remove them from the tank?

 

[Paul31733]

Thanks everyone I was mostly worried about harming the fish. I have a tank upstairs I could move them to in a breeder box if necessary... Just hope I can catch it in time.

 

[Greg P]

Most likely you still had lots of NO3 in the rock when you did your WC. This is why I prefer to cycle rock in as small a container as possible before adding to a system.

Unfortunately I suggest another large WC. When the tank is about 1/2 full swish the rocks very vigorously then remove the rest of the water.
Better yet, place the rock in new/clean water for a really good rinse and do another large enough WC on the tank to get the level where you want it.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hey everybody.
I have been fishless cycling my tank (Im sr-60) for three weeks now using the dr tims method.
I got it to where if I dose 2 ppm ammonia it is gone in 24 hours.

Anyways. I am supposed to add fish tomorrow so I just did a 100%(of what I could get with siphon) water change.
My nitrates are still up at 50-100 ppm.

Do I have to do another large water change?
Or did I do something wrong?

Thanks.

Add a pouch of Chemipure Blue or elite - It will polish your water, remove any trace of toxins and keep nitrate and Phosphate in check