This question has two parts:
1. My first tank (40 gallon) has been running for about a week and a half. I've seen lots of change in my nitrite levels culminating in a spike last night, however my ammonia and nitrate have been borderline undetectable the entire time. Is this normal?
2. I introduced a colony of copepods from a jar of Algaebarn's Ecopods to the tank near the beginning of the cycle. In a separate post to R2R I was told that the bottled bacteria I used should protect them during the cycle and that it would be ok to put them in the tank. With this nitrite spike I'm concerned that the copepods won't survive or have already died. Should I expect the copepods are alright? Or should I stop dosing phyto and wait to introduce another colony after I'm reading 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite?
Timeline:
2/19 - Poured in 4 oz. (60 gallon's worth) Dr. Tim's One and Only
2/22 - Ammonia 0.2 ppm; Nitrite 0.05 ppm; Nitrate 2 ppm (all of these values are the minimum detectable, so I'm not convinced they're true positive readings)
2/25 - Ammonia 0.2; Nitrite 0.35; Nitrate 2
3/1 - Ammonia 0.2; Nitrite >1 ppm (Test kit maximum value is 1 ppm); Nitrate - 2
All tests performed using RedSea's Marine Care Test kit.
I'm using dry rock, live sand (caribsea aragalive special grade) and Dr. Tim's One and Only. I feed the tank a pinch of marine flakes twice a day to keep a steady supply of ammonia for the bacteria, and I dose 10 ml of Algaebarn's Oceanmagik phytoplankton once a day as discussed.
I'm hoping this is a normal looking cycle but I'm feeling a bit paranoid, mostly because I feel a bit guilty if I've killed all those copepods. I probably included way too much info, but I've tried to put energy into this post so that I can be patient with the tank.
Thanks!
1. My first tank (40 gallon) has been running for about a week and a half. I've seen lots of change in my nitrite levels culminating in a spike last night, however my ammonia and nitrate have been borderline undetectable the entire time. Is this normal?
2. I introduced a colony of copepods from a jar of Algaebarn's Ecopods to the tank near the beginning of the cycle. In a separate post to R2R I was told that the bottled bacteria I used should protect them during the cycle and that it would be ok to put them in the tank. With this nitrite spike I'm concerned that the copepods won't survive or have already died. Should I expect the copepods are alright? Or should I stop dosing phyto and wait to introduce another colony after I'm reading 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite?
Timeline:
2/19 - Poured in 4 oz. (60 gallon's worth) Dr. Tim's One and Only
2/22 - Ammonia 0.2 ppm; Nitrite 0.05 ppm; Nitrate 2 ppm (all of these values are the minimum detectable, so I'm not convinced they're true positive readings)
2/25 - Ammonia 0.2; Nitrite 0.35; Nitrate 2
3/1 - Ammonia 0.2; Nitrite >1 ppm (Test kit maximum value is 1 ppm); Nitrate - 2
All tests performed using RedSea's Marine Care Test kit.
I'm using dry rock, live sand (caribsea aragalive special grade) and Dr. Tim's One and Only. I feed the tank a pinch of marine flakes twice a day to keep a steady supply of ammonia for the bacteria, and I dose 10 ml of Algaebarn's Oceanmagik phytoplankton once a day as discussed.
I'm hoping this is a normal looking cycle but I'm feeling a bit paranoid, mostly because I feel a bit guilty if I've killed all those copepods. I probably included way too much info, but I've tried to put energy into this post so that I can be patient with the tank.
Thanks!