More cycling questions....

DuvalTilWeDie904 · Apr 23, 2022

Sorry to keep asking questions on here and repeating some of the same information but.....

Ive been cycling my 75G since Sunday and as I mentioned in another post, my ammonia is at zero (again) and my nitrites/ nitrates are still reading extremely high (see below). I was told that the nitrites can interfere with nitrate readings, so to be honest Im not really sure where im at on those two... In my HOB filters, I removed the sponge and I currently only have bio media in it. I was also told that the sponge itself would removed a lot of the Nitrite and Nitrate, but shouldnt be used while cycling. Is this true? I will add the sponge once fish have been added...

On Sunday, I added Bio Spira bacteria and dosed ammonia (2ppm) with 80lbs of live sand. I also dosed ammonia on Tuesday and Thursday of last week (2ppm) as I was told that the bacteria would die if there was no ammonia. With all that being said, heres my question...

As Im writing this post, it is currently Saturday night. I was wondering, If I do a 50 percent water change to get the excess nitrite/ nitrate out and add more Bio Spira bacteria/ Seacham prime, will it be ok to add some clownfish on Monday or Tuesday of next week? Thanks,

EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal · Apr 23, 2022

Please invest in some test kits. The strips are very imprecise and will not tell you what you need to know.
In answer to your last question, IMO, absolutely not. This is a brand new tank with brand new rock, sand, etc. Please take your time and don't rush the cycle. 10 days is far from ideal to be thinking about adding fish.
If you haven't already, read the info in the sticky threads about cycling.
You want to give the system time to establish a good biofilter, then add some algae-eating clean up crew, and after you've gone through several weeks of "the uglies", you can add a few fish.
I'm sorry if this sounds harsh or too careful, but I'm assuming you want to lay a good foundation for healthy fish and/or coral and rushing is going to cause problems later on.