Nitrites being pesky

[Naamanroot]

Alrighty, so I have a 20gal tank I've been running for a little over a month. The cycle was started with instant ocean salt and Fritz turbo start. I put 2 goby's, a shrimp and 2 clowns in the tank to start the cycle after being encouraged by my LFS. 3 weeks into the cycle, the fish were removed and placed into a larger tank, then dry rock and live sand were added to the system. Since then, water changes have been done with Tropic Marin pro reef salt. I have a hang over refugium, chaeto is on the way, and a HOB filter.
Now that we have the backstory established, here is my question. I've been trying to figure out why I can't seem to get my nitrites down below 2ppm. My nitrates have been fluxing in between 5 and 10ppm, and my ammonia is sub (.2). My PH has been consistently at 7.8-8, and I stay at a consistent 35ppm for my salt content.
I did a 30% water change, and I'm hoping the chaeto helps before I add more nitrifying bacteria and invest in a skimmer. I know I can do carbon to polish, and I'm hoping to not get into dosing nopox since I would prefer to not do that at this point in the cycle.
Am I on the right track with my thinking to lower the nitrites in my system? And if not, what else can I do to expedite the removal of nitrites?

 

[Reef.]

Wow slow down, your nitrate is very low, you don’t need to lower it more.

I would try and keep things simple, you have a lot going on there, and the cycle was not the standard cycle to put it mildly.

 

[brandon429]

The cycle is fully done and the nitrite tests are misreading.

reasons done: has met the timeframes on a cycle chart, and fritz is ready in 48 hours it’s now a month


we expect hardly any nitrite tests to be accurate, so your cycle looks great since ammonia is all that matters. Buy nothing, do nothing, continue reefing and retire nitrite testing from here on out in every reef, not just this one.

 

[Aqua Man]

What was in the tank when you started the cycle?
it sounds like it was empty and then you added rock and sand. Sand is optional, the rock should of been in there from day one to give bacteria a home.
IMO, fish store gave bad advice.

 

[iamacat]

The cycle doesn’t sound like anything actually cycled. You need substrate for the bacteria to seed. If you cycled and empty tank and are now adding rock and sand then You are at day zero and need to cycle the rock and sand without fish

 

[brandon429]

3 weeks into the cycle, the fish were removed and placed into a larger tank, then dry rock and live sand were added to the system.


nice catch l and A

if indeed a system was set up without any sand or rock then had both those added later I’ve never seen that in reefing, and wouldn’t want to lol. Surely this didn’t happen


when I first read, thought it was a typical fish in cycle. There’d be nothing to adhere to agreed


there is no literature or post or guide that would recommend it, someone would have to literally just make that procedure up (I guess it’s possible a newb lfs employee could)

 

[iamacat]

Yea man reading this again after sleep I can’t wrap my head around this process. Your cycle method followed zero science and I’m not sure how you got on that path. But no matter we all make mistakes and learn.

here is the direction you need to take:

-keep your fish out of the display

- with your tank filled and containing the sand and rock, add the cycling bacteria of your choice. My preference is microbacter start xlm and the quick cycle ammonia.

-at this time you can even add in something like a a biobrick to help give the bacteria more area to grow. This will help with the addition of fish. As your tank matures you can remove bio media like the biobricks slowly in small incriminates.

- constant monitor your ammonia. Seachem alert is easy. You will also test for nitrite and nitrate. Once a day is fine. Following the instructions on the bacteria bottles is most important.

-once your tests show a completed cycle you can add fish.

- continue to add the next phase of beneficial bacteria. I like microbacter clean. Again follow the instructions

good luck and just slow down. You need to take the time setting your system up for success.

 

[Naamanroot]

So, clarification.
When the tank was initially cycled, I had a media bag with ceramic beads placed in my HOB flow. That was where I was growing my bacteria. The tanks original purpose was a quarantine tank. It had a few chunks of dry rock that were kept in the new layout.
As far as the media in the bag, it was kept in the tank. And there won't be any fish re-entering the system till I get into some more growth in the tank.
And as far as the science behind why I added substrate and rock late; I'm new, and I wanted another display tank ‍. No real scientific process . I feed the tank a small amount of food to keep the bacteria fed. I'm just going in a different direction then just having an empty quarantine tank.

 

[iamacat]

So, clarification.
When the tank was initially cycled, I had a media bag with ceramic beads placed in my HOB flow. That was where I was growing my bacteria. The tanks original purpose was a quarantine tank. It had a few chunks of dry rock that were kept in the new layout.
As far as the media in the bag, it was kept in the tank. And there won't be any fish re-entering the system till I get into some more growth in the tank.
And as far as the science behind why I added substrate and rock late; I'm new, and I wanted another display tank ‍. No real scientific process . I feed the tank a small amount of food to keep the bacteria fed. I'm just going in a different direction then just having an empty quarantine tank.

When you don’t follow science in this hobby you will find yourself here asking questions a lot.

 

[Reef.]

So, clarification.
When the tank was initially cycled, I had a media bag with ceramic beads placed in my HOB flow. That was where I was growing my bacteria. The tanks original purpose was a quarantine tank. It had a few chunks of dry rock that were kept in the new layout.
As far as the media in the bag, it was kept in the tank. And there won't be any fish re-entering the system till I get into some more growth in the tank.
And as far as the science behind why I added substrate and rock late; I'm new, and I wanted another display tank ‍. No real scientific process . I feed the tank a small amount of food to keep the bacteria fed. I'm just going in a different direction then just having an empty quarantine tank.

as you say you are new and have asked questions, that is why we are commenting, you seem to be defensive?

You say your LFS encouraged you to cycle this way, I would probably not take any more advice from them.

 

[brandon429]

However much surface area you've kept in contact will certainly be cycled, and it'll stay cycled as long as kept wet. That'll help while adjusting final arrangement

 

[Naamanroot]

So, definitely grateful for the tips and tricks, me staying I'm new was more me asking for patience as I don't have all the tools I need yet, which is respectively why I'm here.
My, LFS initially told me starting my tank out with fritz turbo start and fish to begin the cycle. After three weeks, my nitrogen cycle had levelled out. At that time when the fish were removed. Having the tank empty with no other plans for it, I went back to my LFS and discussed adding live sand and dry rock. My understanding after leaving the conversation was that without fish in the tank, and as long as my media stayed in the tank and I was able to keep the water parameters in check that there shouldn't be an issue.
I definitely did not give enough information in the original post.
That being said, and correct me if I'm wrong, I believe the general consensus is that the tank needs to continue cycling to allow the now disturbed nitrogen cycle time to balance out.

 

[Reef.]

Maybe restate your questions again and your aims for this tank as it’s a little confusing what you are trying to do with it...if,you are setting this up now as a reef with corals and fish and if my tank, I would buy an ammonia test if I didn’t have one, buy some Dr Tim’s ammonia p, add ammonia to get to 2ppm and test I. 24 hours if the reading is 0, if not I would start a fresh cycle/wait longer for the cycle to finish and go from there.

in your op you say nitrate, did you mean nitrite? As that would make more sense p?

 

[laverda]

It is still not clear what is going on with each tank. Cover one at a time for clarity.

 

[mijan]

I read this several times and still not sure what is being asked. Here is what I got out of it. Your 20G tank was first intended to be a QT tank. You did a cycle with ceramic rings in a HOB filter. Since then you have decided to make it a DT and have now added sand and rocks.
Your question seems to be why is your tank now at 2ppm Nitrites and how to lower that. Since adding the sand and rock you would need to do the cycle again. Since there should be bacteria on the ceramic rings you can go from there or add some bottled bacteria to speed up the process. Ghost feed or add ammonia until your ammonia tests at 0. I do not think any harm was done other then wasting 3 weeks on the original cycle.
Nitrites are not really a concern. If the ammonia level tests out at 0 you should be good to go. If the Nitrates are high after the cycle do a water change to bring them down.