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?
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?