Questions about cycling/nitrite/pH

ihatenitrites

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I might be rambling so I apologize in advance.

I started cycling an evo 13.5 about a month ago and I decided to go dry everything (dry aragonite, dry pukani rock, fritz salt) to avoid aiptasia and other annoying pests.I've read that microbacter start XLM is the new good thing so I went with that. I went with RODI water too just because it's cheap to buy for such a small tank.

Microbacter says that you can cycle in 7 days. That was not true for me but I also had some issues in the beginning (my salt spiked, my temp also spiked due to a bad heater) so I figure that maybe killed off some bacteria.

I got that fixed and and then my ammonia started going down (right now it should be about 0, but I will go to a saltwater store tomorrow and get them to test too) and nitrite went up. Right now I've been stuck on ~ 2ppm nitrite for 3 weeks or so.

I am using API test kits for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and I noticed that a lot of members here dump on it so I'm not really sure just how accurate these readings are... but as of today, my ammonia should be 0 or close to 0, nitrite is 2ppm, nitrate ~10-20ppm.

I also did a ~95% (couldn't drain more than that) water change about a week ago and after I added the new rodi salt water I was still 2ppm nitrite.

I've been reading some threads here where people say they don't even test nitrites anymore. Am I worrying for no reason here? I'm eager to add the corals from my 2.5g tank and a fish (I don't own any fish, I would have to buy 1) but I would really like it if they didn't die on me due to poison.

I also seem to have issues with my pH. My pH is 7.8 and dKH is 14-15. Someone told me that phosphate may influence pH so I tested that as well. Phosphate is about 0.25ppm.

My Questions / TLDR:
- Regarding my pH (7.8), would it be a good idea to take the dry aragonite sand out and replace it with some other sand (is there some other better sand that increases pH to around 8-8.2) or should I just go with 7.8? Everything online seems to talk about 8.1 - 8.4.
- Regarding the nitrite, how would I know if my tank is cycled if I have 2ppm for weeks now. From freshwater experience, I would wait for 0 ammonia and nitrite but I guess nitrite is not a big deal in saltwater (like how nitrate is in freshwater)?

Coming from freshwater, I'm just very confused on nitrite cycling...A lot of people say to ignore nitrite

I'm just thinking that it might have been a lot easier if I just went live sand/rock.
 

Trey

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Your tank is cycled. Ignore the nitrites, I change my water at 10ppm nitrate to keep it between 5-10ppm. Nitrates registering and 0 ammonia is confirmed cycle.
What he said. Ignore nitrite. If ammonia is 0 and you are registering nitrates you’re good to go. Also ditch the API stuff if you can. Grab a nyos no3 test kit.
The sand shouldn’t impact your pH. I wouldn’t chase numbers, but 7.8 is a little low.. try getting some fresh air into the room and see what that does for you. You may not even be reading the correct pH, depending on what you are testing with...
 

MohrReefs

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What he said. Ignore nitrite. If ammonia is 0 and you are registering nitrates you’re good to go. Also ditch the API stuff if you can. Grab a nyos no3 test kit.
The sand shouldn’t impact your pH. I wouldn’t chase numbers, but 7.8 is a little low.. try getting some fresh air into the room and see what that does for you. You may not even be reading the correct pH, depending on what you are testing with...
Salifert is good. API has always read way higher than reality for me.
 
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ihatenitrites

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What he said. Ignore nitrite. If ammonia is 0 and you are registering nitrates you’re good to go. Also ditch the API stuff if you can. Grab a nyos no3 test kit.
The sand shouldn’t impact your pH. I wouldn’t chase numbers, but 7.8 is a little low.. try getting some fresh air into the room and see what that does for you. You may not even be reading the correct pH, depending on what you are testing with...
I am testing pH with API saltwater test kit. I have been opening my window but the tank is covered (with the fluval evo 13.5 cover). I did point the evo pumps and a powerhead (~425gph) at the top of the water. I have a couple more powerheads, I could add another one on the other side of the tank.

Do you think the high phosphate could also be lowering the pH?
 
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ihatenitrites

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Salifert is good. API has always read way higher than reality for me.
dang, I feel like I wasted money with API but I think it could be decent (?). I tested the nitrite in my 2.5g tank (it's been running for 1yr+) and nitrite was a clear 0 there. The issue is that my pH in this tank is also 7.8....
 
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ihatenitrites

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Just wanted to give an update, and maybe it helps someone if they were in the same spot as me.

So one thing I forgot to mention in the top post was that I used dead rock. I guess I didn't clean it properly (if anyone is using dead rock, make sure you clean it properly so you avoid my situation) and I have a lot of dead things decomposing in the rocks.

The lady at the lsf told me to add an algone pack to my filter and it should help to get me out of this halted cycle. It's been about 3 days since I added the algone pack and my nitrite now reads 0ppm (with API) and probably 0 ammonia (with API, but I can't tell for 100%, it's kinda yellow with a little green in it).
 

Trey

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Just wanted to give an update, and maybe it helps someone if they were in the same spot as me.

So one thing I forgot to mention in the top post was that I used dead rock. I guess I didn't clean it properly (if anyone is using dead rock, make sure you clean it properly so you avoid my situation) and I have a lot of dead things decomposing in the rocks.

The lady at the lsf told me to add an algone pack to my filter and it should help to get me out of this halted cycle. It's been about 3 days since I added the algone pack and my nitrite now reads 0ppm (with API) and probably 0 ammonia (with API, but I can't tell for 100%, it's kinda yellow with a little green in it).
Please be careful *NOT* to lower your no3 and po4 to 0 ( undetectable levels with hobby grade test kits). You risk dealing with a dinoflagellate outbreak, which I imagine is no fun, as well as several other issues.

I don’t know what algone is, but I do know quick fixes and chemical bandaids are not the answer for any of us.
Also to reiterate, your cycle is not halted imho. If you can reliably test ammonia and it reads zero, and you have nitrates, you are cycled.
 

brandon429

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I think that pack is a living animal/refugium charger type packet of bugs n micros

that would bring in nice diversity for a dry start system, filter bacteria etc, that’s a decent product theyre selling.
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

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ihatenitrites

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I think that pack is a living animal/refugium charger type packet of bugs n micros

that would bring in nice diversity for a dry start system, filter bacteria etc, that’s a decent product theyre selling.
I'm not sure exactly what algone has in it (I think it might be some kind of artificial thing) but it seems like it's really effective at eating ammonia. Not sure about nitrate since I didn't really tested it since I added the algone. But as Trey said, I guess it could create dinoflagellate issues (I was not aware of this before) if it eats all the nitrates. I took it out last night.
 
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ihatenitrites

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No.

pH is determined ONLY by carbonate alkalinity and carbon dioxide.

When alkalinity is normal, excess CO2 is the reason for low pH, and CO2 is usually driven by the CO2 in your home air unless you act to alter that somehow.

This has more:

pH And The Reef Aquarium
http://www.reefedition.com/ph-and-the-reef-aquarium/
I'll take a look thank you for the link.

Please be careful *NOT* to lower your no3 and po4 to 0 ( undetectable levels with hobby grade test kits). You risk dealing with a dinoflagellate outbreak, which I imagine is no fun, as well as several other issues.

I don’t know what algone is, but I do know quick fixes and chemical bandaids are not the answer for any of us.
Also to reiterate, your cycle is not halted imho. If you can reliably test ammonia and it reads zero, and you have nitrates, you are cycled.
I took it out last night. I will do water tests this evening (roughly 24hr after)
 
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