Water test question

[beginnersluck]

I just started with a saltwater tank. I have a question about my test readings. The PH is low at 7.8 the Ammonia is high at 8.0 the nitrite and nitrate although is at 0. Is that possible? I asked the lady who owns my LFS and she had no idea how they could be at 0 when the ammonia is so high. Anyone know if this is a problem? Also I have Fiji Live rock that has what looks like cobwebs on them, is this bad?

[Ninong]

I just started with a saltwater tank. I have a question about my test readings. The PH is low at 7.8 the Ammonia is high at 8.0 the nitrite and nitrate although is at 0. Is that possible?

In the beginning of the cycle you will get an ammonia reading and no nitrite or nitrate readings. After a brief period of time that varies depending on your live rock's condition, the ammonia numbers will begin to fall as the nitrite numbers are rising. After the nitrite numbers have begun rising, you will start to see measureable nitrate. The nitrite numbers will start to fall while the nitrate numbers are rising.

How long all of that takes depends entirely on your live rock. I started my tank with fully cured live rock and my initial cycle was over within a matter of days. Starting with uncured live rock could cause the initial cycle to take six to eight weeks.

An initial ammonia reading of 8.0 ppm is extremely high but not impossible. An initial reading of ~3.0 ppm would be more likely for most startups.

Also I have Fiji Live rock that has what looks like cobwebs on them, is this bad?

Probably not.

[beginnersluck]

Thanks, NinongI bought my live rock from Liveaquaria.com it was suppose to be fully cured and I had it shipped to me overnight. It was shipped wraped in newspaper not water could it be dead? I have had the tank filled for about 10 days now but have only had the live rock 4 days. Should I do a water change on the tank?

Thanks,
Jeff

[Ninong]

AFAIK, LiveAquaria.com does NOT sell fully cured live rock. No live rock is shipped in water. It is shipped in plastic lined boxes with wet newspaper.

Usually you do not do a water change when you are curing live rock until the cycle is well along; however, in your particular case, if you are certain that your ammonia reads 8.0 ppm, you might consider doing a substantial water change at this time. Or you could simply wait it out. The argument for doing the water change is based on the fact that your ammonia is extremely high, much higher than it should be, and this indicates significant dieoff somewhere in or on the live rock.

[Ninong]

I just double checked their website and LiveAquaria.com still does NOT offer fully cured live rock: http://liveaquaria.com/product/scateg.cfm?pCatId=393

The so-called "pre-cured" live rock that they are selling is what we call "uncured" live rock. It requires four to six weeks of curing before it can be considered "fully cured." That's standard live rock, not fully cured live rock. Fully cured live rock means that it is unpacked by the U.S. vendor and cured for several weeks in their curing vats so that it is fully cured before you get it. LiveAquaria doesn't offer that. They caution you on their website that their live rock must be cured by you before being placed in an aquarium with fish or inverts.

P.S. -- If you are having an ammonia reading of 8.0 ppm, I strongly suspect that this live rock was stored in the box for a certain period of time before it was shipped to you.

[beginnersluck]

WOW I feel like an idiot now. I deffinatly wanted live rock that was cured already. I will have to re-think what I am going to do with this now.

Thanks for the info.
Jeff

[SPasse]

Beginnersluck,

As your rock may be through a significant part of your cycle, I would personally wait it out, doing some partial water changes.

However once your Nitrate readings start to rise, I would do some additional water changes.

I have seen live rock that went though a “hard” cycle like you may have be experiencing that seems to “soak up” nitrates and when this happens, you can be in for a protracted algae battle as the nitrates are slowly released over time, back into the tank.

Do you think that your rock was subject to any freezing? If so, you could be in for a rough cycle.

Back in the day, when pretty much all live rock needed to be cured, reef tanks just took longer to get established.

You may just need to be extra cautious before adding any additional bio-load.

Regards,

Scott

[NoSump]

I also purchased my first batch of live rock from liveaquaria.com (aka Drs Foster and Smith).

I expierenced a similiar cycle to what you are describing. Relatively suddenly, the amonia went way down and the nitrites shot up, followed by a drop in nitrite and a spike in nitrates. The whole process took about 4 -5 weeks. The rock that I purchased was described as "Premium" Fiji rock. Now that I have had a bit more experience with different live rock and sources, it is pretty clear to me that it was really "base" rock. In any event, the rock is now doing well, and is regaining color.

One of the things that I was unaware of when I cycled my first batch of live rock, is that it is a good idea to supplement calcium even during the curing process (I now use a two part solution/C-Balance). The calcium helps to maintain some of the coraline algae through the curing process. One other point, you should provide some low level lighting to the rock during the curing process.

Chuck