[Marino13]

I tested my tank for ammonia and ph today. its a real new tank and has only held water 3 days. I used a deionizing filter to clean the water made by marine pharmaceuticals.

My question is why are my ammonia levels .08? I added 60 pounds of aragalive substrate that has like 2 hundred million bacteria per pound. Will these levels taper off? should i do a water change? or let the bacteria work on the problem longer. I only used one cartrige to filter the water. it had a rating of 25 to 125 gallons on average. i put about 60 gallons into my tank. all components, pump, tank etc were all brand new not used.

Should i just relax and test it again in a couple days? by the way the ph was 7.8. thanks.

[zhenya]

I wouldn't overly worry about it and it is a natural occurance in a new tank. What else did you add to your tank other then sand? If you added live rock some die off could be happening and ammonia showing up on a test kit is a sign that the cycle had started and I would just let it be and let bacteria colonize and multiply and work on the ammonia to convert it to NO2 and then progressively to the NO3.

[Reefland]

The Aragalive sand that you added is not real live sand, it only contains some dormant bacteria and the amount is very questionable. If you were thinking your tank should not go through a cycle due to adding this substrate, you were mislead or incorrect.

Did you add any live rock to the tank? Adding fully cured live rock to a new tank can significantly reduce the cycle period, or may even eliminate a cycle as the bacteria populations on the rock are developed enough to convert any waste. Uncured or no live rock, you will not only need to wait, but provide something more into the tank to get it kick started more like some live rock or some dead shrimp.

Regards,
Scott Z.

[Marino13]

Thanks for the replies, All i havein my tank is the 3 inches osand and some dead decorative rocks. should i be running my pump during this period or let the water get nasty?

What i was concerned about was that the levels were so high with no critters in the tank. is tap water usually that high with ammonia? i used a filter that was supposed to take it out.
tha ad for the aragalive is mis-leading it said you could add fish right away. Yeah right, Im glad my better common sense knew better. i will see what the levels are over the next few days and then add some live rock if i see no improvement. Thanks again.

[Poseidon]

Run PUMPS!!! you still need to have that water moving or it will start to SMELL and Stagnate. The NH3 did npt come from the tap water, it came from the SAND... It is normal, just let it run.

[Marino13]

Thanks Poseidon. thats what the chick at the lfs told me today after talking me into a protein skimmer. i guess i need one anyway. wow this is adding up quick!!!

[Poseidon]

Hopefully you bought a good skimmer and not a Skilter. A cpr Bak pak or Aqua C remora Pro would have been my choice.