ok so i was wondering if this will have any effect on my tanks cycling?
i went camping at cape vidal just over a month and a half ago and decided to collect water because i was expecting to have my tank up with in the next few days. however i ran into a few problems. so instead of wasting the water(i wasn't sure if i could store nsw) i added it to the sump along with 4 or 5 kgs of live rock which i bought the next day and added a pump for flow. i left that for two or three weeks then added another 4 or 5 kgs of live rock and did a 20% water change i used the same water i had collected while camping but siphoned it out and left the last bit. ok so i left that for another week and a half then bought 13kgs of live rock from durban and added that to the sump. the next day i started to fill up the main display tank with the remainder of the water i had collected also siphoning it off and leaving the last bit. i was short about 50l so the next day i bought salt from a petshop and mixed it with ro water. i let it stand for the night and added all the live rock to the dt from the sump and added the salt water. i siphoned out the water in the sump and got rid of it. added washed play sand to the dsd compartment added the skimmer and connected my return pump to the plumbing for the return and filled up the sump and switched everything on.
oh i also added nitro bac to the tank when i started everything.
ok so the reason i am asking if that could of had an effect on my cycling is because i tested my water while everything was still in the sump and the ammonia and nitrite readings where highish can't remember the exact readings. my tank has been cycling for 10 days now and i tested the water 5 days ago and again today and my ammonia and nitrite levels seem to have coming down since i tested 5 days ago. is this possible? or could it be that my test kits are wrong?
i am using red sea test kits.
i went camping at cape vidal just over a month and a half ago and decided to collect water because i was expecting to have my tank up with in the next few days. however i ran into a few problems. so instead of wasting the water(i wasn't sure if i could store nsw) i added it to the sump along with 4 or 5 kgs of live rock which i bought the next day and added a pump for flow. i left that for two or three weeks then added another 4 or 5 kgs of live rock and did a 20% water change i used the same water i had collected while camping but siphoned it out and left the last bit. ok so i left that for another week and a half then bought 13kgs of live rock from durban and added that to the sump. the next day i started to fill up the main display tank with the remainder of the water i had collected also siphoning it off and leaving the last bit. i was short about 50l so the next day i bought salt from a petshop and mixed it with ro water. i let it stand for the night and added all the live rock to the dt from the sump and added the salt water. i siphoned out the water in the sump and got rid of it. added washed play sand to the dsd compartment added the skimmer and connected my return pump to the plumbing for the return and filled up the sump and switched everything on.
oh i also added nitro bac to the tank when i started everything.
ok so the reason i am asking if that could of had an effect on my cycling is because i tested my water while everything was still in the sump and the ammonia and nitrite readings where highish can't remember the exact readings. my tank has been cycling for 10 days now and i tested the water 5 days ago and again today and my ammonia and nitrite levels seem to have coming down since i tested 5 days ago. is this possible? or could it be that my test kits are wrong?
i am using red sea test kits.
When I started up my nano tank I thought I would be a good boy and buy the Ammonia and Nitrite test kits, well suffice to say I have used them both twice and they are now sitting in the cupboard waiting to expire. You know the safety margin of a tank cycle is roughly 4 to 6 weeks, so whether you test for Amm or Nit you still have to wait for the cycle, I waited roughly 6 weeks then bought a bottle of Seachem Stability and dosed as per instructions then started to stock my tank, 100%. Save yourself some money and just sit out the 6 week cycle.