New tank set up

[Mech]

whats producing the ammonia?

[JennyPenny]

whats producing the ammonia?

I have no idea. I used distilled water to rinse my aragonite substrate and my corals, and those are the only things in it. It's been up for three weeks now.
I just tested the water and ammonia is in between 0.25 and 0.5, nitrates and nitrites both are 0. I'm not sure what I should do. I followed Mustafa 's instructions perfectly, which says you can populate your tank after 2-3 weeks. Should I perform a water change? I'm assuming what my tank lacks is bacteria to remove the ammonia. How do you introduce good bacteria without introducing cycled water?

[Varanus]

whats producing the ammonia?

I have no idea. I used distilled water to rinse my aragonite substrate and my corals, and those are the only things in it. It's been up for three weeks now.
I just tested the water and ammonia is in between 0.25 and 0.5, nitrates and nitrites both are 0. I'm not sure what I should do. I followed Mustafa 's instructions perfectly, which says you can populate your tank after 2-3 weeks. Should I perform a water change? I'm assuming what my tank lacks is bacteria to remove the ammonia. How do you introduce good bacteria without introducing cycled water?

It kind of seems to appear on its own over time (obviously it doesn't actually just appear out of nowhere), however if you get the macroalgae and snails from Mustafa you also get some of the water from his tanks, which means more good bacteria too.

As for where the ammonia in your tank came from, possibly some organic matter inside the corals or substrate that you wouldn't notice visually.

[JennyPenny]

Varanus, do you think I should take steps to clean the substrate or corals more thoroughly? It doesn't seem like the ammonia is dangerously high.

[Varanus]

Varanus, do you think I should take steps to clean the substrate or corals more thoroughly? It doesn't seem like the ammonia is dangerously high.

No need, you need some ammonia to start the process, only worry if it rises to dangerous levels. You might reference how things went with my tank: viewtopic.php?f=16&t=5771 Basically I introduced the macroalgae and snails, started the twelve hour light cycle, and tested the water every week or so (leaving the water alone otherwise) until the ammonia went to zero. It took about a month, perhaps less.

I wouldn't call my example the be all end all, but I do now have over thirty healthy shrimp larva floating around.

[JennyPenny]

Well, I'm not sure if I will wait to order or not. I know shipping is only $15 per order, but money is so tight right now. I actually placed my order for algae, snails, and shrimps already, but Mustafa is waiting on my go ahead to ship it. I'm considering having him ship it. I will add the snails and algae right away, then in a few days I will carefully add the shrimps if the ammonia has come down.
I started the 12 hour light cycle when I first set up the tank, so I could have algae growth soon. Your thread is very helpful! Your early numbers seem similar to mine.
It's so cool that you have larvae now!

[Varanus]

Yeah I wouldn't order shrimp until the ammonia number goes to zero, they're less tolerant of ammonia than the snails are.

[JennyPenny]

My sea fan arrived today so once again I rearranged. When I picked up a piece coral, I felt something squishy. Underneath the coral was something organic and decomposing. I removed the piece and do not plan to use it again. Should I do a partial water change? I'm guessing this is where most of the ammonia came from. I inspected the other corals and didn't find anything else.

[Mech]

My sea fan arrived today so once again I rearranged. When I picked up a piece coral, I felt something squishy. Underneath the coral was something organic and decomposing. I removed the piece and do not plan to use it again. Should I do a partial water change? I'm guessing this is where most of the ammonia came from. I inspected the other corals and didn't find anything else.

if you dont have shrimp or snails, then let the ammonia flow, its what starts the cycle of your tank, test the water for ammonia and nitrites, and if both = 0 then you have a cycled tank, ammonia is food for the good bacteria.

[JennyPenny]

Thanks Mech. I'm going to keep a close watch on the parameters.

[Varanus]

Thanks Mech. I'm going to keep a close watch on the parameters.

To put it simply any tank with living things in it is producing ammonia, its just that in a cycled tank that ammonia usually gets eaten so quickly by the good bacteria that the water test readings will show zero ammonia.

[Mech]

Thanks Mech. I'm going to keep a close watch on the parameters.

To put it simply any tank with living things in it is producing ammonia, its just that in a cycled tank that ammonia usually gets eaten so quickly by the good bacteria that the water test readings will show zero ammonia.

This man is correct

Your ammonia will drop, nitrites will go high then drop and as its about gone to zero put the snails and shrimp in.. This will ensure the cycle is being fed ammonia waste from the snails and shrimp... Failing that just do water changes to reduce nitrites.

[Varanus]

I still think adding the snails and macroalgae speeds up the cycling though.

[Mech]

Yea, adding that will speed it up, it will come with some bacteria on it and an ammonia source.

[JennyPenny]

Thanks for the advice Varanus and Mech. I tested the water again today and ammonia is now 1.0. Nitrates and nitrites are both 0. PH is around 7.8-8.0. I have no idea why the ammonia is so high AFTER removing the foul organic piece, unless maybe it was buried and then I stirred things up from moving them. Or maybe the sea fan has something on it.
This is what the tank looks like after the water has cleared from me rearranging everything.