super high ammonia while cycling

[MarinneSmith]

so I got a great deal on a 75G tank/stand/canopy that had pre drilled holes for a sump and overflow box...I only paid $150

I have 45lbs of LR and 40lbs of base, 20G sump, Reef Octopus BH1000, about 2500 GPH slow with my powerheads and a 156W coralife fixture with an extra 36' LED strip


anyway, I started testing 3 days ago when I set it all up and all I get is 8ppm on ammonia. I have tested my RODI water and it tests 0ppm so I know the test kit isn't bad

I did a 15G water swap yesterday and today again...still no change, should I just leave it?

[weedkiller]

unless there is something rotting in the tank leave it alone and wait for ammonia to drop, do not add boosters, do not add nothing.
what did you add to get the ammonia to 8ppm?

[emc7]

SW, LR. Sounds like some of the rock is not so live. I don't know enough about SW to answer the question. In FW 8 ppm would kill your filter bacteria and make you start "cycling" over.

[Ice]

Your tank is still cycling.

[MarinneSmith]

all I have in there is LR that I ordered from Live Aquaria...I added nothing

Salinity is 1.024, temp is 78.6

[weedkiller]

Originally Posted by MarinneSmith all I have in there is LR that I ordered from Live Aquaria...I added nothing Salinity is 1.024, temp is 78.6

so you have added no ammonia to get it to 8ppm?

[Ice]

Did you cure your rock before putting into the tank? This may be the reason your ammonia is so high. If so, now you need to let it cycle even longer along with daily water changes.

[MarinneSmith]

no I did not cure it, I was going to use it to cycle the tank but the ammonia is too high...I am going to take it out and scrub it then do a 50% water swap

[Dilligaf_1]

Guys correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't curring the live rock allowing it to sit in the tank, die off naturally, causing the undesirable organics to die, and the desirable bacterias to take a foot hold and thrive.....because of that high ammonia we actually encourage the bacterias we want to grow, to grow. We know that the rock is doing its job when the ammonia drops, nitrites drop, and the nitrates indicate a steady rise over time. MS you don't have any thing in that tank, such as fish or corals yet, do you? I would just do 20% water change every other day, and test every day (or twice a day morning / night) until you see things start to change....80lb of rock can carry alot of organics....let it happen, it will. Oh yeah keep the lights off during this process, we dont want to encourage algae to start growing during this whole process, it will just be more organics in the tank to kill off.

[Ice]

Bingo! There's your reason for high ammonia. Technically, most reefers cure their rock FIRST before placing in the DT. Don't scub anything off your rock - just let it cure in a separate container. Most curing process takes anywheres from 6-8 weeks. Keep changing water while curing.