Tank cycling

Mrbirfday

Ph 8.4 nitrites1.0 nitrates 10 , ammonia is at 0 .
Is this normal cycling process ? And what should I do when nitrites and nitrates drop to close to zero?
55 gal 1 950 gph powerhead marineland reef capable led light , 5 or so lbs mixed live and dry rock 2 inch fine grain sand bed
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nfored

Yes this is normal Cycling.

It should normally work like this.

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate "What ever your Tap is"

Then Ammonia will spike and you will still have no nitrite. Then ammonia will start to come down and you will have both ammonia and nitrite, then ammonia will drop to 0 and nitrite will spike. Then nitrite will drop to zero, now this is for fresh water tanks, I am pretty sure that on salt after the nitrite is zero you should also start developing bacteria to bring the nitrates lower also.

See this for the last steps in a salt cycle after ammonia and nitrite are done.

The Secret Cycle

Edit: also that seems like a small amount of live and dry rock? normally you want at least 1lb per gallon and more is always better.

reefsahoy

first off welcome to TFK! for reference only on cycling. the amount of days may vary but in general this is what happens. btw i wouldn't use tap water.

onefish2fish

i suggest having alot more rock and either going with a sandbed 1'' or less OR 4'' - 6''